Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

[mitchedwards]

Watched The Rankin Bass Rudolph show last night. I love the show, but I have a few observations.

The Reindeer can talk, and are valued by Santa. So why is Santa so cheap to make them live in caves, and expose them to danger like the bumble? You would think he could afford to build them a nice heated stable at the least.

The misfit toys, are presumed to be rejected Christmas toys. Where is Santa's quality control? Did he hire king Moonracer to cover up this lack of QC? So did Rudolph and Hermey expose this coverup?

The elves are virtual slaves. Yeah they get paid, but where else can they go for work?

What healthcare plan does Santa have for his elves? Looks like there is none.

At the end of the show we see Santa covering up his shoddy work. When they are dropping toys off the sleigh the elf takes the defective bird. Remember he can only swim and not fly. And drops him off the sleigh without a parachute. Is this eliminating a witness?

Oh well. Thought I'd share.

Mitch

[Mikey]

The Reindeer can talk, and are valued by Santa. So why is Santa so cheap to make them live in caves, and expose them to danger like the bumble? You would think he could afford to build them a nice heated stable at the least.

Santa is a union busting pig.

The misfit toys, are presumed to be rejected Christmas toys. Where is Santa's quality control? Did he hire king Moonracer to cover up this lack of QC? So did Rudolph and Hermey expose this coverup?

Santa gives away everything for free --- So he don't need QC as long as his crap don't hurt kids.

The elves are virtual slaves. Yeah they get paid, but where else can they go for work?

Again, Santa is a union busting pig.

What healthcare plan does Santa have for his elves? Looks like there is none.

Again, Again--- Santa is a union busting pig.

At the end of the show we see Santa covering up his shoddy work. When they are dropping toys off the sleigh the elf takes the defective bird. Remember he can only swim and not fly. And drops him off the sleigh without a parachute. Is this eliminating a witness?

Again, Santa gives away everything for free --- So he don't need QC as long as his crap don't hurt kids.

[theantiquetiger]

What I don't understand is the adult reindeer making fun of him, i can understand the fawns, kids will be kids. Comet was down right a jack-hole to him and he is one of Santa's top eight guys.

[PCofmisfittoys]

i like the MAD TV version where santa has a drug business set up. gotta love robot chickn and MAD tv parodies.

[Mikey]

What I don't understand is the adult reindeer making fun of him,

They're just kissing Santa's satanic behind to keep their jobs.

He's behind it all.

[theantiquetiger]

At the end of the show, Rudolph could have bankrupted that evil union buster by not pull the sled.

He should have had Hermey build a single deer sled and retrieved the misfit toys himself. Hermey could have distributed the toys as Rudolph pulled it, making him the new St Nick.

Rudolph has one reindeer on his side, Clarice, and they could have offspring themselves to make an entire new team for Hermey.

They could also use Bumble to pillage Santa's workshop, enslaving the elves for Hermey (and they would have a dental plan).

[mitchedwards]

At the end of the show, Rudolph could have bankrupted that evil union buster by not pull the sled.

He should have had Hermey build a single deer sled and retrieved the misfit toys himself. Hermey could have distributed the toys as Rudolph pulled it, making him the new St Nick.

Rudolph has one reindeer on his side, Clarice, and they could have offspring themselves to make an entire new team for Hermey.

They could also use Bumble to pillage Santa's workshop, enslaving the elves for Hermey (and they would have a dental plan).

LOL I love it

[Wee67]

Fortunately, since the original airing of this special, the reindeers have unionized and their new contract goes into effect next year. As a result, we will enjoy several Christmas tradition variations-

-It is no longer acceptable to have a mere of 8 tiny reindeer. It takes a minimum of 19 members to pull the sleigh.

-Christmas will now be celebrated at different times in different areas. The whole deliveries-in-one-night thing is an unfair expectation. Coffe breaks, lunch hours and difficulty maintaining the above mentioned 19-member teams during the increased vacation time will force the deliveries to be spread out over 3 and 1/2 months.

-Christmas will now be celebrated once every 3 years. See above. Plans to subcontract some of the toymaking to factories in China had to be scrubbed for fears of lead paint.

-Gift requests to Santa, whether in writing or at the local mall, can not be granted. Instead, children will be provided with a list of toy options. This simplified appraoch will benefit both children and toy makers. It is unfair to ask for complicated or labor-intensive toys. The old cup 'n ball was good enough for great-grandpa and it'll be good enough for you.

Any questions will have to be addressed later as the union heads are already dutifuly discussing their members needs for the next contract. They are doing so at a members' fee-funded junket in Miami Beach.

[ScottA]

I saw it last night too. What always bugged me was there were only 7 reindeer pulling the sleigh at the end after Rudolph joined. Where were the other 2 and who was kicked off the team? They are listed in the song so they know they were needed.

The actual figures of Santa and Rudolph were on display at FX last year. It was really cool to see them in person and I was kinda surprised at how small they actually were.

[batmanmc]

I Watched It And Didnt Notice These Things. I Guess Im Just Enjoying The Show. Mike

[theantiquetiger]

While we are on the subject of children's Christmas icons...

Shouldn't Frosty be in jail and register with the authorities for child abduction and endangerment? I know Karen went with Frosty into the woods willfully on her own, but she is not old enough to make this decision. He nearly kills her with hyperthermia and frost bite.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Santa is a mean miser in the Rudolph special. I came to this conclusion at about age 10 or so. I still watch it, but Santa is one grumpy SOB in that one. The other reindeers are cruel and sadistic. Two of our favorite holiday specials (Rudolph and Charlie Brown/Peanuts) are full of mean, spiteful characters. Merry Christmas!

Last year a thread was started about Rudolph, and I think it was Brian who said the voices of the Hermie and the lead foreman elf were also the voices of Spider-Man/Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson in the classic 60s Spidey toon. Ever since that, I get a kick out of listening to their voices to reaffirm that fact.

Chris

[HardyGirl]

One thing I've noticed that in recent years, they've replaced Hermie & Rudolph's song "Independence" w/ "We're A Couple Of Misfits". I wish they hadn't done that, I liked it better the other way.

I'm glad Rudolph is still on CBS, (since the Peanuts are now on ABC), but nothing beats that CBS Special Bumper and Dolly Madison and Kenner Toys ads. (Oh yeah, we covered that during Halloween, didn't we?)

Speaking of commercials, have you noticed that there are almost all adult ads during this children's specials? Waazup w/ that?

[Adam West]

One thing I've noticed that in recent years, they've replaced Hermie & Rudolph's song "Independence" w/ "We're A Couple Of Misfits". I wish they hadn't done that, I liked it better the other way.

I'm glad Rudolph is still on CBS, (since the Peanuts are now on ABC), but nothing beats that CBS Special Bumper and Dolly Madison and Kenner Toys ads. (Oh yeah, we covered that during Halloween, didn't we?)

Speaking of commercials, have you noticed that there are almost all adult ads during this children's specials? Waazup w/ that?

Because we adults are the ones watching the shows as evidenced by this thread

[ScottA]

I found these interesting:

Things you may not have known about the Rankin/Bass TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which first aired in 1964:

_"Rudolph" was worked on simultaneously in New York, Japan, Britain and Canada. The concept for the show was developed in New York, the animation was done in Japan, the music was recorded in England and the voice actors were in Canada.

_Rudolph's voice was provided by a woman, Billie Mae Richards.

_Each Rankin/Bass "animagic" figure cost $5,000 to make in 1964. The production took 18 months to complete.

_The song "We're a Couple of Misfits" was replaced by "Fame and Fortune" when the special reaired in 1965. An executive with original sponsor General Electric Co. made the decision, though his reasons have never been clear. The change remained in place until 1998, when "Misfits" was put back in.

_Many fans ask, "What makes the girl doll that cries on the Island of Misfit Toys a misfit?" Nothing in the script by Romeo Muller gives any indication, but co-producer Arthur Rankin Jr. recently offered this explanation: "She was cast off by her mistress and clinically depressed, and they didn't have Prozac back then."

_The 1964 edition of the special did not show Santa going back to the Island of Misfit toys to pick up the toys. Viewers wanted to see that and wrote letters, according to Rankin's producing partner Jules Bass, so the ending we see now with the toys being dropped off Santa's sleigh with little umbrellas was animated and added in 1965.

_Johnny Marks, who wrote the original song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," was Arthur Rankin Jr.'s neighbor in New York.
___
Source: Rick Goldschmidt, author of "The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.'"