Yup, this is my review on the Christmas Special that started the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. The special is in Stop-Motion animation and tells the traditional story of "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", a reindeer born with a red glowing nose; gets made fun of by the other Reindeer; but in the end guides Santa's Sleigh with his glowing red rose in the most horrible Snow Storm in Christmas history and is known as a Christmas hero and Icon. Rankin/Bass however, put a few little new twists into the story. There's a misfit elf named Hermey (or Herbie) who wants to be a Dentist instead of a Toymaker, and a Prospector named Yukon Cornelius who's in the search for Silver and Gold, who join Rudolph as he runs away from home. The Three of them go out on adventures finding new places, making new friends, but are also on the run by from the Abominable Snow Monster Of The North. The Special is narrated and sung by a Snowman named Sam (Voiced by Burl Ives).
Burl Ives brings the Christmas cheer to the Special with his narration and singing voice. His narrating voice adds to the tone that the special is going for and actually sounds like the guy you would love to hear stories from. The Songs he sings are "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas", "Silver and Gold" and "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer". When you hear him sing you get the Christmas feeling and the warm comfort of being at home or where ever you're watching this special. The Snowman looks just like Burl Ives and is a likable character, but I will admit the Snowman does look kind of creepy.
The characters in this special are very lovable and make you feel what they feel. Rudolph is so likable that you can't help but love him and feel bad for him. The shy voice adds to his personality and makes the younger viewers and teenage viewers relate to the abuse he's going through and how much he tries to be sociable to people who make fun of him. He's a good role model for kids and young adults because even though he's been pushed around a lot he still does do the right thing and follows his heart.
Hermey the misfit Elf (Who looks completely different from the other Elves, complete with human ears for some reason) is just as likable as Rudolph. He's sweet, he's smart and cute. Whenever he gets pushed around by the head elf you just want to stand up for him and tell that head elf off. He's a great friend for Rudolph because he understands the pain that he's going through and will always stick with him even if his nose does in danger him.
The best character in the whole special is the prospector Yukon Cornelius. Alright, he's not really much of a misfit as Rudolph and Hermey, but he always keeps a swell attitude even when things go wrong; keeps following his dream to find Silver and Gold, no matter how long it takes; and he's a fast thinker to help Rudolph and Hermey get away from Bumbles. He's also the funniest character in the whole special, everything he does you can't help but smile and laugh.
Rudolph's love interest Clarice surprisingly shows up very little in the special, but for some reason you still feel the love between the two of them. Maybe it's because she's the first one to accept Rudolph's glowing red nose and looks for him while he's missing. The love may be sudden and is very fast paced in the special, but every scene with them together is just romantic. Speaking of romance who doesn't feel Clarice's love for Rudolph when she sings "There's Always Tomorrow" to Rudolph, it's so emotional.
The Snow Monster Bumbles is frightening to younger viewers. When you first find out about him, Sam tells the viewers that "He's Mean, He's Nasty and Hates everything to do with Christmas". The build up to him is intense as you hear his roar, see his big feet and see him peaking through the mountains. Everybody's afraid of him, even the narrator covers his eyes every time the Monster appears. When you see him, he's still creepy with his sharp teeth and wild animalish look. By the way, is it just me or does he look like one of the Wild things from the children's book "Where The Wild Things Are"? The Monster is scary, but also has some funny moments and he's probably just a misunderstood creature like the Frankenstein monster or Scuzzlebutt from South Park.
The biggest disappointment in the special for me is Santa Claus. We all know Santa as a jolly happy guy, but in this he's a Jolly sack of naughtiness. He's mean to his Elves; spends most of his time moaning and whining to his wife; and even dismisses Rudolph because of his Red Nose telling Rudolph's father "You should be ashamed of yourself." Santa is allowed to be tough at some points, but he's suppose to be like a Jolly Grandfather who supports his Elves, loves his Wife, and helps his fellow Reindeer when they're feeling down and out. There are scenes when he's Jolly like when he sings "Jingle Jingle Jingle" or shouts Merry Christmas at the end of the special; and he also does care for the children, but mostly, he acts like an unhappy boss. By the way, did anyone buy the idea that Santa has to eat fattening food to be fat for Christmas...I didn't. He's always fat, but in this he's as skinny as a stick with a giant head on top of it.Want to hear something shocking?In the original TV release Santa broke his promise and didn't go get the Misfit Toys, kids were so angry that Rankin/Bass had to create a better ending. Looks like someone needs coal for their stocking.
The Stop-Motion Animation is marvelous. The settings are nice; the characters look alive; the designs for The Misfit Toys are creative (I don't understand why the Doll's a misfit, do you?) and is just beautiful to look at. However, I do think the lip movement and lip sync was off. Speaking of lips, what happened to the head elfs voice before he conducted the song "We Are Santas Elves"? The Stop-Motion animation is nice, but it's not like no one has done Stop-Motion Animation before (Which a lot people think it's the first animated stop motion film), look at Puppetoons or the original King Kong and tell me that's not Stop-Motion animation, but the Animation is still good and is one of the reasons why this Christmas Specials a classic.
The Songs are catchy, unforgettable and full of the Christmas Spirit. I'm not going to go into too much detail with the songs since I'd probably talked about them a lot in this review, but they're a big reason why the special is well known. They're written well, sung great and add to the special's atmosphere.
ONE QUESTION I MUST ASK YOU
There are two songs when Rudolph and Hermey meet. Some of them were shown on TV, but one of them got to be on the DVD releases and one of them are in the Deleted Scenes. Which song do you prefer?
"We're A Couple Of Misfits"(On The DVD Releases)
http://youtu.be/FwlOUAAyPQE
OR
"Fame And Fortune"(Deleted Song)
http://youtu.be/Y7pwTZgeJk0
As for the story, it takes a good new look on the classic Rudolph story and gives the audiences a few new powerful morals, and as I said before has wonderful new characters.
SPOILER: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SPECIAL SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH.
I don't usually give away the climaxes or ending in my reviews unless if I'm re looking at a film or talking about a character or something but I must give this part away. The only part of the story I didn't buy was how Yukon and Bumbles survived falling off the cliff. It's a fantasy and I would've bought the idea that Bumbles bounce since he's a good sinker, but here's my problem, Rudolph and Hermey we're standing right in front of the cliff, wouldn't they have seen them bouncing up? If you look down at the cliff, there's no way out; it's all cornered; and has a rock or two at the bottom. Where would they have bounced too; did they go through one of the walls, if so, how did they disappear? I think It'd be best not to show what's down the cliff or at least show Bumbles Bouncing instead of making it look like they're dead, or better saying that they just survived the fall since Bumbles is huge and Yukon was right on top of him. Oh well, at least it's nothing compared to Indiana Jones in the Fridge or the lame climatic ending to the episode of "The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh" called "The Masked Offender"(That scene still makes zero sense to me). Also, why does King Moonracer, who runs the Island Of Misfit Toy's and flies around the world to save Toys, has never talked to Santa about finding the misfit Toys homes before? Also that misfit bird that can't fly, but swims; why wasn't he given an umbrella at the end? Could he glide with the wind; did he not have the courage to fly at all, but some how found his courage; EXPLAIN SPECIAL!
The Special does an excellent job of bringing the feeling of Christmas. It has a timeless Story; catchy songs; memorable characters; and nice Stop-Motion animation. It has its noticeable flaws that do get distracting, but that didn't stop me nor the people who saw this special from enjoying it.
RATING 4/5
