Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) |
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a character created in a story and song by the same name. The story was created by Robert L. May in 1939 as part of his employment with Montgomery Ward.
The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been sold in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special (done in stop motion animation), and a feature film. Character Arts, LLC [1] manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P.
The song (first recorded in 1949 by Gene Autry) tells the tale of Santa Claus's ninth and lead reindeer who possesses an unusually red-colored nose that gives off its own light, powerful enough to illuminate the team's path through inclement weather.
Although the story and song are not public domain, Rudolph has become a Christmas folklore figure (as evidenced by the development of local variations and parodies such as "Deadeye the Lonesome Cowboy," collected in the field by Simon J. Bronner and included in American Children's Folklore).
Contents |
[edit] The song
Johnny Marks decided to adapt May's story into a song, which through the years has been recorded by many artists. It was first sung commercially by crooner Harry Brannon on New York City radio in the latter part of 1948 before Gene Autry recorded it formally in 1949, and has since filtered into the popular consciousness.
The lyric "All of the other reindeer" can be misheard as the mondegreen "Olive, the other reindeer", and has given rise to another fictional character, Olive. The lyric "Then how the reindeer loved him..." can also be misheard as the naming of another reindeer, Howe.
The song 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, in Finland, Santa's reindeer do not fly. Mike Eheman made the newest version of the song with the actual flying reindeer so Santa can land on roof tops.
| Preceded by "Mule Train" by Frankie Laine |
U.S. Billboard Best Sellers in Stores number-one single January 7, 1950 |
Succeeded by "I Can Dream, Can't I?" by The Andrews Sisters |
[edit] Rudolph in the media
[edit] Theatrical cartoon short
Rudolph's first screen appearance came in 1944, in the form of a cartoon short produced by Max Fleischer for the Jam Handy Corporation, that was more faithful to May's original story than Marks's song (which had not yet been written).[1]
[edit] Children's book
In 1958, Golden Books published an illustrated storybook, adapted by Barbara Shook Hazen and illustrated by Richard Scarry. The book is similar in story to the Max Fleischer cartoon short. Although it is one of the more memorable versions of the story in book form, it is apparently no longer in print. However, a revised Golden Books version of the storybook has since been issued.
[edit] Animated TV special
The reindeer made his television debut 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 annually many times over the years, even after it was finally released on video and then DVD. It now airs several times during the Christmas season (on CBS rather than NBC), making it the longest-running TV special in terms of consecutive years. A small bit of trivia regarding the 1964 production, the Roman Numeral Date given at the beginning of the show is in error, missing the second "M", (MCLXIV) which equates to the year 1164. It should have read MCMLXIV to be correct.
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 fourth in the series was released titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys.
[edit] Animated feature-length film
An animated feature film remake of the story was produced in 1998, entitled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. It received only a limited theatrical release before debuting on home video. Despite this it has garnered a base of dedicated fans as well as criticisms of many of the songs. Its inclusion of a villain character, Stormella, and a love interest, Zoey, for Rudolph as well as a small sidekick, Slyly, and a strong protector character are very derivative of the Rankin-Bass adaptation of the story as opposed to the original tale and song. The movie amplifies the early back-story of Rudolph's harassment by his schoolmates (primarily an older fawn named Arrow) during his formative years.
[edit] Comic books
National Periodical Publications, also known as DC Comics, published a series of 13 Annuals titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1950 to 1962. In 1972, DC published a 14th edition in an extra-large format. Subsequently, they published six more in that format: Limited Collectors' Edition C-24, C-33, C-42, C-50 and All-New Collectors' Edition C-53, C-60. Additionally, one digest format edition was published as The Best of DC #4 (Mar/Apr 1980).
[edit] Relatives
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.)
Rudolph is also given a brother, Rusty Reindeer, in the 2006 American special Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen. Unlike with Robbie, Rudolph's name is mentioned freely in the film.
Michael Fry and T. Lewis have recently 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 has a red nose just like Rudolph's, but his is good for defrosting Santa's sleigh and warming up toast ("and WAFFLES!!", adds Hammy). He appeared before R.J., Verne, and Hammy, enviously complaining about his brother's publicity and his anonymity.
Rudolph has a cousin, Leroy, in Joe Diffie's 1995 song Leroy the Redneck Reindeer.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Licensor for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Official CBS website for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1948)
