"Rudolph" T.V. Special

[Silver_lining]

Was she a red headed step child doll?

[Arizona_Mike]

@Biotop

Why does Santa’s sleigh have bells when the whole mission is designed to quietly visit homes and not wake the children?

Huh.

[Arizona_Mike]

@Biotop

My take:

You can’t argue with kings. Moonracer does not have to be logical, he is automatically right because he is king. That’s how being a king works.

But outside of the IOMT, it is up to the standards of a given community to determine the life value and sentient status of a toy.

××××

Did we ever determine how the elf got on the sleigh with Santa to begin with? It certainly was not there when the sleigh first took off.

Well, the non-Meta reason is that the kids in the audience complained that the misfit toys were left on the island, so on subsequent showings they added new footage of the toys sitting around that pathetic little campfire (which always struck me as one of the saddest scenes in any Christmas special) and being gathered up, then the toys being paradropped during the end credits sequence.

Where did the elf come from? Maybe he’s an automaton that Santa keeps in the bag and is not a real elf but a robotic helper.

[Arizona_Mike]

@Biotop

While many of the misfit toys have physical problems, the only criteria for a toy being on the Island is that “no little boy or girl loves” it. We may want to search for concrete reasons why a particular toy is unloved (square wheels on a train, for example), but the truth is that there is often no good explanation other than the indifferent icy nature of the world. And in the show this snow and ice have spread from North Pole and infected the entire planet. That’s the whole premise. Indeed the Arctic blasting blizzard storm-of-storms landscape in *Rudolph *is symbolic of this cold isolation and general frozen emptiness, the human condition devoid of love. This storm has spread over the planet. Everyone is buried under it. Christmas is cancelled.

Rudolph is the light, the Jesus figure who brings love and acceptance in a time when even Santa himself has forgotten the meaning of Christmas. If you look for a deformity in the doll, you miss the point. The deformity is in those rejecting the doll. The deformity is in us. And a red nose is our salvation.

There’s very little Christian imagery in Rudolph, but the Winged Lion is a traditional symbol of St. Mark the Apostle. But Mark did not include the Nativity narrative in his Gospel, so I don’t know what;s up with that. I still feel strongly that King Moon Racer is not a toy.

[Arizona_Mike]

@Biotop

I think this is more of a one-time worker dissatisfaction. The first elf sings “We work hard all day” and the interrupting elf responds “But our work is play.” This causes the first elf to pelt the second with the doll. Obviously the first elf doesn’t see the all day toil as any kind of “play.”

We give Santa a lot of grief for his attitude in this scene, but the whole performance was error-ridden and alas the clueless head elf wants to blame it on a weak tenor section sans-Hermey instead of realizing the internal division and general sloppiness is more likely a reflection of his poor leadership. Santa sees this and is disgusted, and Mrs. Claus’ feeble attempt to smooth things over does not really lend confidence towards her advisory role.

That leaves two possibilities - one horrible, and one even more horrible.

a) The toys that are brain-damaged due to being used as blunt instruments in elf-fights are tossed out into the snow, to be scooped up by King Moonraker, or

b) The girl-doll is not a toy, but an elf with brain damage who was injured in another drunken elf domestic violence brawl, and who was then told she was a toy and farmed out to the Island of Misfit Toys.

[Biotop]

@Arizona_Mike

That leaves two possibilities - one horrible, and one even more horrible.

a) The toys that are brain-damaged due to being used as blunt instruments in elf-fights are tossed out into the snow, to be scooped up by King Moonraker, or

b) The girl-doll is not a toy, but an elf with brain damage who was injured in another drunken elf domestic violence brawl, and who was then told she was a toy and farmed out to the Island of Misfit Toys.

We are all damaged, thus the need for Rudolph. Thus the need for Christmas.

[kaylasdad99]

@Arizona_Mike

Well, the non-Meta reason is that the kids in the audience complained that the misfit toys were left on the island, so on subsequent showings they added new footage of the toys sitting around that pathetic little campfire (which always struck me as one of the saddest scenes in any Christmas special) and being gathered up, then the toys being paradropped during the end credits sequence.

That was a pretty pathetic-looking campfire. Has anybody; mentioned where they got the wood for it?
*
Rocking chair that spins in circles, we hardly knew ye.*

[Irishman]

@Biotop

The only human characters other than Yukon and possibly Ms Claus that we see are two Eskimos. They are shown living in a cramped igloo that is more of a turtle shell than a home. When the big storm hits, the poor Eskimos have their crude shelter blown away and they are tossed pell-mell into the elements. When this happens we see that they had owned nothing inside their home at all. It was but a place to huddle and try to survive. Once can sadly imagine their fate after this weather tragedy: hypothermia and a slow death.

How do we know that igloo is their house? Maybe they are out camping, and using a traditional Eskimo camping structure, an igloo. That would also explain the small size and the lack of material goods inside.

@Urbanredneck

I never understood how there could be this giant Abomnible snowmen living right next to a “modern” castle.

Why do you think Santa needs a castle? To keep from getting raided by less generous landowners in the north, who would work the elves even harder, like at ice farming or digging in peppermint mines? Who would use the flying reindeer to perform aerial raids on foreign countries? Use the magic of overnight global travel and house entry for nefarious purposes instead of leaving toys for tots?

Also the scene where Rudolph is learning to fight off predators - what predators? Are there wolves or bears up there also?

Why not? There is an abominable snowman.

Finally it was funny how Sam the Snowman made a cameo appearance in “Elf”.

A lot of “Elf” was drawn from this show.

@Biotop

Why does Santa’s sleigh have bells when the whole mission is designed to quietly visit homes and not wake the children?

@davidm

Same as with any other sleigh. To warn oncoming traffic.

It’s a safety regulation, but since Santa is magic, he can have bells and still be silent.

@wonky

Why does Moonracer say Rudolph and Hermey can’t stay on the island because they aren’t toys. Is a cowboy a toy? An ostrich? Is the bird who can’t fly actually a toy bird who can’t fly?

A toy cowboy on a toy ostrich, yes, and a toy bird that cannot fly. It’s clear the bird is a toy - it looks plastic, not feathery.

@Biotop

Did we ever determine how the elf got on the sleigh with Santa to begin with? It certainly was not there when the sleigh first took off.

Stuffed in a bag. Hey, he’s an elf, he’ll fit.

@Biotop

Of course, this posits that the toy, dropped from a height above the monsterous storm (someone with meteorological knowledge might be able to give us a better idea how far up that must be) and with only an umbrella for guidance, actually arrives where it is supposed to go.

Wait, Santa can fly around the world in a single night and visit every household and take time to pile presents, fill stockings, and sit for a snack, and yet you doubt his ability to send a present safely down a chimney using an umbrella in a storm?

@edwards_beard

Just in case this is still a question (although it seems most people here are using Hermie) here is an interview with Arthur Rankin Jr verifying the name. The creepy interviewer brings up the Doll’s underwear (or lack of)

And Rankin Bass says “I’ll have to look again.” :eek:

@Ellen_Cherry

My contribution to the main theme of the thread: The Abominable Snowman got smaller when he came inside. He was peering between MOUNTAINS out there in the wild. Now he’s only as big as a normal size Christmas tree (remember, they’re all elves; of course it looks big to them).

You silly. Those were small mountains.

[Arizona_Mike]

Santa probably has a castle to protect himself from Dark Elves, per J.R.R. Tolkien’s book about Father Christmas, which I miss being able to read to my kids nowadays.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Heh. Haven’t seen the show this year, but I could probably recite most of the dialogue by heart.

[Biotop]

Airing this Tuesday.

[Biotop]

There is an interesting contrast between Rudolph’s “Fame and Fortune” (1965) and Elvis Presley’s (1960) song of the same name:

Elvis: Fame and Fortune/ How empty can they be

Rudolph: Fame and Fortune/ We’re off to seek them now

Elvis: Who cares for fame and fortune?/ They’re only passing things

Rudolph: Anyone can have them both, It just takes the right know-how

Elvis: Your kind of love/ is a treasure that I hold/ It’s so much greater/ than silver or gold.

Rudolph: (not the same song, but obviously referential): Silver and Gold/ Everyone wishes for Silver and Gold

Elvis: But to know that you love me/ brings Fame and Fortune my way

Rudolph: We put on our traveling shoes today/ we won’t stop until we find a way

+++++

Elvis Presley was very popular in 1965, and it is unlikely the Rudolph writers, who added that song to the special in 1965, were unaware of the Elvis version. Elvis imagined worldly fame and fortune as meaningless, where as to Rudolph and Hermey they were the life goals to be achieved. To Elvis fame and fortune were subjective, were brought to you, while Rudolph saw the same concepts as objective, something to be obtained. Silver and gold wealth were something to desire for Rudolph. To Elvis, personal desire was the true wealth.

I think the Rudolph response to Elvis Presley is purposely contrasting in that RTRNRD is concerned with universal expansive fame and fortune, while Elvis’ idea was of these things as personal, intimate and intangible.

Elvis was famous at the time, and Rudolph was immediately tagged as the most famous reindeer of all. I think Rudolph and Hermey’s journey transformed their original idea of fame and fortune being achieved from the outside and replaced it with the more internal Elvis concept.

[peedin]

Rudolph is on right now!

[Biotop]

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@Anake

I believe in the cartoon he scraped some mud from the cave ground and put it on Rudolph’s blinking nose. I always thought Donner was a bastard, the way he treated his own son. Plus, Rudolph’s mom (does she have a name?) never backed Rudolph up.

From,

Anake

PS: It’s Hermie.

I don’t think this was ever followed up.

This mudball was certainly a poor and unworkable long-term plan. How was it successful for the whole first year? If I was Donner I think I would have pilfered some of that paint from the elf toy factory and thus the cover-up would not have been so easily blown by simple play at the reindeer games.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Santa takes workplace thievery very seriously. Two words: venison steaks.

@Irishman

Jimmy Fallon’s comment on this movie: It teaches us the important lesson that no matter how disliked and unpopular you are, people will pretend to like you when they need you…

QFT.

[Biotop]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Santa takes workplace thievery very seriously. Two words: venison steaks.
QFT.

I don’t think so. Where do you think Hermey got the pliers he used to remove the Bumble’s teeth? An obvious workplace toycrafting tool, I think.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Disagree. Obviously Elfdentaltoolsbymail.com delivers to the North Pole.

[Biotop]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Disagree. Obviously Elfdentaltoolsbymail.com delivers to the North Pole.

Believe what you will, I suppose. But I think that if Hermey was having dental tools delivered, then the head elf would have known and therefore not acted surprised when Hermey told him he wanted to be a dentist. Hermey’s confession was so stunning because elves are supposed to only make toys, not engage in hobbies requiring postally conveyed contraband.

[Gatopescado]

Sad to see “Banned” names on the Thread of Misfit Posters.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Biotop

Believe what you will, I suppose. But I think that if Hermey was having dental tools delivered, then the head elf would have known and therefore not acted surprised when Hermey told him he wanted to be a dentist. Hermey’s confession was so stunning because elves are supposed to only make toys, not engage in hobbies requiring postally conveyed contraband.

Anybody confident enough to rock Hermey’s big blond 'do is smart enough to sneak in dental tools without the boss seeing.