blogging our way through rudolph the red-nosed reindeer…

It’s a Christmas classic– the Rankin & Bass claymation version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  So why not make it a blogging event.  Sarah, Anna and I are watching it right now…  Here are some thoughts:

• I like how Rudolph’s nose emits a high-pitched ringing whistle.
• Santa’s head (including beard) is so large I am fairly certain balance/equilibrium would be an issue, unless gravity acts differently at the North Pole.
• Regarding the Abominable Snow Monster (Bumble): "He’s mean, he’s nasty, and he hates everything to do with Christmas…"  Why?  Do we get the motivation at any point in this film?  We’ll see…
• Donner (Rudolphs’ father) quote:  "There are more important things than comfort–self respect!"
• The Elf boss has a cool goatee–even if he is a cruel taskmaster.  (I recently shaved my beard off and my wife didn’t notice for 3 days.)
• Clarice.  Rudolph’s love interest is the doe named Clarice.  I can’t hear that name without thinking of Silence of the Lambs.  Spooky.
• Ouch.  Rudolph just got black-listed.  No reindeer games.  Santa told Donner, "You should be ashamed of yourself…he had such a good takeoff, too."  What does that mean?  Santa thinks Donner should be ashamed of having given birth to a son with a luminescent nose OR he should be ashamed for trying to hide the abnormality?  Either way, Santa (at this point) wasn’t interested in the "misfit" reindeer.
• Rugged individualism.  This film is a piece of American propaganda.  (The two misfits have banded together.)
• Yukon Cornelius enters.  Gun-toting prospector looking for "silver and gold".  Told you it was an American propaganda piece.
• The Abominable Snow Monster (ASM) is AWESOME!  Look at that hairy chest…
• "Yessir our friends were really on their way…not one of them knew where they were going…"  Ah, profound words, indeed.  I feel this way most of the time.
• The Island of Misfit Toys.  (Anna singing: "the most wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day of the year…")
• The King of the Island of Misfit (Unwanted?) Toys sounds like he is talking inside of a tunnel.
• Yukon Cornelius:  "Even among misfits you’re a misfit!"  (I’m not sure if his pistol should be tucked into his belt in the front like that.  It looks a bit precariously placed. Cornelius to Connie in one misfire.)
• A blizzard just dumped a ton of snow on the North Pole.  You’d think they’d be used to that kind of weather up there.
• In the ASM’s lair…Herbie, the maniacal dentist just de-toothed the poor guy!  Can’t believe it… He was just trying to get a square meal (reindeer burgers) and they tore all his teeth out.  Then Cornelius throws him off a cliff and "reforms" him to be a Christmas tree dresser.  (There’s some good motivation for hating Christmas.)
• "That nose, that beautiful nose" – Santa Claus.  Very pragmatic approach to one’s identity and self-worth.  Rudolph is only accepted as a worthy member of society when he is able to turn his deformity into an occupational specialization.  Same thing goes for Herbie and Bumble.
• Tragedy.  As the credits roll, one of the elves drops the misfit-toy Owl out of the sleigh from high in the sky… The misfit Owl is the one that can’t fly, you genius!  Nice, real nice.

It’s a good thing my kids aren’t hip to all these nuances, eh?  It’s still a great holiday movie even under my sharp scrutiny…