The special was based on the Johnny Marks song by the same name; the song taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS affiliate television stations with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special, and one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast - the others being A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman.
Donner the reindeer's wife gives birth to a baby fawn named Rudolph, but the two are shocked to discover that Rudolph's unusually red nose is capable of glowing. Santa Claus visits their cave to meet their son for the first time and warns them that Rudolph will be unqualified to pull the sleigh if he continues to carry the trait for the rest of his life, so Donner tries to conceal Rudolph's nose with dirt.
A year later, Rudolph's parents take him to participate in the Reindeer Games (after covering his nose with mud, much to his dismay), where he, along with all of the other young bucks, will be trained to fly and help Santa deliver toys. While there, Rudolph meets a friendly reindeer named Fireball, whom he quickly befriends and romps about with. The pair come across a doe named Clarice, who seems to take a romantic interest in Rudolph. Fireball encourages Rudolph to speak with Clarice as she happens to like him, giving him the strength to perform a dazzling leap into the air. However, when Rudolph and Fireball engage in a celebratory jostle, the cover pops off Rudolph's nose, unveiling his secret that costs him his friendship with Fireball. All of the other yearlings poke fun at Rudolph's nose, and he is prohibited by Coach Comet from taking part in the Reindeer Games. Clarice, who is not the least bit bothered by Rudolph's secret, stays around to try to comfort him. Soon after, Clarice's father forbids her to hang around with Rudolph, which shatters the young buck's heart and prompts him to make the decision to run away from home.
Later, Rudolph meets an elf named Hermey who aspires to become a dentist, but is ridiculed for this ambition and has also decided to run away for the same reason. He agrees to join Rudolph and they set off together. Along the way, they meet a cheerfully boisterous, loud prospector named Yukon Cornelius, who dreams of discovering silver and gold and becoming wealthy. The trio struggle to find a place to stay when they come across a place called "The Island of Misfit Toys," where unwanted playthings with some sort of physical error or flaw go to live until the island's ruler, King Moonracer, a brown winged lion, manages to find homes for them. Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius, and Hermey tell King Moonracer that they need shelter, so he agrees to let them stay for one night in exchange for a promise from Rudolph; as soon as he returns to the North Pole, to ask Santa Claus to deliver the toys to children. Later that night, with everybody else asleep, Rudolph decides to leave the island knowing that his nose is going to be a burden for his friends (since it has already attracted the attention of the Bumbles the Abominable Snow Monster, a gigantic, hairy white monster who dwells at the North Pole and abhors Christmas).
Eventually, Rudolph grows older and decides to go home, where he is agitated to find that his matured peers still poke fun at him. When he returns to his cave, he finds that his parents, along with Clarice, have left to search for him. Rudolph leaves to search for his family and is angered to find that they have been kidnapped by the Abominable Snow Monster, who plans to eat them. Rudolph headbutts the monster, only to end up getting knocked unconscious, Fortunately, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius, who have been searching for Rudolph, eventually find him and rush to his aid. They distract the monster by knocking him unconscious, allowing Hermey to extract his teeth. Rudolph awakens, but he and his family are unable to escape with the toothless beast blocking the entrance to the cave. Yukon Cornelius chases the Abominable Snow Monster to a cliff, where he dogpiles the monster and they both fall over. He is assumed by his saddened companions to be dead. The misfits return home and are no longer mocked by their peers, who are sympathetic upon hearing their story. Much to the surprise and relief of Rudolph and Hermey, Yukon Cornelius returns with a tamed Abominable Snow Monster, whom he has taught to place a star on top of a Christmas tree. The now reformed monster decides to live with Santa Claus and the other residents of the North Pole. However, a horrific blizzard is about to prevent Santa from embarking on his annual journey. While announcing the news to the elves and reindeer, he is caught by Rudolph's gleaming nose and asks him to lead his sleigh. Rudolph agrees, and they set off to deliver the presents, but not without giving the misfit toys a lift before the credits roll.
Cast of characters
The character Rudolph was voiced by Billie Mae Richards, later credited as Billy Richards.The story, by Romeo Muller, introduced several new characters inspired by the song's lyrics. Muller told an interviewer shortly before his death that he would have preferred to base the teleplay on May's original book, but could not find a copy. The show features Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis) and the eight reindeer mentioned in the song. Of them, Donner is identified as Rudolph's father, and Comet is presented as the coach of the reindeer team. A third, Dasher, is mentioned as a father of one of the yearling bucks during take-off practice. Mrs. Claus is also incorporated into the story.
The show also introduces:
Sam the Snowman - The narrator, voiced by and styled to resemble folk singer Burl Ives, who contributes several tunes throughout the program. Among the more well-known songs from the special is Johnny Marks' "A Holly Jolly Christmas," which became a Christmas standard in its own right.
Hermey the Misfit Elf (voiced by Paul Soles) - who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Quitting Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." Towards the end of the program, he finally gets his wish to open a dentist's office at the North Pole. One of many memorable songs, "Fame and Fortune" was added to the 1965 airing as a replacement for the reprise of a number called "We're A Couple Of Misfits", sung by Hermey and Rudolph soon after their initial meeting. The special's 1998 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to its original film context, while the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame and Fortune" as a separate number.
Clarice the Doe (voiced and sung by Janis Orenstein) - A pretty doe Rudolph meets at take-off practice; she immediately develops a crush on him. In fact, it is Clarice who is part of the reason why Rudolph knows how to fly in the special: she tells Rudolph he is cute and that gives him encouragement, resulting in a giant leap through the air. Even when the cap pops off Rudolph's nose, Clarice remains faithful to him and follows him into the woods, where she performs one of the special's musical numbers "There's Always Tomorrow." She disobeys her father when she befriends Rudolph, even to the point of running off into the woods with Rudolph's parents to go looking for him. The trio is captured by the monster, but Rudolph rescues them in time. Despite the fact that, in reality, reindeer of both sexes grow antlers, neither Clarice nor any other doe in the special has antlers; the female reindeer (including Clarice) also have much lighter fur than their male counterparts.
Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) - a prospector who leads the audience to believe that he is searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behavior inspires the song "Silver and Gold," sung by Ives. Yukon is a blustery but benign character who ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but also the Abominable Snow Monster, which he nicknames "Bumble." Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pickax into the air, sniffing, then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.
Tall Elf is a minor character who appears in the "We Are Santa's Elves" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" scenes. Tall, thin and bespectacled, this character was an integral part of the stop-motion commercial and subsequent print ads produced for General Electric for the inaugural broadcast.
Head Elf (voiced by Carl Banas) is Hermey's immediate supervisor, a portly and ill-tempered foreman and songleader of Santa's workshop. He wears a goatee styled to resemble popular songleader Mitch Miller and begins by using Lawrence Welk's famous introduction, "Ah one, and ah two". He is outraged at Hermey's persistent disruption of the assembly line with his dentistry studies. He also conducts the elves in their song for Santa, "We Are Santa's Elves," a tune which Santa finds annoying. Towards the end of the special, he finally grants Hermey's wish and allows him to open a dentist's office. In one of the show's bloopers, the head elf is voiced by a different (and unidentified) voice actor in the musical scene as he begins conducting the group.
The Abominable Snow Monster of the North (a.k.a. Bumble) - A large, ferocious ape-like mammal of unspecified species, possibly a yeti. As the main antagonist, he pursues Hermey and Rudolph throughout their adventure. The sight of Rudolph's glowing red nose drives Bumble into a rage. Sam the Snowman also explains that the monster hates everything to do with Christmas. Later, the Abominable Snow Monster captures Rudolph and his family at his cave. Yukon and Hermey come to the rescue by knocking the monster unconscious and extracting all his teeth. Near the end of the film he has a change of heart, and he is seen putting the star on top of the Christmas tree and becoming a part of Christmastown.
Several new members of Santa Claus's herd of reindeer include Fireball, a young buck with a distinctive shock of blond hair who befriends shy Rudolph at the "Reindeer Games", supervised and coached by one of Santa's eight reindeer, Comet. The Reindeer Games are the annual contest where Santa Claus evaluates the flight skills of his youngest reindeer. It is Fireball who encourages Rudolph to meet Clarice. Clarice informs Rudolph that she finds him cute. Inspired by Clarice's affection, Rudolph spontaneously launches into flight, impressing all the reindeer assembled. After a playful scuffle with Fireball ensues, the clay/mud cap Rudolph has been wearing to hide his glowing nose comes loose. Fireball is the first to witness Rudolph's true appearance and is terrified by the sight. After the initial shock wears off, the young reindeer and coach Comet mock Rudolph's nose, telling him he can no longer take part in the annual "Reindeer Games".
Most of the adult male reindeer, including Donner, Comet, and Clarice's father, were voiced by Paul Kligman.
The Island of Misfit Toys
The "Island of Misfit Toys", another canonical addition to the original story, is an island sanctuary where defective and unwanted toys are sent. Among its inhabitants:
King Moonracer - a winged lion who acts as the island's ruler, voiced by Stan Francis. King Moonracer is responsible for flying around the world each night in search of unwanted toys. He lives in a large castle atop a hill on The Island of Misfit Toys, and acts as a sovereign to the island, deciding who can or cannot stay on the Island, such as Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius.
Charlie-In-The-Box is a misnamed, but otherwise seemingly normal jack-in-the-box who acts as the island's sentry. Charlie is voiced by Carl Banas, who also voices several other toys in this scene.
Spotted Elephant is a polka dotted elephant and also is the island's footman.
"A Dolly for Sue" (as she calls herself) is a seemingly normal girl rag doll with red hair and a red gingham dress. Her misfit problem is never explained on the special, but was possibly revealed on NPR's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! news quiz show (broadcast December 8, 2007). The show revealed that Rudolph's producer, Arthur Rankin Jr., says Dolly's problem was psychological, caused from being abandoned by her mistress and suffering depression from feeling unloved.
Bird Fish is a toy bird who swims instead of flies.
A misfit cowboy who rides an ostrich.
Trainer, a train with square wheels on its caboose.
A toy boat that sinks rather than floats; a squirt gun that shoots grape jelly; an airplane that cannot fly, and "a scooter for Jimmy".
It is during this scene the Marks standard, "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" is performed by the inhabitants. Toy versions of nearly every character from this show were produced in the 1990s.
Viewers were so taken by these forlorn characters, many complained Santa was not seen fulfilling his promise to include them in his annual delivery. In reaction, a new scene for subsequent rebroadcasts was produced[citation needed] with Santa, with Rudolph in the lead, making his first stop at the island to pick up the toys.
Additional background
The songs and incidental music were written by Johnny Marks, with Maury Laws supervising. In addition to the songs previously mentioned, the score also includes the film's love theme "There's Always Tomorrow", sung by the reindeer Clarice after Rudolph is kicked out of the reindeer games (the song is included in the version aired on CBS and in the DVD version, but is removed from the version aired on CBC Television in Canada). Marks' holiday standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" appears as instrumental background music when Rudolph first arrives at the Reindeer Games and meets Fireball. Also included in the soundtrack is an instrumental version of Marks' setting of the Christmas hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." As previously discussed, the song "Fame And Fortune" replaced the "Misfits" reprise for later television broadcasts from 1965 until 1998.
In 2006, puppets of Rudolph and Santa used in the filming of this famous television special were appraised on PBS Television's Antiques Roadshow. The puppets had been damaged through years of rough handling by children and storage in an attic.In 2007, both the Rudolph and Santa puppets were restored to original condition by Screen Novelties, a Los Angeles based collective of film directors specializing in stop motion animation. Puppet fabricator Robin Walsh led the project.
Distributed by DreamWorks Animation
Directed by Larry Roemer, Kizo Nagashima
Written by Romeo Muller, Robert May
Narrated by Burl Ives
(as Sam the Snowman)
Music by Johnny Marks
Production company Videocraft International
Country United States
Language English
Original channel NBC (1964–1971)
CBS (1972–present)
Release date December 6, 1964
Running time 47 minutes
Followed by Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976)
0 comments:
Post a Comment