Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer tv special

Get woke, OP

As horrible as Santa and the other reindeer are, a lot of it has aged pretty well. The songs are good, the characters are memorable, the dialogue/writing is decent, the sets have a magical feel to them. Of all the Rankin Bass Christmas specials I watched as a kid in the 70s, there is a reason why this one is still playing strong.

Out of nostalgia the three Christmas specials I bought on DVD over the years, were Rudolph, Santa Claus, is Coming to Town, and The Year without a Santa Claus. As much as I loved the Meiser Brothers as a kid, I can see why it is now seen the least. Not bad, but not near Rudolph in quality with the songs etc. I would rate Santa Claus is Coming to Town is somewhere in between these two.

At the same level of Rudolph, I would probably place the Grinch and Charlie Brown (not my favorite, but objectively I see that it is a higher level of quality - but those kids are as bad as Rudolph's Santa in being jerks.). Frosty probably should be placed with these classics as well, but it is one time I watched it as an adult, did not really care for it.

That Atlantic article was interesting, until the end when it just sort of abruptly stops, I'm not even sure if she made a point.

Get broke, R1.

My favorite part...

I cry every time I watch it. Damn you, Island of Misfit Toys!

Santa is a bigot.

Rudolph should have gored him right in his asshole!

Did Hermie ever find a boyfriend?

Did Yukon Cornelius?

Did the misfit Jack-in-the-Box?

Because they're all GAY.

Mr. Magoo is the best animated Christmas special.

[quote] Mr. Magoo is the best animated Christmas special.

NOPE.

Year Without A Santa Claus is the best.

The dancing! The singing! The Heat Miser and Cold Miser chorus lines!

It's so fabulous.

I think that Atlantic article misses the point of the show, that overcoming all the dark elements — rejection by parents and friends, Island of misfit toys, etc. are what make this an enduring classic. If it was all sugar and sweetness and light, would we still be watching it five decades later?

Mr. Magoo certainly has the best score, hands down.

Would Rudolph have been out of line, if he called Santa a cunt?

I have more questions than answers.

Why was Hermie the only elf with hair and real eyes, with whites and pupils? All the other elves, plus Santa and Mrs. Claus had black dots for eyes.

Who got the shitty misfit toys? I'm sure no kid wants those crappy misfits.

I would have been pissed if I got a misfit toy. I'd call to complain.

Personally, I love the body positivity.

Mrs. Claus is a fat icon.

NOBODY WANTS A SKINNY SANTA!!!

EAT!! EAT!!!!!!!!!!

I prefer The Little Drummer Boy, because of its important religious message.

That reindeer coach was the biggest asshole of all.

"C'mon, everyone. We won't let Rudolph play any of our reindeer games. Shun him. He's dead to us. Because his nose is red."

What a cunt!

"Why was Hermie the only elf with hair and real eyes, with whites and pupils? All the other elves, plus Santa and Mrs. Claus had black dots for eyes."

Hermie's prettier 'cause he's GAY

The reindeer coach is the most evil coach this side of Jerry Sandusky

The man who voiced Charlie-in-the-Box is still alive and popping at 101 years old.

Here you go, fellas!

I like the cartoon where the mouse calls Santa fat.

[quote] I prefer The Little Drummer Boy, because of its important religious message.

Cram it, churchy

[quote] The man who voiced Charlie-in-the-Box is still alive and popping at 101 years old.

Congrats, KWEEN!

I'll bet she has some stories to tell!

Some of the late 1970s ones were weird as fuck. [italic]Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas and July[/italic] was one of the most bizarre pieces of crossover fiction I've seen in my life. Ethel Merman is in it along with reuniting Mickey Rooney and Red Buttons after [italic]Pete's Dragon[/italic] so it also reunites Mickey to one of his [italic]It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World[/italic] co-stars.

Has Hermie come out yet, or is he waiting until Santa dies?

r6, I had to check the date on this to see if you were me and I had already posted the exact thing you did. if I ever start my own rescue I actually plan on calling it *myname's* Island of Misfit Toys Rescue.

I always thought Yukon Cornelius was more likely to be family than Hermie.

All the misfit toys should be burned in a furnace.

They're horriid!

^ Yep, total daddy bear

Hermie is a BLOND KAWEEN!!!!

Why is Greer Garson impersonating Joan Greenwood at R16?

So Rudolph and Hermie were the only ones who had eyes?

Yet everyone else had black dots?

Fucking Rankin/Bass.

I made up my own words for the Santa song:

"Jingle Jingle, I am old Kris Kringle. I'm the king of Ding-A-Ling!"

r14=Karen

Are those misfit toys edible?

I’m like the little misfit doll who doesn’t have any tears left to cry due to being forgotten about. 😢

It wasn’t until years later, when questioned about what was misfit about that girl doll, the creators revealed that she had psychological problems.

[quote] The man who voiced Charlie-in-the-Box is still alive and popping at 101 years old.

He may be alive but I doubt he’s still “popping.”

That would take a lot of viagra.

Still pooping?

Let’s hope. For his sake anyway.

Even a 101-year-old can pop out of a box.

[quote] It wasn’t until years later, when questioned about what was misfit about that girl doll, the creators revealed that she had psychological problems.

Rofl!

This cartoon was way ahead of its time.

For a stupid christmas show, it dealt with bullying, homosexuality, depression and psychological problems, peer pressure, eating disorders, and a host of other issues.

What a clusterfuck!

R38 She was a "where did Uncle Bob touch you?" doll.

Rofl R44! No wonder she was so fucking depressed!

Her "NO NO" must be all worn out, from all that touching in her "bad parts."

One of my absolute favorites as a child. I should have just treasured the childish memories, but I re-watched it a couple years ago, and, as the kid's today say, it hit different.

It was bound to, but still - WTF with Hermey pulling all of The Abominable Snowman's Teeth!? And I think this is also the one where one of the reindeer is sick and running a high fever. Nevertheless, Santa insists the little guy haul his fat ass back to the North Pole. Rudolph should have kept going and left that bastard behind.

After all their crap they gave him "THEN all the reindeer loved him"? He should have given Santa, the coach, Clarice's father, and the other deer the reindeer's equivalent of "the finger" and said fuhgetaboutit and marketed his red nose and made a killing on the Rudolph toys and other products made in his image. And charged Santa a huge markup if he wanted to buy them to distribute.

[quote] He should have given Santa, the coach, Clarice's father, and the other deer the reindeer's equivalent of "the finger" and said fuhgetaboutit and marketed his red nose and made a killing on the Rudolph toys and other products made in his image. And charged Santa a huge markup if he wanted to buy them to distribute.

This really is the difference between Democrats and Republicans.

We are always expected to take the "high road," be nice, treat everyone with dignity and respect, and "turn the other cheek" when we get treated like shit.

Republicans can do whatever they want, call us names, treat us like garbage, abuse us, berate us, ridicule us, and spew hate towards us, and we're always expected to forgive them.

All I know, is that it's fucking BULLSHIT!!!

Did you know that the letters in Santa's name can be arranged to spell....

SATAN!

[quote]Why was Hermie the only elf with hair and real eyes, with whites and pupils? All the other elves, plus Santa and Mrs. Claus had black dots for eyes.

Yeah they sure looked funny

Rudolph experimented with Hermie when they were younger.

Hermie wanted that huge reindeer cock, and since Clarice was being a cunt at the time, Rudolph got drunk and fucked him.

For whatever reason I've never watched the whole Rudolph cartoon and I'm 66 years old. I agree with R9 - the Magoo Christmas special was the best.

Regarding this cartoon special, which version did you all grow up watching/remembering? The one with the song "We're a Couple of Misfits" (1964), or with the replacement song, "Fame and Fortune" (1965-1998)?

Personally, I prefer the original; it had more subtext. I didn't notice it had been replaced until sometime in the 1980s. I appreciated its restoration in 1998.

"𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬" (𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟒):

Donner is fucking cunt. I wish Stevie were around to kick him in the cuntbone.

Otherwise, I love it.

There were 2 endings. In one Hermie tears out all of the Abominable's teeth and in the other he diagnoses a tooth ache and removes it and everyone's all chummy.

We're a Couple of Misfits is the OG gay anthem

MAD TV parody:

That's cool, R53. I never knew that.

The version I watched on Tuesday night was the "Why Am I Such A Misfit" version.

One of my favorite childhood Christmas movies! It is part of our holiday collection along with Frosty, The Year without a Santa Claus and Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

[quote] It is part of our holiday collection along with Frosty, The Year without a Santa Claus and Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

You realize that AMC shows these movies constantly, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, don't you?

No need for a "collection."

I have a DVD set with all the Rankin Bass stuff. There's one called Cricket on the Hearth with Roddy McDowall as the world's campiest cricket

What I like it is the abundance of Jewish humor. Hermie wanting to be a dentist is pure Borscht Belt gold.

Far and away my favorite Rankin Bass production is the feature film "Mad Monster Party?" featuring a script co-written by Harvey Kurtzman of Mad Comics that's more Jewish than a bris in Rockland County.

I guess Fame and Fortune did not make a big impression on me. I bought the DVD about 5 -6 years ago and watched it for the first time in about 20 years and did not even notice the switch. Fame & Fortune would have been what I saw growing up. Once I found Fame and Fortune on Youtube it came back to me, but I agree "Misfit" makes more sense for the story - not to mention the reprises they have of it later.

R60, We like to watch them when we want - Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Ignore him, Techie. We’ve had this argument on the DVDs thread.

They seem to think there’s no reason for anyone to ever own the physical media.

OK R65, will do!👍

I watched it in 1964. My Mom made sure I was seated in my pajamas and ready when the show came on. I was scared to death by the Abominable Snow Monster, even after he was rendered harmless. It wasn't the reaction my Mom expected. I think she felt guilty for the rest of the season.

When Clarice wouldn't open her clam basket to Rudolph, I bet Hermie offered his peppermint-douched puckerhole to Rudolph's shining nose.

[quote] I watched it in 1964. My Mom made sure I was seated in my pajamas and ready when the show came on. I was scared to death by the Abominable Snow Monster, even after he was rendered harmless. It wasn't the reaction my Mom expected. I think she felt guilty for the rest of the season.

Well, in fairness to her, you were 22 years old. I’m certain it wasn’t the reaction she expected.

[quote]The man who voiced Charlie-in-the-Box is still alive and popping at 101 years old.

He won't be popping up from his next box, a nice pine one.

LOL, R69! I was four years old.

*winks and smiles at r71*

I just watched fame and fortune on YouTube, it really changes the whole meaning of the movie doesn't it

Rofl R68, you're absolutely FILTHY!

The best detail is Yukon Cornelius" team of mismatched dogs. When the chips were down, the dogs jumped on the sled and Yukon pulled them to safety!

Watched this tonight. Looks fabulous on Blu-Ray. Still holds up.

However, Santa is truly the epitome of straight white privilege!

Here's some interesting background on the production.

I showed this to my husband today (we are newly wed) He is from Taiwan and this is our first time celebrating Christmas in the US. He didn’t seem to care for Muppets Christmas Carol or Frosty, but he really enjoyed Rudolf.

I may show him the Heat Miser/Snow Miser one next.

Watching Rudolph on Freeform right now, and they aired the "Misfits" song. I'm guessing I must have grown up with this version because I remember it more than that "Fame and Fortune" song - which IMO doesn't make sense in the scene's context at all.

Sigh...Just watched The Year Without a Santa Claus and was bored to tears (excluding the Heat/Snow Miser songs - which I still like). I guess I am just cynical this year.

I loved Year without a Santa Claus as a kid, but did not hold up as much for me as Rudolph watching as an adult. There is a reason why people mainly think of the Miser Brothers when they remember this one, and there is a lot of screen time without them.

But what about ME?

I love RTRNRD, but the sequel, Rudolph's Shiny New Year is insane.

It's like Babe Pig the city insane.

Antiques Roadshow

But where's Prancer and the others?

Venison, Rose.

How come they never made a cartoon about Good King Wenceslas?

You mean the one that came out and feasted on Stephen?

"How come they never made a cartoon about Good King Wenceslas?"

Polish, Rose.

Polish? I guess that explains it!

I thought he was Czech. (Well, Bohemian.)

There is the Stephanie Powers - Jonathan Brandis movie.

I love this thread.

Fuck that little pisher.

THIS is a Christmas Special Thread.

[quote]But where's Prancer and the others?

Given the Flowers in the Attic treatment it seems by that AR clip.

[quote] Fuck that little pisher.

Oh, believe me, I tried.

how lovely to hear Jonathan Brandis' name mentioned unexpectedly in this thread! always loved him.

This is my number one Christmas special.

I always felt the Christmas in July and the New Year's specials were just cash grabs.

How did this song escape Rankin-Bass's notice?