Run, Run, Rudolph

Apparently, we have a new controversy.  It is about Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

The Huffington Post, which is an online newspaper/magazine, posted an article titled Viewers Noticed Some Very Disturbing Details in 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'.

Yes, a Christmas stop-motion cartoon by Rankin/Bass that has been airing since I lived on Meadowbrook Drive in Marietta, Georgia (54 years ago) has some very disturbing details that we just noticed. It was there in plain sight and it just goes to show how problematic we are as a country because we didn't notice how awful Yukon Cornelius treated his gay dog sled team.


Actually, this article consists of the laziest journalism known to man:  looking and printing what is on Twitter.

Twitter is currently the cesspool of American life.  If you take every stupid thing said at every lunch counter and put in on the internet, that is Twitter.

After Rudolph aired Tuesday night, Twitter "users gathered around the digital fireplace to share the moment".  I remember when the internet was the information superhighway. Now it is the digital fireplace.

There were some humorous observations.

Sarah B tweeted: "Every year the elf throws the bird out of the sleigh without an umbrella, even though earlier the bird said it CAN'T FLY. Every. Damn. Year".

Ahem.

Seven years ago, I wrote the classic The Rudolph Recap. You can read it here. https://manisville.blogspot.com/2011/12/the-rudolph-recap.html.

I said basically the same thing. Except I think mine was funnier.

One of the points of Rudolph is that everybody is a misfit. As part of their wacky adventures, Rudolph (who ran away from home because nobody liked his nose), Hermey (who ran away from home because nobody likes dentists) and Yukon Cornelius (who nobody liked)  landed on The Island of Misfit Toys.

The Island of Misfit Toys is ruled by the benevolent King Moonracer, who is a lion with wings.  As you properly infer, the Island is filled with Misfit Toys: a Charlie in The Box, a train with square wheels, a doll with no apparent problems, and a bird that can't fly but swims.

Good King Moonracer asks Rudolph to speak with Santa about finding a good home for the misfit toys. King Moonracer may be a good king, but he is lazy as sin. Moonracer could just fly over to the North Pole and speak to Santa himself.

Long story short:  Santa agrees to take the Misfit Toys. However,  instead of taking the toys with him when he goes down the chimneys, Santa has the elves throw the misfit toys out of the sleigh. Everybody remembers that special Christmas morning when your parents woke you up and told you to go to the backyard to see what Santa threw out.

I don't think this was due to some meanness or grouchiness.  It was due to some sloppiness and they didn't have much time to show the toys being delivered. Plus, this was the attitude back then:  Hey it is something for kids and it doesn't matter.  And it didn't.  I didn't notice the scene until I was an adult.

The main criticism comes from the bullying part of the show. "Rudolph is relentlessly teased by his peers, his family, and Santa Claus until he is forced to flee into the wilderness. While he finds new friends that accept him as he is, he is not accepted by his original community until his glowing nose is useful", says Popculture.tv.

The song says, "All of the other reindeers, used to laugh and call him names". If you are going to do a show about Rudolph, you have to show him being teased.  Maybe, I'm just an unwoken late-born boomer fuddy-duddy, but I never got the impression the show was telling you that Rudolph deserved it or it was anywhere close to the right thing to do

One person tweeted: "My saddest takeaway in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is how dismissive [and] mean Santa is when they first saw the red nose. Really Santa?!?!"

Santa is odd in Rudolph.  When he comes to visit Donner after Rudolph is born, Santa starts singing about himself. He's Cranky Old Saint Nick.  He doesn't eat and the elves singing doesn't impress him in the least. (With good reason too, but that's another story.)

But in everyone's defense, the nose wasn't a nose, it was this light bulb that made a noise.  I'm not sure exactly how we are supposed to react to that.  I know that makes me Light Bulb For A Nose phobic, but geez, give me some time to comprehend it.

One person (who is from this area) tweeted "Deviation from the norm will be punished unless it is exploitable".  This became a Twitter talking point. One individual tweeted, "Watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The moral of the story I’ve learned since watching it as a kid: People are [nickname for Richard] until they need something from you."

To quote another great fictional character, Drill Sgt Hulka: Lighten up Francis.

The moral of Rudolph is not "people are mean until they need something from you".  It is how wrong prejudice is and that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

So sit back and enjoy the show.  I love that little song, "There's Always Tomorrow" and the fact the Burl Ives snowman plays a banjo without strings. Rudolph is always fun to goof on.

Whatever you do, don't watch "Christmas in July", which Rankin/Bass made in 1979 and takes the Rudolph characters and mixes them up with their Frosty The Snowman characters.  That show is seriously messed up.