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"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a popular Christmas story owned by St. Nicholas Music Inc. that has been sold in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special, and a feature film.

Rudolph's origins

Rudolph came to life in 1939 when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company (operators of a chain of department stores) asked one of their copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to come up with a Christmas story they could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick. (The Montgomery Ward stores had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year, and May's department head saw creating a giveaway booklet of their own as a way to save money.) May, who had a penchant for writing children's stories and limericks, was tapped to create the booklet.

May, drawing in part on the tale of The Ugly Duckling and his own background (he was a often taunted as a child for being shy, small, and slight), settled on the idea of an underdog ostracized by the reindeer community because of his physical abnormality: a glowing red nose. Looking for an alliterative name, May considered and rejected Rollo (too cheerful and carefree a name for the story of a misfit) and Reginald (too British) before deciding on Rudolph. He then proceeded to write Rudolph's story in verse, as a series of rhyming couplets, testing it out on his 4-year-old daughter Barbara as he went along. Although Barbara was thrilled with Rudolph's story, May's boss was worried that a story featuring a red nose — an image associated with drinking and drunkards — was unsuitable for a Christmas tale. May responded by taking Denver Gillen, a friend from Montgomery Ward's art department, to the Lincoln Park Zoo to sketch some deer. Gillen's illustrations of a red-nosed reindeer overcame the hesitancy of May's bosses, and the Rudolph story was approved. Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph booket in 1939, and although wartime paper shortages curtailed printing for the next several years, a total of 6 million copies had been given by the end of 1946.

The post-war demand for licensing the Rudolph character was tremendous, but since May had created the story as an employee of Montgomery Ward, they held the copyright and he received no royalties. Deeply in debt from the medical bills resulting from his wife's terminal illness (she died about the time May created Rudolph), May persuaded Montgomery Ward's corporate president, Sewell Avery, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947. With the rights to his creation in hand, May's financial security was assured. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was printed commercially in 1947 and shown in theaters as a nine-minute cartoon the following year. The Rudolph phenomenon really took off, however, when May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, developed the lyrics and melody for a Rudolph song. Marks' musical version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (turned down by many who didn't want to meddle with the established Santa legend) was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949, sold two million copies that year, and went on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time (second only to "White Christmas"). A TV special about Rudolph narrated by Burl Ives was produced in 1964 and remains a popular perennial holiday favorite in the USA.

May quit his copywriting job in 1951 and spent seven years managing his creation before returning to Montgomery Ward, where he worked until his retirement in 1971. May died in 1976, comfortable in the life his reindeer creation had provided for him.

Although the story of Rudolph is primarily known to us through the lyrics of Johnny Marks' song, the story May wrote is substantially different in a number of ways. Rudolph was not one of Santa's reindeer (or the offspring of one of Santa's reindeer), and he did not live at the North Pole. Rudolph dwelled in an "ordinary" reindeer village elsewhere, and although he was taunted and laughed at for having a shiny red nose, he was not regarded by his parents as a shameful embarrassment. Rudolph was brought up in a loving household and was a responsible reindeer with a good self-image and sense of worth. Moreover, Rudolph did not rise to fame when Santa picked him out from the reindeer herd because of his shiny nose. Santa discovered the red-nosed reindeer quite by accident, when he noticed the glow emanating from Rudolph's room while delivering presents to Rudolph's house. Worried that the thickening fog — already the cause of several accidents and delays — would keep him from completing his Christmas Eve rounds, Santa tapped Rudolph to lead his team, observing upon their return: "By YOU last night's journey was actually bossed. Without you, I'm certain we'd all have been lost!"

The song

Johnny Marks, May's brother-in-law, decided to adapt May's story into a song, which through the years has been recorded by many artists (most notably by Gene Autry in 1949), and has since filtered into the popular consciousness.

The song contains these lyrics:

You know Dasher and Dancer

And Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid

And Donner and Blitzen,

But do you recall

The most famous reindeer of all?

 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows

 

All of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games

 

Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,

Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

 

Then all the reindeer loved him

As they shouted out with glee:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,

You'll go down in history!

In the U.S. and Canada, the song is sometimes performed (usually by children) in a humorous manner with additional lyrics. These lyrics are to be recited as a sort of response at the end of most of the lines in the song. Sample lyrics follow (responses in bold):

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (reindeer)

Had a very shiny nose (like a lightbulb)

And if you ever saw him (saw him)

You would even say it glows (like a lightbulb/flashlight)

 

All of the other reindeer (reindeer)

Used to laugh and call him names (like Pinocchio/fudgeface)

They never let poor Rudolph (Rudolph)

Join in any reindeer games (like Monopoly) or (like football)

 

Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say (Happy Birthday!), or (Ho-ho-ho!), or (in his underwear!), or (G'day!) - Australian version

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,

Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" (all right!) or (no!)

 

Then all the reindeer loved him (loved him)

As they shouted out with glee: (Yippee!) or (Hooray!)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, (reindeer)

You'll go down in history! '(like George Washington /Columbus /Lincoln /Mickey Mouse / / The Yellow Pages / Shakespeare/ Sir John A. Mcdonald/The Flintstones)

Or, as it was sung on The Simpsons:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows (like a lightbulb)

 

All of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names (like shnozzola!)

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games (like Strip Poker)

 

Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say:

"Rudolph, get your nose over here,

Won't you guide my sleigh... today." - Homer couldn't remember the lyrics correctly and made up the rest.

 

Then all the reindeer loved him

As they shouted out with glee:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

You'll go down in history! - Bart then ends the song with: like Attila the Hun before Homer cuts off Bart's singing by choking him.

The 1960 version produced by Alvin and the Chipmunks is done in a straightforward way, except that Rudolph joins the boys, and it is clear from his voice that he is "stuffed up" with a head cold, as he is unable to say certain words correctly, and this is presumed to be the explanation for his nose being red:

Rudolph with your dose so bright

Won't you guide my sleigh todight?

In 1959, when the Ray Conniff Singers recorded the song in their album Christmas with Conniff, they added additional lyrics:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Golly, what a funny sight!

He had a red schnozolla;

It was like a traffic light!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Didn't seem to mind at all.

Matter of fact, old Rudolph,

He was having quite a ball!

The popular song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in its Finnish translation, Petteri Punakuono, has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in the mythology as Joulupukki's, the Finnish Santa's, lead reindeer. However, Santa's reindeer in the Finnish version do not fly.

Rudolph in the media

Theatrical cartoon short

Rudolph's first screen appearance came in 1944, in the form of a theatrical cartoon short, produced by Max Fleischer for the Jam Handy Corporation, that was more faithful to May's original story than Marks's eventual song.

Animated TV special

Main article: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (television special)

Template:Spoiler

The reindeer debuted on NBC in 1964, when Rankin/Bass produced a stop motion animated TV special of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that became a popular hit in itself. This version was re-broadcast many times over the years, even after it was finally released on video. CBS now airs it each year, making it the longest running TV special. The TV special, though based on May's story and Mark's song, contains many additions and alterations to the original story.

It is narrated by Sam the Snowman (Burl Ives), who tells that when Rudolph was first born, he had a red light-up nose. Donner, Rudolph's father, wants to hide it, and does so by covering it with mud so that it's black like any other reindeer's nose. While playing reindeer games with other young reindeer, he befriends a young doe named Clarice. He seems rather popular amongst the other reindeer, until his nose's disguise falls clean off, revealing his red glow. All of the other reindeer - aside from Clarice - ridicule and shun Rudolph. Clarice tries to comfort him, but to no avail. Luckily, Rudolph's not the only one who's different. One elf, Hermey, wants to be a dentist instead of a toy-making elf, and is similarly unaccepted by his peers. Hermey and Rudolph take off together to find where they belong, and meet Yukon Cornelius, an unsuccessful prospector who is seeking silver and gold. They have to beware of the Abominable Snow-monster (whom Yukon refers to as the Bumble), and stumble upon the Island of Misfit Toys, populated with toys such as a "Charlie-in-the-box", a train with square wheels, and a cowboy who rides an ostrich. They want to stay on the island, but King Moon Racer, ruler of the island, says it is for toys only. Hermey and Yukon say the three of them will leave the island in the morning, but Rudolph, figuring his nose will get them in trouble by attracting the snow-monster, decides to set out alone. He arrives at home, but Rudolph's family and Clarice are gone, looking for him. He discovers that they are being held captive by the Bumble, and rejoins his friends to help defeat the frosty fiend. Hermey, with his dentistry skills, helps Rudolph rescue the others by pulling out all the Bumble's teeth. The Bumble still tries to attack - toothless or not - and Yukon tackles the beast...right over the edge of a cliff. When they get back to the North Pole, Rudolph and Hermey are hailed as heroes and apologized to. However, Yukon is sorely missed. That is, until he shows up at Santa's doorstep with the Bumble in tow! Rudolph asks how the two of them survived the fall, and Yukon simply repies, "Didn't I ever tell you about Bumbles? Bumbles bounce!" The toothless Bumble, now reformed puts the star on top of the tree at the Christmas Eve party, in which Rudolph and friends are very welcome. When there is a strong fog, Santa relies on Rudolph as a beacon, and Rudolph gets them to the Island of Misfit Toys and at the end, the toys are given homes (they are dropped out of the sleigh behind the credits via umbrellas).

In 1976, a sequel to the Rankin-Bass original special was produced, entitled Rudolph's Shiny New Year and then a third in 1979 entitled Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. Then in 2001, a a fourth in the series was released titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys, produced entirely with computer animation, as opposed to traditional stop-motion animation; however, care was taken to make the computer-generated characters resemble their stop-motion counterparts from the original special as much as possible.

Animated feature-length film

An animated feature film remake of the story of the legendary Rudolph was produced in 1998, entitled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, but many believe this version of the story paled in comparison with the Rankin-Bass classic, both in terms of quality and box-office revenue. It only saw a limited theatrical release before quickly being sent to home video.

References

Two BBC animations carry on the legend by introducing Rudolph's son, Robbie the Reindeer. However, Rudolph is never directly mentioned by name (references are replaced by a character interrupting with the phrase "Don't say that name!" or something similar, presumably for copyright reasons).

Satirical references

Mad TV also produced a twisted version of the 1964 classic by incorporating the story into a Martin Scorsese remake reminiscent of The Godfather where the other reindeer were Santa's hitmen and Santa was the ringleader of a snow-based crime syndicate. They entitled it Raging Rudolph.

The Reindeer Monologues are a satirical play in which each of the eight original Reindeer from The Night Before Christmas each perform a monologue. Rudolph does not have a monolouge, due to the fact that he has been molested by Santa. This causes him to have a nervous breakdown.

In the Family Guy episode And the Wiener Is..., Rudolph is told the reason his nose is red is due to a malignant tumour, and not "pixie dust or leprechaun tails" as Rudolph initially hoped for.

In his song Gary, rapper MC Lars created the tale of Rudolph's half-brother Gary the Green-Nosed Reindeer. The song was released on a compilation called A Winter's Night, by Nettwerk Records in 2005.

In one episode of stripes from Bill Amend's comic strip FoxTrot, the Fox family's teenage daughter, Paige, gets a giant red pimple on her nose just before Christmas and is afraid to go to school for fear that her peers will call her "Rudolph." In another series of strips, Paige falls asleep while writing a paper for school and dreams of being transported to the "Land of Animated Christmas Television Specials," where she meets Rudolph and Herbie the elf (along with Frosty the Snowman, Peanuts' Snoopy, and various other characters from animated holiday specials). She is also rebuked for forsaking the Christmas animated specials she used to love in order to watch prime-time sitcoms and dramas like Friends and Sliders (or, as Frosty refers to them, "The Dark Forces").

In a Christmas episode of the cartoon Robot Chicken, Rudolph was seen alongside characters from Dragonball Z fighting an evil half Frosty the Snowman-half Santa Claus. A laser shoots from Rudolph's nose and Rudolph says "Why the hell do you think it glowed red??"

There is a parody called "Dead Eye the Lonesome Cowboy" with the verses-

Dead Eye the Lonesome Cowboy, Had a very Shiney Gun, And if you ever saw it, You would turn around and run.

All of the other cowboys, Use to laugh and call him names, They never let poor Dead Eye, Play in any poker games.

Then one foggy Saturday night, The Sheriff came to say, Dead Eye with your gun so bright, Won't you shoot my wife tonight.

Then all the other cowboys, Gathered round and shouted with glee, Dead Eye the Lonesome Cowboy, Won't you do the same for me.

See also

• Olive, the Other Reindeer
• Christmas reindeer

External links

• Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
• History of Rudolph at Urban Legends Reference Pages
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Radio
• The Legendary Role of Reindeer in Christmas
• DollyforSue.com Why is the Doll a Misfit on the Island of Misfit Toys?
• MisfitToys.net Classic Rudolph Christmas Songs, Trivia, Cast

• Fictional deer and moose
• Christmas songs
• Christmas fiction
• Fictional Christmas characters
• Gene Autry songs