Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. (later known as Rankin/Bass Productions) and currently distributed by Universal Television. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS; the network unveiled 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 continuously running Christmas TV special. The 50th anniversary of the television special was marked in 2014 and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph were issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014.

Plot
Sam the Snowman narrates the story, which takes place in Christmas town at the North Pole, four years before the big snowstorm which almost cancelled Christmas. Donner, Santa's lead reindeer, and his wife have given birth to a new fawn named Rudolph. They are surprised to see that he has been born with a glowing red nose. When Santa arrives, he warns Donner that Rudolph will not make the sleigh team because of his nose. So, Donner decides to hide it by covering it with mud so Rudolph will fit in with the other reindeer.

Next year, Rudolph goes out for the reindeer games, where the new fawns learn to fly and are scouted by Santa for future sleigh duty. Rudolph meets a doe named Clarice, who tells him he is cute, making Rudolph fly. While he celebrates with the other bucks, Rudolph's fake nose pops off, causing the other reindeer to mock him and Coach Comet to expel him. Rudolph meets and joins Hermey, a misfit elf running away from Santa's workshop because he wants to be a dentist instead of making toys. They meet Yukon Cornelius, a prospector who has spent his life searching for silver and gold. After escaping the Abominable Snow Monster, they land on the Island of Misfit Toys where unloved or unwanted toys live with their ruler, a winged lion named King Moonracer who brings the toys to the island until he can find homes and children who will love them. The king allows them to stay one night on the island, and asks them to ask Santa to find homes for them. Rudolph leaves on his own, worried that his nose will endanger his friends.

Three years pass and Rudolph is now a young stag. He returns home to find that his parents and Clarice have gone looking for him. He sets out to locate them and finds them cornered in a cave by the Abominable. Rudolph tries to save Clarice, but the monster hits him in the head with a stalactite. Hermey and Yukon show up; Hermey lures the monster out of the cave by imitating the sound of a pig, and pulls out all his teeth after Yukon knocks him out. Yukon then drives the toothless monster back over a cliff, and falls with it.

Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice, and the Donners return home where everyone apologizes to them. Santa promises Rudolph that he will find homes for the Misfit Toys; the Head Elf tells Hermey that he can open his own dentist's office a week after Christmas; and Donner apologizes for being hard on Rudolph. Yukon returns with a tamed Abominable, now trained to trim a Christmas tree, explaining that the monster's bouncing ability saved their lives. Christmas Eve comes and while everybody is celebrating, Santa announces that a big snowstorm is approaching, forcing him to cancel Christmas. Blinded by Rudolph's bright nose, he changes his mind and asks Rudolph to lead the sleigh. Rudolph accepts, and theit first stop is the Island of Misfit Toys, which they deliver by parachute. Santa wishes everyone a merry Christmas as Rudolph and his team fly into the night.

Cast

 * Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman
 * Larry Mann as Yukon Cornelius
 * Billie Richards as Rudolph
 * Paul Soles as Hermey
 * Stan Francis as Santa Claus and King Moonracer
 * Alfie Scopp as Fireball, various male elves and Charlie-in-the-Box
 * Janis Orenstein as Clarice
 * Paul Kligman as Donner and Coach Comet
 * Carl Banas as the Head Elf and various Misfit Toys
 * Corinne Conley as Dolly/Mrs. Donner
 * Peg Dixon as Mrs. Claus

Other Languages

 * Ռուդոլֆ եղնիկի արկածները (Armenian) (voice-over)
 * Rudolph mit der roten Nase (German)
 * Rudolf, a rénszarvas (Hungarian)
 * Reinsdyret Rudolf (Norwegian)
 * Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Polish)
 * Приключения оленёнка Рудольфа (Russian) (voice-over) (?)
 * El Reno de La Nariz Roja (Spanish) (1964) (Latin America)
 * El Reno de La Nariz Roja (Spanish) (19??) (Latin America)