worldwide. It is perhaps second only to The Wizzard of Oz as being the most viewed programme of all time.Rudolph is the first of a line of Christmas specials that were produced by Rankin and Bass and written by Romeo Muller. Some of the others are: The Little Drummer Boy 1968 , Frosty the Snowman 1969 ,and Santa Claus is Coming to Town 1970 as well as Here Comes Peter Cottontail 1971 and Puff, The Magic Dragon 1978 . It is hard to imagine all these classic specials being the creation of one man. Mr. Muller is Mr. Christmas! The origins of Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer stem from the song written by Johnny Marks back in the 1930's or 1940's. A Max Fleischer cartoon short was made in 1948 with Robert May creating its story. However, the Rankin and Bass Christmas special is based on the Johnny Marks song but other than that, it is all the creation of Romeo Muller. Hermey the elf, Sam the snowman, Yukon Cornelius, Claurice, the head elf are all Muller's creations. Even Rudolph's personality is created by Muller. In the 1948 cartoon Rudolph does not talk. I have always liked Burl Ives as both a singer and an actor. His part as Sam the Snowman is my favourite by him. All the people behind the scenes doing the voices were all talented. They used stop motion animation with moving puppets just like they did with King Kong. Rudolph is a timeless classic that bring me back to the simpler time of childhood every time I watch it. I hope my small children will enjoy it to.

I appreciate that this was top technology for the times and I like that it doesn't have all the "scary" animations that some of today's shows have . Also, I can appreciate that any "sexist" remarks made such as the men "protecting the women folk" - there was actual chivalry back then! were made in a time when this was acceptable to the censors, but cursing and on-screen violence/sex/etc. wasn't. So does that make our times better or worse than those just 20ish years ago? I also want to set the record straight... Santa does apologize to Rudolph before he needs him to guide his sleigh. It is a brief apology right after Rudolph returns. Santa says something like "I was a little to rough on you. I guess we all were." Some people have commented that by today's standards, they find this "too lame" of an apology. Again, I say that times have changed, and not necessarily for the better. People today are less willing to forgive and, instead, seek revenge. Imagine if Rudolph would have said "stuff it, Santa." Kids throughout the world would have suffered because of his anger and resentment. Instead, he took a higher road and became a hero. Even the final words of the song tells of him going down in history.Finally, my son and daughter love it. They are both very young, and the things that would be criticized by the P.C. police out there go straight over there heads and I don't believe in the whole brainwashing conspiracy theory . It's a simple story that isn't so frightening that it makes them run from the room in tears. It also ends on a cheerful note and they love the music.As a kid and even as a teenager, I loved to see it on T.V. after Thanksgiving. It was one of the seasonal shows that meant Christmas was coming. Now, since all T.V. seems to show are reality shows or night time soap operas that are not family appropriate, I will continue to play the DVD for my kids anytime they would like to see it between Thanksgiving and Christmas... and I will delightfully watch it with them.

perennial in its own right. A worthy Christmas special, happy and hopeful, if just a touch syrupy.

be such b*****ds. If I were Rudolph, I wouldn't let santa use me as his tool, I'd tell him to cram it. Of course that's just my opinion.

if there's any silver or gold on it, and then says, with disgust, "Nuthin'." Grade: A

and "A Holly Jolly Christmas". The stop-motion animation has an old fashion charm. It also brings to the world the Island of Misfit Toys. The only minor complaint is that Santa needs to be more jolly. He's a little judgmental on Rudolph's nose early on. It's a small point in what is an imaginative icon.