History WesternAnimation / RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964

* OverprotectiveDad: After Rudolph takes Clarice home, her father sternly rebukes Rudolph after seeing his shiny nose:
-->'''Clarice's Father:''' Clarice!\\
'''Clarice:''' Papa?\\
'''Clarice's Father:''' You get back to your cave this instant!\\
'''Clarice:''' But I--\\
'''Clarice's Father:''' ''This instant'', young lady!\\
'''Clarice:''' Yes, sir.\\
'''Clarice's Father:''' ''(to Rudolph)'' Now, there's one thing I want to make very plain. No doe of mine is going to be seen with a red-nosed reindeer!

Directly followed (with diminishing returns) by ''WesternAnimation/RudolphsShinyNewYear'' in 1976 and the crossover movie ''WesternAnimation/RudolphAndFrostysChristmasInJuly'' in 1979, while the characters re-appeared in the 2001 direct-to-video CGI film ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeerAndTheIslandOfMisfitToys'' (also made by [=GoodTimes=], who previously made the unrelated 1998 [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1998 Rudolph feature film]].) Burl Ives returned as narrator for Rankin-Bass' 1976 special ''The First Easter Rabbit'', albeit not as Sam The Snowman.

* TheSongRemainsTheSame: With the exception of the 1980s Brazilian Portuguese TV dub (this was [[AvertedTrope averted]] in the previous dub), most foreign dubs of the 1964 Rankin/Bass version (including Spanish, Greek, and Japanese) leave all of the songs in English.

* ContinuitySnarl: Numerous ones in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys''.
** The Boss Elf is angry at Hermey for becoming a dentist, saying it left his staff one elf short, and refuses to let Hermey look at his teeth. This despite the fact that in the original special the same Boss Elf not only gave Hermey his blessing to go into dentistry but booked an appointment with him.
** Speaking of which, in the original special it was viewed as downright strange for an elf to want to become a dentist. In ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys'', it shows there is an established Dental Academy for Elves.
** When Rudolph remembers Santa asking him to pull his sleigh, he remembers it taking place in what appears to be Santa's living room, rather than the workshop as in the original special.

* DeadpanSnarker: Queen Camilla, the Queen Hippo of Castaway Cove in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys'', sums it up in this exchange:
-->'''Hermey:''' ''[as Rudolph is considering plastic surgery to get a normal nose]'' But, what if there's another foggy Christmas Eve?
-->'''Camilla:''' Santa can't afford headlights?

** [[spoiler:The Toy Taker]] in ''Island of Misfit Toys'' [[spoiler:after Santa acquaints him with his long lost owner's daughter.]]

* ViewersAreMorons: The Toy Taker doesn't know the meaning of the word "surrender", just for the sake of having it be explained to the target audience.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Toy Taker in ''Island of Misfit Toys'' abducts toys with the purpose of protecting them from kids he believes are neglectful and abusive. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he is in fact a teddy bear who spent a lot of his life forgotten and accidentally sent away by his owner.]]

* BerserkButton: The Head Elf finds the idea of Hermey as a dentist ridiculous, [[spoiler: until he needs a dental appointment.]]

* FluffyTamer: Yukon Cornelius and Hermey [[spoiler: who extracts Bumble the Abominable Snowman's teeth.]]

** [[spoiler: The Toy Taker]] in ''Island of Misfit Toys'' [[spoiler: after Santa acquaints him with his long lost owner's daughter.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: While AllOfTheOtherReindeer naturally qualify, Santa Claus himself is actually quite abrasive in this edition, first tersely dismissing the elves' song, and storming out, and later, after Rudolph's nose is made public, he not only doesn't stop the other reindeer from ridiculing him, but he actually treats Rudolph just as bad as they do. He even tells Donner he should be ashamed of hiding his son's uncontrollable, incurable physical abnormality. [[TokenGoodTeammate Clarice]] is an exception though. Not only does she not ridicule him, but she also compliments him, [[spoiler: and even becomes his girlfriend in the end.]]

* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Bumble has a mouth full of sharp teeth. [[spoiler: Hermey pulls them out when they defeat the beast.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Toy Taker in ''Island of Misfit Toys'' abducts toys with the purpose of protecting them from kids he believes are neglectful and abusive. [[spoiler: As it turns out, he is in fact a teddy bear who spent a lot of his life forgotten and accidentally sent away by his owner.]]

** And {{Jerkass}} Santa? Chalk it up to LaserGuidedKarma hitting him in the form of the Big Snow (he was apparently more of a jerk than usual that year, whereas in the previous year he came across as more reasonable when visiting Donner) and teaching him a rather valuable lesson.

* FantasticRacism: Somewhat. Rudolph was born with a special ability. How did the other reindeer initially react? By laughing at him because he was different.

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Yukon Cornelius is a big, strong, tough guy; and he's the only adult who isn't mean to poor Rudolph. Not that he's exactly ''dumb'', more just incredibly quirky, but it doesn't change the fact that the strong guy is the nice guy.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Speaking for even general legend, Santa isn't exactly the jolly, warm father figure that he's always been in this special. In fact, he's kind of a complete asshole until the third act (and even then he's hardly warm and fuzzy; he's still arguing with Mrs. Claus and getting annoyed by the elves' song). The first time we see him, he's insulting and dismissive about the elves' singing. Later, he angrily tells Donner he should be ashamed for Rudolph's nose. Contrast this with the original story and song where Santa is notably friendlier and accepting to Rudolph's nose which is present for the 1996 Montgomery Ward animated adaptation ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphsLessonsForLife Rudolph's Lessons for life]]'', 1998 feature film, [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1948 and the first animated adaptation from 1948.]]

* AdaptationalJerkass: Speaking for even general legend, Santa isn't exactly the jolly, warm father figure that he's always been in this special. In fact, he's kind of a complete asshole until the third act. The first time we see him, he's insulting and dismissive about the elves' singing. Later, he angrily tells Donner he should be ashamed for Rudolph's nose. Contrast this with the original story and song where Santa is notably friendlier and accepting to Rudolph's nose which is present for the 1996 Montgomery Ward animated adaptation ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphsLessonsForLife Rudolph's Lessons for life]]'', 1998 feature film, [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1948 and the first animated adaptation from 1948.]]

* WritersCannotDoMath: The opening title sequence lists the copyright date in Roman numerals as MCLXIV (1164) instead of MCMLXIV (1964). This wound up landing the film in the public domain.

Sam the Snowman (Creator/BurlIves) narrates the story of Rudolph, son of SantaClaus's flying reindeer Donner. To the shock and dismay of his parents, Rudolph is born with a red nose, which lights up when he gets excited. Santa, who's somewhat of a {{Jerkass}} throughout, tells Donner that Rudolph will never get to be part of the team pulling his sleigh with such an abnormality. Donner tries covering up his son's nose with a false one, which works for a little while, but it eventually falls off and exposes poor Rudolph's secret, leaving him to be mocked and ostracized by the other reindeer... save for Clarice, a pretty doe who likes him just as he is.

** The Rankin-Bass specials take place in a timeline distinct from the original Robert L. May book and its sequel ''Rudolph Shines Again'' from 1954.

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rudolph_the_red_nosed_reindeer_1964.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:345:''You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen\\
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen\\
But do you recall\\
The most famous reindeer of all?'']]

* WorldOfJerkass: With some exceptions (including Clarice and Yukon Cornelius), ''everyone'' treats Rudolph like crap because of his red nose, even ''SantaClaus''. The elves similarly treat Hermey with disdain for wanting to be a dentist.

'''Hermey:''' Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nitwit. You can't fire me, I quit, simce I don't fit in!\\

*** They all have a HeelRealization upon hearing Rudolph and Hermey's story about their travels and realizing their abnormalities can be put to good use after all (It is important to note that Donner, Clarice's father, and the Head Elf are depicted apologizing to Rudolph and Hermey ''before'' the revelation about the usefulness of the nose.)

* OpinionFlipflop: So, Rudolph is now popular because they figured out a way for his red nose to be useful. His father chimes in, saying "I knew that nose would be useful someday."

'''Clarice's Father:''' [to Rudolph] Now, there's one thing I want to make very plain: No doe of mine is going to be seen with a red-nosed reindeer.

-->'''Sam the Snowman:''' Now you can bet old Donner felt pretty bad about the way he had treated Rudolph, and he knew that the only thing to do was to go out and look for his little buck. Mrs. Donner wanted to go along, naturally, but Donner said: "No, this is man's work."

'''Hermey:''' I am not such a misfit, I am not such a nitwit, You can't fire me, I quit, seems I don't fit in!\\
'''Rudolph:''' Why am I such a misfit, I am not such a nitwit, Just because my nose glows, why don't I fit in?\\
'''Rudolph & Hermey:''' We're a couple of misfits, we're a couple of misfits, What's the matter with misfits? That's where we fit in.

* WorldOfJerkass: With some exceptions (such as Clarice and Yukon Cornelius), ''everyone'' treats Rudolph like crap because of his red nose, even ''SantaClaus''. The elves similarly treat Hermey with disdain for wanting to be a dentist.

* AbusiveParents: Some of the things Rudolph's father says and does are seriously close to the border of emotional abuse. Although [[ValuesDissonance considering the time when the creators were growing up and when the special was released]], it probably wasn't intended to come off as abusive and was meant to be a typical father-son relationship. Men being hard on their sons was considered the norm, whether it was fair or not, and could still be considered reasonably well-adjusted. To be fair though, the narrator does state that Donner felt pretty bad about the way he treated Rudolph when Rudolph runs off.

** Despite being the same age as Rudolph, Clarice sounds more like an adult woman than a young girl.[[note]]Her voice actress, Janice Orenstein, would have been fifteen at the time.[[/note]]

%%* ChristmasElves

* ChristmasElves

* OnlyFriend: Clarice is the only deer who does not laugh at Rudolph’s nose.

* DisneyDeath: Averted. Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snow Monster both survive the fall, because [[LivingCrashpad Bumbles are bouncy]].

Directly followed (with diminishing returns) by ''WesternAnimation/RudolphsShinyNewYear'' in 1976 and the crossover movie ''WesternAnimation/RudolphAndFrostysChristmasInJuly'' in 1979, while the characters re-appeared in the 2001 direct-to-video CGI film ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeerAndTheIslandOfMisfitToys'' (also made by [=GoodTimes=], ironically.)