Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerAirs on NBC Tonight; Why the Claymation Special Is Still So Beloved Today

Mar. 15, 2025

Hermey and Rudolph in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ in 1964.Photo:CBS

CBS

“But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?”

The movie’s plot centers on Rudolph (Billie Mae Richards) and Hermy (Paul Soles), an elf who wants to be a dentist, feeling like “misfits.” When they run away from the North Pole, they meet characters like the prospector Yukon Cornelius (Larry Mann),Bumble the Abominable snowman(Bernard Cowan) and the misfit toys. Burl Ives voices the narrator, Sam the Snowman. The movie is based on the song, which itself was adapted from a 1930s-era poem.

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Santa, Rudolph and Rudolph’s mom in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ in 1964.CBS

The special was Rankin and Bass’s first stop-motion film, though they called the animation process “Animagic.” But it was not their last, and other beloved Christmas specials followed, including 1968’sThe Little Drummer Boy, 1970’sSanta Claus Is Comin' to Town, 1974’sThe Year Without a Santa Claus, 1976’sRudolph’s Shiny New Yearand 1979’sJack Frost. The movies were highly influential for directors like Tim Burton and Wes Anderson, who would also create stop-motion films.

“Kids love to see someone of their own stripe, their own age or their own inferiority, achieve things. It makes them feel good,” he continued. “I think that’s probably the reason these films last so long, because in all our films that happens. The bad guy becomes a good guy, he’s reformed, and the underdog fulfills his quest.” He said the reward of any creative effort was “longevity,” and he was glad that so many of his specials found it.

Santa Claus in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ in 1964.CBS

The island of misfit toys was, however, the cause of some controversy when the special aired. In the original version of the story, when Rudolph and his friends leave the toys, he promises to have Santa Claus bring the toys to kids this Christmas, but viewers don’t actually see it happen. Rick Goldschmidt, a Rankin/Bass historian, toldPatchin 2015 that children were so upset that their parents wrote into NBC to have them change it and show that the toys got a happy ending, too. The producers ultimately made a new credits sequence that showed the misfits finding new homes on Christmas.

Goldschmidt also told the outlet that other changes had been made to the special over the years.Rudolphhas a long-running joke that Yukon Cornelius licks his pick axe, but over time, a scene where you learn he’s looking for a peppermint mine was cut. Beginning in 1965, Rudolph and Hermey’s song “We’re a Couple of Misfits” was replaced with “Fame and Fortune.” Though the original song was restored, Goldschmidt said that CBS — who took over airing the special in 1972 — for a time put the song “We’re a Couple of Misfits” over the animation for “Fame and Fortune.”

Rudolph in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ in 1964.CBS

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerhas also been the subject of some controversy since not only the other young reindeer but also Rudolph’s father Donner and Santa can be downright cruel to Rudolph.Actress Corrine Conley, who voices characters in the movie including the Dolly for Sue, respondedto those accusations in 2018, saying, “I would say [the movie] is more relevant now than ever because there is so much bullying going on. But, I mean, it’s all reconciled in Rudolph, and surely people wouldn’t love it so much — if it left a resonance of bullying, it wouldn’t be so indelible on people’s hearts.”

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerairs Dec. 6 and Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com