Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
By Elizabeth Gillett
Although when most people think of the month of December, visions of ice skating, carols, and hot chocolate galore come to mind, for students it’s another story. This exam diet, rather than spend morning to night in the library, rinse, and repeat, I’ve decided on a different approach: embracing the revision-holiday balance with the Christmas movie.
Characters from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Image courtesy of IMDB.
The 1964 Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Christmas special, based on the 1948 short film from which it gets its namesake (a great eight-minute alternative if you can’t spare an hour), transports the viewer to that far-off snowy village we dreamed of as children—complete with a singing snowman, Christmas seals, and surprisingly, a yeti.
Animator Hiroshi Tabata working on Charlie-in-the-box on the set of the film. Image courtesy of 2001 Miser Bros Press and Rick Goldschmidt Archives.
The stop-motion film employs the animation technique Animagic, which utilises wood and felt puppets and minute movements. Headed by legendary animator Tadahito Mochinaga, the visuals were shot in Japan, reflecting a trend in outsourcing artists for animated films and cartoons.
The puppets themselves, crafted by Lead Puppet Designer Ichiro Komura, were influenced by their Japanese setting. Carved using Japanese chisels and constructed from Katsura trees, Komura also incorporated wax and Play-Doh for Rudolph’s nose and filled Santa’s boots with old newspaper. The film’s nostalgic charm is further enhanced by Burl Ives’ narration and rendition of ‘A Holly Jolly Christmas.’
This revision week, I encourage you all to spend an hour or so watching this Christmas classic, whether that’s at your flat with gingerbread and mulled wine or huddled around a laptop in the library basement.
Animation Obsessive. ‘The Complicated Man Who Made Rudolph.’ Accessed December 3, 2024, https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-complicated-man-who-made-rudolph
Delgado, Michelle. ‘The Magical Animation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ Smithsonian Magazine, December 23, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/magical-animation-rudolph-red-nosed-reindeer-180973841/