I just wanted to say that the Abominable Snowman in the old Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer special (the one narrated by Burl Ives) scared the living bejesus out of me when I was a kid. Those giant googly eyes…those jagged teeth. I made my parents turn the TV off and keep it off. For two days. I watched it the other night and it actually still frightens me.
I gotta second this.
The damn thing belonged in a horror movie.
But . . . but . . . Bumbles bounce! Just like Tiggers!
And, come on, doesn’t looking at its teeth make you want to be a dentist? Just a little?
Thirded.
That thing scared the crap out of me. And it is still creepy.
I’ve always wondered, though: after Hermie yanks out the Bumble’s teeth, why doesn’t he just stomp on everyone? Or throw them against the wall? Or squish 'em flat with the palm of his hand? Or crush them with a big rock/stalactite/stalagmite? Pull his teeth and he collapses like a house of cards. What kind of a monster is that?!?
I always thought he was a monster 'cause his teeth hurt, and once Herbie (Hermie? Herbie? the little-blonde-elf-who-didn’t-wanna-make-toys) fixed the teeth, the Bumble returned to his naturally sweet nature, proving once again that, deep down, everyone really has good in their hearts.
OK, what I really thought was that once his teeth stopped hurting, he stopped being such a grump. The rest of it I just made up 'cause it seemed to fit the glurge of it all.
I don’t care if you *can *bounce, falling off that cliff had to have hurt and he didn’t have any injuries! Rudolph and gang stood there after he fell, looked over the edge and they didn’t even see him. He must have fell a good ways for a good long time. But nothing! Not even a scratch! But what a life he has, he gets to stay in the village and all he has to do is put a star up on a tree once a year. Sweet.
And Santa shunning Rudolph when he saw his nose was pretty low. I thought a Santa would be more understanding and open-minded. Celebrate diversity Santa!
Maybe because if he didn’t want to starve to death, he became dependent on the elves to supply him with nice soft tofu?
While we’re on the subject – I noticed when I was watching it this year that, the first time you see the abominable, Rudolph and his dad (or mom) are hiding behind a snowbank as the thing walks by, and all you see is the foot, like it’s about the size of freakin’ Godzilla or something. Then later, in the cave, when his teeth get pulled, he’s only about 12 or 15 feet tall. What th’ ???
Maybe the bumbles are a species and the earlier one was just exceptionally big. Remember “Bumbles bounce” suggesting there’s more than just a single bumble.
He freaked me out, but for some reason, possibly because my parents were laughing at him, after his teeth were gone and he made those toothless lip-smacking sounds, he became a much loved character.
Something about the whole toothless Bumble thing was practically a running joke in my childhood. Dunno why.
These events subsequent to the monster’s initial appearance, while endearing, were irrelevant, because I ran from the room approximately 3 nanoseconds after he appeared on the screen.
I still don’t think I’ve sat through the whole show, and I’m 35 now.
I was also terribly frightened of the Monster when I was a kid! However, as an adult, I am evidently made of much sterner stuff than you fellows, for I am not in the least afraid of him now!
Well, maybe a tiny bit… but not too much… I mean, if I can just concentrate on how he becomes sweet and cuddly by the end of the show, I can make it through the scary parts… okay, I still feel a tinge of terror when I see the dreaded beastie! At least I’m brave enough to admit my fear, that must count for something!
I sure am glad to see that I wasn’t the only kid scared by the Bumble!!! And then there were those flying monkeys in “The Wizard of Oz”, and the chanting soldiers. Brrrr!