Modern-day Critics Express Dismay at ‘Toxic’ 1964 Classic Rudolph Program
There’s an inherent sadness to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the classic children’s Christmas tale.
From the beginning, we see a lovable yet marginalized character trying to make his way in a cruel environment. He’s shunned by his peers because he’s “different” and is left to feel worthless. This is enough to break the coldest of hearts!
But then his odd physical characteristic becomes a universal asset. He saves Christmas and will now be forever cherished.
“Rudolph” expresses ideas to which we can all relate:
I don’t fit in with everyone else. I’m being harassed because I’m different. Why can’t they accept me for who I am?
The story turns for the better when Rudolph recognizes how his peculiarity can provide advantages to others. We admire his determination not to give in to his sense of despair. He becomes the hero, and all is well.
This beloved holiday fable originated 85 years ago from the pen of Robert May, an advertising copywriter for Chicago-based retailer Montgomery Ward. He was asked to write a children’s story that would appeal to shoppers at Christmastime.
The booklet quickly became very popular. Montgomery Ward gave away more than 2 million copies of “Rudolph.”
May obtained the rights to the work in 1947, and it was published that year by Maxton Publishers and marketed nationally. It, too, was a huge success.
Actor and musician Gene Autry recorded a song based on the poem in 1949, which also turned into a major hit. Rudolph had found a place in America’s heart.
In 1964, NBC began broadcasting an animated version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, showing it every year through 1971. Produced by Rankin/Bass, it has remained a staple of people’s holiday television viewing.
CBS picked it up in 1972 and aired it through 2023. It’s the longest-running Christmas television special in U.S. history.
To commemorate the program’s 60th anniversary, NBC regained the rights to broadcast it this year. It will be shown at 8 p.m. (EDT) Friday, Dec. 6, and at 8 p.m. (EDT) Thursday, Dec. 12.
Rudolph long ago entered a Hall of Fame of classic children’s Christmas TV specials. Along with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this quirky, stop-motion production has a solid base of fans.
In recent years, however, the show has come under more sobering scrutiny. Critics point to the excessive abuse heaped upon poor Rudolph by many other characters — including Santa Claus and the young reindeer’s father, Donner.
In 2018, Washington Post arts and entertainment writer Michael Brice-Saddler chronicled some of the modern objections to the program. He wrote that Huffington Post promoted a video on Twitter summarizing what’s wrong with it.
This elicited pushback from some conservatives, who called the criticism another attack in the ongoing War on Christmas. A HuffPost article later said the video post was made in jest, Brice-Saddler wrote in his article.
Chicago-area journalist and blogger Dennis Robaugh posted an article last year on the program. Titled “Happy Memory, Sad Truth: Let’s Revisit The Rudolph Special By Rankin/Bass,” his piece examines: “Why is Christmastown such a toxic place?”
“My favorite Christmas show as a child was the 1964 Rankin/Bass TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I’d sprawl on the living room floor in my jammies and get lost in the now-classic parable in which a plucky, brave Rudolph saves Christmas,” Robaugh wrote. “As an adult, however, my eyes opened to a sad truth about these happy memories: Almost everyone in Christmastown — the reindeer, the elves, even Santa — is a cruel and callous asshat. The original story of Rudolph, written in 1939 as a cheerful children’s poem by Robert May, a Montgomery Ward catalog copywriter in Chicago, drew on memories of his own painful childhood for inspiration. Written as a work assignment, the department store published the poem as a book and gave millions of copies to customers that year. ‘All of the other reindeer/Used to laugh and call him names/They never let poor Rudolph/Join in any reindeer games’ is the pivotal verse in the original poem that lets everyone know our little red-nosed reindeer was a suffering outcast.
“Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass built those four lines into a stop-motion, animated world and stripped away the feel-good mythology of an idyllic North Pole and a kind, benevolent, wise and generous Santa. Instead, Christmastown became a mirror of our society — intolerant, prejudiced, uncaring and unfair. Has it been a spell since you’ve watched the special? Our hearts are warmed in the opening scenes by newborn Rudolph’s innocent, sweet baby talk. Then Santa immediately spurns the newborn Rudolph for his red-nosed disfigurement and shames his dad, Donner.”
I don’t recall watching the program as a child, except perhaps for viewing brief clips. So after hearing about some of the concerns raised over Rudolph in recent years, I viewed the show in its entirety last Christmas.
The Rankin/Bass production embellishes the Rudolph story beyond the original poem’s narrative. It includes the harrowing adventures of non-conformists across the North Pole to find meaning in their lives.
I have to admit that this production goes over the top from time to time. The notion that Santa (of all people!) was among the first to demean our beloved reindeer upon his birth is jolting.
In addition, Santa’s workshop looks like an oppressive labor camp for elves. Hermey, an elf who aspires to be a dentist rather than make toys, is yelled at by his boss.
Rudolph feels the need to escape the harshness of Christmastown and eventually makes his way to the Island of Misfit Toys. The island is overseen by King Moonracer, a lion who circles Earth every night to find toys that have been rejected by children. He keeps these toys on his island until he can find more appropriate homes where they’ll be accepted.
“The one authority figure who isn’t a jerk is King Moonracer, that good-looking lion. Although he speaks smoothly and with conviction, he is — unfortunately — an idiot,” Lori Schafer wrote on her blog in 2018. “Every evening, he circles the entire Earth, collecting toys that no little girl or boy loves and bringing them to his Island of Misfit Toys. Yet practically the first thing he says to Rudolph on meeting him is, ‘When one day you return to Christmastown, would you tell Santa about our misfit toys? I’m sure he could find children who would be happy with them.’ OK, Your Highness, you may seem majestic with your wings and your crown and your cool castle and all, but you need better advisers. You’re telling me that you circle the entire Earth every night seeking abandoned toys, but you never once thought to stop off at the North Pole and talk to Santa yourself? Heck, I mean, it’s not even that far — no farther than one can travel by ice flow, at any rate. The misfits may be all right, but the ruler of the misfits … Well, he obviously isn’t roaring with a full mane.”
These and other critics have a point in how demoralizing this Rudolph story can be. Santa expresses his outrage of Rudolph’s unusual nose. He tells Rudolph’s parents that they should be ashamed of themselves for giving birth to such a dysfunctional reindeer.
Christmastown seems like a dreary place to visit. Hermey is admonished for wanting to follow his own dreams. “Elves make toys!” he is told, reinforcing the idea that elves have but one purpose in life — whether they like it or not.
This is not the image of the North Pole that I developed while growing up. The Santa whom I came to know and love would never behave in such a ruthless manner. And he certainly wouldn’t tolerate a workshop operated on his behalf that resembled a Soviet gulag.
So in retrospect, this 1964 production of Rudolph has some rough edges. Many of the characters come off looking like individuals with whom I wouldn’t want to spend my Christmas.
However, modern-day critiques of stories from previous eras tend to overthink problems that don’t always exist. I grew up when this program first aired, and I don’t recall hearing about anyone becoming traumatized by it.
Some children’s programming is more provocative than others. And for 1964, this Rudolph pushed the envelope in many ways.
But it’s remained a beloved presentation for 60 years. It could be too dramatic for some children, but several generations have grown up just fine watching it. I see no reason to hesitate allowing new generations to enjoy it as well.