Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

You might even say it glows!

Animation

Family

TV Movie

Adventure

52 Mins
1964
en

star7.4/ 10

Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...

Cast & Crew

Burl Ives

Sam the Snowman (voice)

Billie Mae Richards

Rudolph (voice)

Larry D. Mann

Yukon Cornelius (voice)

Stan Francis

Santa Claus / King Moonracer (voice)

Paul Kligman

Donner / Clarice's Father / Comet the Coach (voice)

Janis Orenstein

Clarice (voice)

Review

Peter McGinn

This program is of course a Christmas classic. I don’t even know how young I was when I first watched it, or have any idea how many times I have seen it since. The music is fun and the story cute even in its lack of depth. But of course it is aimed at children, to watch as children, with children, or as an adult remembering childhood. There are a group of follow-up shows in what the industry calls a franchise, but I confess I haven’t seen any of them. I expect I wouldn’t have the same fond feelings for them, if only because I would judge it for the first time as an adult. It is like the Charlie Brown Christmas show that way, compared to some of the later ones. If you like humorous satire, go to YouTube and look up the Honest Trailer for this show, part of a series done by a channel called Screen Junkies. It is funny, but only if you can take a joke at the show’s expense.

GenerationofSwine

Honestly, I don't really know if it deserves the high praise it gets or not. And, just as honestly, I can't really tell for sure. It's not that the movie is confusing in any way. It was just, well, it came out when my dad (rest his soul) was 12. And, at least until recently, it was on the air every year since. I remember watching it when I was really little, and I remember watching it until just a few years ago when it started to slowly vanish from Network TV tradition. Like "It's a Wonderful Life" this was a part of Christmas to the point where it was an unofficial Christmas tradition that brings up memories of childhood and family every time you view it. Because of that there is a heavy nostalgia to it, and because of that it's hard to tell if the show is as great as I think it is, or if I think it's great because it's a tradition that comes with memories.