| Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | |
|---|---|
Cover of one of the books of the Robert L. May story by Maxton Publishers, Inc. |
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| First appearance | 1939 |
| Last appearance | 2001 (films and series) |
| Created by | Robert L. May |
| Information | |
| Species | Reindeer |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | The Red Nosed Reindeer |
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through inclement winter weather.
Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.[1][2]
The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been adapted in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special, and a feature film. Character Arts, LLC manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. Although the story and song are not public domain, Rudolph has become a figure of Christmas folklore.
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Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. May considered naming the reindeer "Rollo" and "Reginald" before deciding upon using the name "Rudolph".[3] In its first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward. The story is written as a poem in the meter of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is loved by millions and still selling copies. Publication and reprint rights for the book "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" are controlled by Pearson Plc.
May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks (1909–1985), decided to adapt the story of Rudolph into a song. The song was sung commercially by crooner Harry Brannon on New York City radio in early November 1949 and Gene Autry's recording of the song hit #1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949. Autry's recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s.[4]
Rudolph's first screen appearance came in 1947, 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' song (which had not then yet been written). It was reissued in 1948 with the song added.
DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications, published a series of 13 annuals titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1950 to 1962.[5][6] Most of the 1950s stories were drawn by Rube Grossman.[7] 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[8] and All-New Collectors' Edition C-53, C-60.[9] Additionally, one digest format edition was published as The Best of DC #4 (March-April 1980).[10] The 1970s Rudolph stories were written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer[11]
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. It is apparently no longer in print. However, a revised Golden Books version of the storybook has since been issued.
In 2003, Penguin Books issued a reprint version of the original "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" with new artwork by Lisa Papp. Penguin also reprinted May's sequels "Rudolph Shines Again" and "Rudolph To The Rescue."
The reindeer made his television debut on NBC in 1964, when Rankin/Bass produced a stop-motion animated TV special. This version of the story adds several new characters, including the prospector Yukon Cornelius, a love interest for Rudolph named Clarice, and a Christmas elf named Hermey. Hermey, like Rudolph, is a misfit: he suffers the disdain of the other elves because he would rather be a dentist than a toymaker. New subplots include Hermey and Rudolph running away to the "Island of Misfit Toys" where defective, anthropomorphic toys are left when they are deemed unfit for a child's care, and the capture of Rudolph's parents and Clarice by the Abominable Snowmonster.
In 1975, a sequel to the Rankin-Bass original special was produced, titled Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and then a third in 1979 titled Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.
An animated feature film of the story was produced in 1998, titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. It received only a limited theatrical release before debuting on home video. 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, Leonard, are very derivative of the Rankin-Bass adaptation of the story as opposed to the original tale and song (the characters of Stormella, Zoey, Arrow, Slyly and Leonard closely parallel the Rankin-Bass characters of The Bumble, Clarice, Fireball, Hermey the Dentist, and Yukon Cornelius respectively). The movie amplifies the early back-story of Rudolph's harassment by his schoolmates (primarily an older fawn named Arrow) during his formative years.
GoodTimes Entertainment, the producers of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, brought back most of the same production team for a CGI animated sequel, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys in 2001. Unlike the previous film, the sequel licensed the original characters from the Rankin-Bass special.
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 in the "Robbie the Reindeer" cartoons, 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. He appeared before R.J., Verne, and Hammy, enviously complaining about his brother's publicity and his own anonymity.
Rudolph has a cousin, Leroy, in Joe Diffie's 1995 song, "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer".
In the animated specials produced by both Rankin-Bass and GoodTimes Entertainment, Rudolph has been given different sets of parents. In Rankin-Bass's holiday special, he is Donner's son and his mother is an unnamed tan doe with long eyelashes who is simply called "Mrs. Donner". In GoodTimes's retelling, Rudolph's father is Blitzen, possibly to avoid plagiarism, and his mother, played by Debbie Reynolds, is named Mitzi.
Robert L. May's original book does not name Rudolph's parents.
| Preceded by "Mule Train" by Frankie Laine |
U.S. Billboard Best Sellers in Stores number-one single January 7, 1950 (Gene Autry) |
Succeeded by "I Can Dream, Can't I" by The Andrews Sisters |
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