'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' Secrets Revealed (The Animated Show)

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Wed Nov-30-05 08:50 AM
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'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' Secrets Revealed (The Animated Show)

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Santa's secrets
November 30, 2005

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, but did you know that Rudolph was really a woman? The beloved stop-action animation special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has aired for 40 consecutive years (tonight's airing makes 41), but the deer with the schnoz brighter than a set of halogen headlights has been hiding a few secrets in his stable. Rick Goldschmidt, an illustrator who runs the website rankinbass.com and author of the book ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic," is here to set the record straight.

What is wrong with the doll on the Island of Misfit Toys?

The train has square wheels on its caboose, the water pistol squirts jelly, and the elephant is spotted, but the doll seems perfectly fine. According to Goldschmidt, there is nothing wrong with the gingham-loving doll who is living large on the Island of Misfit Toys. In the original 1964 airing of ''Rudolph," the misfit toys register much less screen time. But viewers wanted to see the mutant toys rescued from the island, so for 1965, new animation was added and the toys were given more screen time -- including the big rescue scene. Alas, the doll was now on screen for more than a few seconds, and her dirty secret of normalcy came to light.

If Santa is supposed to go down the chimney to deliver toys, why do the elves throw presents over the side of the sleigh with umbrellas?

Blame those pesky misfit toys again. When the freak toys guilted their way onto Santa's sleigh for the 1965 rebroadcast, the closing credits were reshot and the toys were shown being tossed off the side of the sleigh so everyone would know they were finally getting a good home. Goldschmidt has heard from many viewers concerned that the misfit toy bird (the one that can't fly) is tossed over the side of the sleigh without an umbrella. The idea is not that the toy bird plunges to its death, but supposedly it realizes that it can really fly. Don't roll your eyes; this is the enchanted world of Rankin/Bass.

The accents sound a little different, eh?

Canadian voice actors were used for ''Rudolph," because radio retained a stronger presence in Canada than the United States and, according to Goldschmidt, actors to the north were slightly more skilled at voice drama. And -- more important -- it was cheaper. Rudolph was voiced by actress Billie Mae Richards, who was famous for her voice characterizations of little boys. She is erroneously credited at the end of the show as ''Billy Richards."

True or false: Hermey the elf is a bigger flamer than the Heat Miser.

Hermey's sexual orientation is unclear in ''Rudolph," primarily because topics such as elf sexuality were not as widely discussed 40 years ago as they are today. Goldschmidt was noticeably quiet when asked the question, which would lead one to the conclusion that the elf/dentist (below, with Rudolph) is still in the closet, perhaps quietly residing in the Netherlands with Yukon Cornelius. It is clear, however, that Rankin/Bass stop-motion specials were focused on underdogs, and a gay elf dentist with a big blond coiffure who befriends a talking reindeer with a blinking bulb of a nose certainly qualifies as an underdog by any standard.

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2005/11/30/santas_secrets?mode=PF