Made famous by Rudolph , Rankin/Bass went on to shape pop culture in other ways—sometimes unexpectedly. Along with increasingly zany holiday specials like Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey and The Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold , Rankin/Bass produced classics like 1970’s Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town . In 1977, Rankin/Bass produced an animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit and The Return of the King , now considered “ not unwatchable ,” if “bland.” More successful was the 1982 adaptation of The Last Unicorn , which remains a cult classic . Over the years, Rudolph even got two sequels , pegged to New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. When Rudolph questions why he would want to steal toys, Mr. Cuddles corrects him that he only wanted to save them from being forgotten by their owners. He tells them the story of how his owner forgot him, but Santa assures that Steven still remembers him. Mr. Cuddles apologizes for his actions, and returned all of the toys he had stolen, redeeming himself. He is repaired by Queen Camilla, and is delivered to Steven's daughter by Santa. She wakes to see him and hugs Mr. Cuddles when Steven, now a fully grown adult, looks down to see him. Irvine, Alex (2010). "1950s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p.65. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. DC began an annual tradition of producing a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special. Following the success of the famous song (released in 1949), DC licensed the character and put Rudolph at the center of a series of lighthearted adventures...The Christmas Special would continue until 1962, and then return from 1972–1977. This article may contain irrelevant references to popular culture. Please remove the content or add citations to reliable and independent sources. ( November 2017) Michael Fry and T. Lewis have given Rudolph another brother in a series of Over the Hedge comic strips: an overweight, emotionally damaged reindeer named Ralph, the Infra-Red nosed Reindeer, who is referred to as Rudolph's older brother. Ralph's red nose is good for defrosting Santa's sleigh and warming up toast and waffles; he enviously complains about his brother Rudolph's publicity and his own anonymity.

Rudolph': The Original Red-Nosed Manuscript". Npr.org. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013 . Retrieved December 13, 2019. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) The next night, after stealing the toys right out of Santa Claus's workshop, Rudolph, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, Bumble, and Clarice set out to find and capture the Toy Taker. The thief is later seen with the captured toys, and tells them why they are there, and tells how kids would outgrow their favorite toys, but dabs the tears off a rag doll and fixing the elephant's nose before leaving. Charlie in the Box refuses to accept him as a friend, thhinking tat the Toy Taker is nothing but a crook, and the toys are just his hostages.

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Voger, Mark (2020). "TV Animation - Special Treatment". Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. p.171. ISBN 978-1605490977. A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", 1823) attributed to Clement Clarke Moore In the Doctor Who promotional mini-webisode " Songtaran Carols" (2012), the Sontaran warrior-nurse-detective Strax stated: "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose. It proved to be a tactical disadvantage, because it enabled me to punch him in the dark." In the TV film Once Upon a Christmas (2000), Rudolph makes an appearance when Kathy Ireland's character, Kristin, goes on a sleigh ride with Rudolph leading it. Kristin's sister, Rudolpha, is also mentioned to be named after Rudolph.

In Guild Wars Nightfall (2006), player characters are accompanied by a reindeer named Rudy whose nose begins to glow red when coming into range of presents that the player is tasked to find in a holiday themed quest. The godawful songs are part of the problem - they seem to happen after every few lines of dialogue all the way through. It makes it impossible to bear - it really is awful stuff. The animation is also pretty bad. That might seem a bit unfair considering it looks OK and is computer animation, but it is the sort of animation you get in cut scenes on average games on your PC. The camera moves very slowly, the characters cannot move very fast and none of them are lip-synched at all!

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As with any cultural phenomenon, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ has spawned an array of keepsakes, collectibles, and merchandise over the years. From Rudolph Ornaments dangling on Christmas trees to plush toys that keep the youngest fans entertained, Rudolph’s likeness can be found in countless forms. Companies have even produced board games and jigsaw puzzles so you can enjoy Rudolph-themed family fun all year round. Kim, Wook (December 17, 2012). "Yule Laugh, Yule Cry: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Beloved Holiday Songs". Time. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. In Ray Stevens' novelty song "Santa Claus Is Watching You" (1962), Rudolph is replaced on Santa's team by "Clyde the Camel", a character from Stevens' earlier hit, " Ahab the Arab". In the original version, aimed at children in a similar fashion to " Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Rudolph was said to be recuperating from an injury sustained during "a twist contest"; a later version, warning a lover away from infidelity because Santa is watching, has Rudolph on a " stakeout at (the lover's) house".

When the special finally aired in 1964, it became such a hit that it has been rebroadcast every year since, making it the longest-running Christmas special in history. Even today, the special still punches above its weight; when Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer aired on CBS in 2016, it beat every show except This Is Us. In 2017, more viewers tuned in to watch Rudolph than A Charlie Brown Christmas, which ran on ABC in the same time slot. Rankin/Bass’ collection of television specials continue to inspire modern filmmakers, including Tim Burton, who frequently uses stop-motion animation. Like Mochinaga, Burton relied on a cast of puppets built with interior joints to create The Nightmare Before Christmas’ characters, who move fluidly through 230 built-to-scale sets. May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, adapted the story of Rudolph into a song. Gene Autry's recording of the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949. Autry's recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s. [20] View-Master reels (1950, 1955) [ edit ] The cultural significance of a red nose has changed since the story's publication. In 1930s popular culture, a bright red nose was closely associated with chronic alcoholism and drunkards, so the story idea was initially rejected. May asked his illustrator friend at Montgomery Ward, Denver Gillen, to draw "cute reindeer", using zoo deer as models. The alert, bouncy character Gillen developed convinced management to support the idea. [16] Still, Marks initially struggled with the task, calling his first attempt “ easily one of the worst songs ever written.” Later revisions proved more successful, and he began shopping the tune around to singers like Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and Perry Como (who would have taken it, had Marks given him permission to alter the lyrics).When Rankin/Bass moved forward with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , Rankin relished the opportunity to work from Tokyo, while Bass remained in New York. The final product required marrying the Japanese animation with voice acting recorded in Canada and music recorded in England. Rudolph is the first of a line of Christmas specials that were produced by Rankin and Bass and written by Romeo Muller. Some of the others are: The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Frosty the Snowman (1969),and Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970) as well as Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) and Puff, The Magic Dragon (1978). It is hard to imagine all these classic specials being the creation of one man. Mr. Muller is Mr. Christmas! Through interviews and research, Goldschmidt has felt the team’s deep respect for Mochinaga. “Even though the animation got more fluid as time went on, and it got more perfected and things looked technically better, they still thought that Rudolph was the best,” Goldschmidt says. Rewatching the special decades later, he remains charmed by the Animagic. “I don't even think of them as puppets,” he says. “I think of them as personalities. And that's what [Rankin/Bass and Mochinaga] brought to the art form.” Arguably one of the most touching moments in the film comes near the end, when the Misfit Toys believe that Santa has forgotten about them. Their collective heartbreak is palpable, captured in the quiet of the snowy island and their downtrodden expressions. Of course, Santa and Rudolph come to save the day and warm their little hearts. Ford, Don (November 19, 2010). " 'Rudolph' remembered". My View. Halton, Ontario: InsideHalton.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012 . Retrieved December 2, 2011.