Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Animated) (DVD)

...Sam the Snowman, we follow Rudolph from his birth, when his parents try to disguise his nose, to the discovery that he is a misfit and his subsequent humiliation by the other young reindeer. This scene will endear every child, and was especially powerful for my own 4 year old, who had been terriibly bullied at school.

Another misfit is also to hand, an elf who would rather fix teeth than make toys, and together, they conspire to run ...
...to fly his sleigh. Cue Rudolph and his friend saving the day, that red nose lighting the way. There are many more characters adding to story's theme about the wonderfulness of being different, and how that makes each person special, with a miner and a yeti named Bumble, a legion of abandoned toys, as well as songs that make you want to just sing along.

One of the nice things about this dvd is that it is the original, unedited 1964 ... more

I admit it, I LOVE Christmas. Come the first of December, up goes my tree, and we begin decorating the house. We craft scenes from card and place in the windows, and tinsel and be-bauble everywhere we tastefully can. So it is with great puzzlement I look upon the Yuletide holiday fare on the TV. Yeah..it is real Christmassy to watch murder and mayhem. Gee whiz, what happened to all the fun holiday themed fare that used to help build up our childish excitement. Where did the Peanuts gang go? And Rudolph? Every child in the world knows Rudolph, and sorry, but it just ain't Christmas without him!

And so it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from the High Street, that all the holiday should be bought. And this decree was made while Tesco, Asda, and Argos all fought for your wallet. So all went to shop, and Mummy went forth from her humble PC, onto the shop of online wonders, that is called Amazon (for it is gargantuan and world dominating)

To shop with the debit card, belonging to her spouse, being that his account was great with pounds and pence.

And so it was accomplished, that holiday fare was found, and Rudolph, whose nose shone bright, came forth from the postman's bag, and was unwrapped from its swaddling cardboard.

And lo, the cherubic children gathered all about, and sang praises of great delight, for Yuletide cheer had come.

And so it was that I ordered this family favourite and it arrived. Unfortunately at the moment, it is only available as a region 1 dvd, so you have to go to Biblical efforts to order it and wait for its arrival, mostly due to the stress of small voices asking, is it here yet? Is it here yet?

Anyway, that is what you have to go through to just GET the disc. Once you have it, what do you have? Obviously, you have a film about Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer. But which one? This is the much beloved 1964 classic stop action film, from the famed Rankin Bass studios. Featuring the voice of Burl Ives as the narrator, Sam the Snowman, we follow Rudolph from his birth, when his parents try to disguise his nose, to the discovery that he is a misfit and his subsequent humiliation by the other young reindeer. This scene will endear every child, and was especially powerful for my own 4 year old, who had been terriibly bullied at school.

Another misfit is also to hand, an elf who would rather fix teeth than make toys, and together, they conspire to run away. But Christmas is almost cancelled because a terrible fog rolls in, and Santa cannot see where to fly his sleigh. Cue Rudolph and his friend saving the day, that red nose lighting the way. There are many more characters adding to story's theme about the wonderfulness of being different, and how that makes each person special, with a miner and a yeti named Bumble, a legion of abandoned toys, as well as songs that make you want to just sing along.

One of the nice things about this dvd is that it is the original, unedited 1964 version, and not the later edited version. The picture could have done with a bit of clean up, but it looks quite good, and I will not be picky about it as it is still as great as the first time I remember watching it as a 3 year old in 1972.

The dvd also features a nice introduction by Arthur Rankin, as well as the "Fame and Fortune" song that replaced the reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits" in the 1965 edit. This is one holiday dvd that was worth the import. Hopefully, they will release a region 2 dvd so that more children here in the UK can also once more enjoy this fine holiday classic.  

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