"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is an American television movie from 1964, so this one is already over half a century old. The original ran for 47 minutes, the disc release is almost five minutes longer. In any case, it can no longer be described as a short film by imdb standards. This is of course an animated movie and the title character is still very well-known to most people and be it only because of the famous song. The director is Larry Roemer and this is probably his most known career effort, which does not really say too much though because he wasn't that prolific. Still this is not his only work at all that he made with Rankin/Bass. There are several voice actors in here who may not be too well-known, at least not today, and that includes the one who voiced the title character, actually a woman in her 40s. The most known cast member is maybe Burl Ives thanks to his Oscar win. Now as for the film itself, you can see that the animation style here is very different from this gigantic amount of cartoon works from the Golden Age of Animation. But it is definitely easy to appreciate and I am not surprised that also so many grown-ups still enjoy this one, preferrable during the holiday season of course. But the story also offers several approaches and ideas that audiences can connect with through their own experiences, such as the underdog story, the "loving" father/parents, the physical flaw component, bullying and so on. And of course, the winter time and many many references about Christmas give it additional attention every time the last month of the year begins like Wham!'s Last Christmas does. Here in Germany, this film is probably not as famous as in other parts of the world, but really everybody knows the song. All in all, it was a good watch I guess. The best thing perhaps was the animation, but almost all characters were fun too, the story as a whole was decent (maybe 5 minutes could have been cut) and the music adds a lot too. A great watch maybe not as the emotional impact is not as massive as I hoped, but all in all there is no denying this was a convincing watch that gets a thumbs-up from me. Check it out. You still got 1.5 weeks this year. Or just watch it whenever you want.

Every kid who celebrates Christmas looks forward to seeing their favorite animation short, and one of the most popular is 1964's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". I know, because I used to look watch this every year it came on as a kid, even with the trillion commercials the networks now put into it! We all know the story, Rudolph has a nose that's red and glows so bright, none of the other reindeer let Rudolph play reindeer games, "than one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say, Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" And on and on it goes. Except for this animation classic, the producers add in a few new characters, such as the dreadful abominable snowman of the north pole, gold prospector Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the elf who doesn't like to make toys and who wants to be a dentist, not to the mention the most joyous of all, the island of misfit toys. Oh, just describing this brings back the memories of being a kid on Christmas! Chances are you've already seen this a million times, now just make sure your kids do too. Merry Christmas!

Will there ever be a timeless holiday classic as marvelous as the claymation masterpieces of Christmases past? This is definitely my favorite "Time of the Year" movie. I believe it is usually the first one I watch, and always gets me so happy. The characters are lovable, the story is fun for everyone who watches it; I can not think of any one person who would not enjoy seeing Rudolph conquer his fears and achieve his dreams with all his friends along the way. The Yeti is a fearsome protagonist. Hermey is a great co-star and ultimately charming. Everything about this was just handled with care and love, and it shows. The songs are catchy and vivacious, the voice-overs are spot on. I can not say anything more about this movie, it speaks for itself. It is the ultimate. If you have not seen it yet, you are missing out.

What can I say? It wouldn't be Christmas without this sweet family classic. So many wonderful characters and scenes. Rudolph himself, of course. Hermey the dentist, Yukon Cornelius, the Abominable Snowman, Fireball, King Moonracer and the Island of Misfit Toys. Not to mention Sam the Snowman, voiced by the great Burl Ives, who gives us several lovely songs as well. All immensely likable, memorable characters. Beautiful stop-motion animation. This is a rich, heartwarming Christmas story with a great message. I love the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. I would have to say Rudolph is their masterpiece. Recommended for everybody.