Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Voices of: Burl Ives, Larry D. Mann, Billie Mae Richards, Paul Soles, Stan Francis, Alfie Scopp
Directed by: Larry Roemer
Rating: TV-G
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
1964

Times Seen:
Tim: 5

Summary: A misfit reindeer looks for acceptance and gets caught up in a dangerous adventure.

Review:

Tim: It's funny, I've always thought of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a short film, but doing some research, it looks like 40+ minutes in generally regarded as a feature film (although this isn't universally accepted). It was a bit surprising for me to realize this 47-minute movie would actually be a feature film. It causes me to think a little differently about it. On the one hand, this is an absolutely classic animated children's film. I recall watching this movie nearly every year of my childhood. I watched it recently, maybe a few decades after I last saw it, and I was stunned by how much of it I remembered. That's the kind of movie it is- for many people my age, it's the nostalgia and the feeling of childhood watching it. I don't rate short films, so when I watched this, I wasn't quite thinking about it in the right mindset. Now, I have to look at it through a different lens.

As mentioned, there's no doubt this is a classic Christmas movie, an influential film that's been seen by millions of people. It was fun to watch this movie that I remember from my childhood with my four year-old son. It was fascinating to see the movie through his eyes, experienced for the first time. That was so intriguing because I felt like his response was similar to mine in childhood.

There's a lot to like about this movie. The stop motion animation is beautiful and it gives the film this quality of feeling surreal while also feeling more realistic than your average animated movie. I can close my eyes and visually see Rudolph, the Abominable Snow Monster, Hermey, and all the rest. I can see Rudolph's nose lighting up. The visuals in this film are quite impressive. The story is good, too. It's adapted from the song and tells a worthwhile story about finding acceptance for who you are, being comfortable with being a "misfit", and caring about people for what's below the surface. These are all good lessons for children to see. The movie is entertaining, exciting, (occasionally frightening), and ultimately rewarding. There's no doubt this movie holds your attention. It's a classic for a reason.

And yet, as I reflected on this film, I noticed something interesting. I didn't feel a lot of joy watching this film. Seeing it through my son's eyes, it felt like he was the same. The snow monster was pretty scary. The people were unnecessarily mean to Rudolph and Hermey. There was just something about the story and the way that it was depicted that didn't feel good. As I thought about this, I realized I felt like that throughout my childhood. I'd always watch this film because it was Christmas, it was exciting, and I liked Rudolph. I don't remember ever truly loving it, though. I was entertained, but there was always something uncomfortable about how the story was presented. It's a little scattered. You learn about Rudolph, the elf who wants to be a dentist, then there's a snow monster, a random prospector, then the island of misfit toys (which is a bizarre place). It's just a bunch of random things strung together in a story. I don't think it was wonderfully plotted and this creates some of the dissonance in watching the film.

I don't want you to think I'm taking anything away from this classic, iconic Christmas movie. It's enduring for 60+ years for a reason. I thoroughly enjoy it and it's a big part of my childhood. However, when I look through the lens of "is this a GREAT movie?" I think it falls just short. The story needed to be more focused. The whole presentation needed to feel a little more fun, a little more easily accessible. It's a really good movie, a movie I'd watch repeatedly, but it's not quite a movie I could claim to love.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Frosty the Snowman