TV & Film Character Toys

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a long-running Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin-Bass. It first aired December 6, 1964 on the NBC television network in the USA and was sponsored by (eventual owner of NBC) General Electric. more...

Home
Beanies
Construction Toys & Kits
Creative Toys/ Activities
Diecast & Vehicles
Educational Toys
Electronic Pets
Fast Food/ Cereal/ Sweets...
Games
Jigsaws & Puzzles
Model Kits
Other Toys & Games
Outdoor Toys & Activities
Pre-School/ Young Children
Radio-Controlled
Scalextric & Slot Car
Soft Toys/ Stuffed Animals
Steam
TV & Film Character Toys
Film/ Disney Characters
TV Characters
Toy Soldiers
Vintage/ Classic Toys
Wargames & Role-Playing

It is based on the famous song by Johnny Marks, and in turn taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired over CBS, who unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version in 2005.

Additional characters

In the story of Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards) numerous new characters are introduced for the first time as it was told by Romeo Muller. From the original song lyrics, the show features Santa (voiced by Stan Francis) and Mrs. Claus (who speaks with a vaguely Irish brogue) and the reindeer mentioned in the song. Of them, Donner is identified as Rudolph's father, and Comet is presented as the coach of the reindeer team. (Donner and Comet are voiced identically by Paul Kligman.)

The show also introduces:

Sam The Snowman — The narrator, voiced by and styled to resemble folk singer Burl Ives, who also contributes several tunes throughout the show. Among the special's most famous numbers is "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas", which has since become a Christmas standard in its own right.;

Hermey the Misfit Elf (voiced by Paul Soles) — who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Hermey became the best-known of all the characters introduced by Rankin Bass. Quitting Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." One of many memorable songs from the show, "Fame and Fortune" was added to the special beginning with its 1965 airing as a slightly shorter replacement for the reprise of a number called "We're A Couple Of Misfits," sung by Hermey and Rudolph soon after their initial meeting. The special's 1998 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to film context while the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame And Fortune" as a separate number. Note: This may not be the case in every market. In New York, WCBS only started airing the "Fame & Fortune" song in the late 80s, early 90s. It was then restored in 1998 back to "We're a Couple of Misfits".;

Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) — a prospector who leads audiences to believe that he's searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behaviour inspires the song "Silver And Gold," sung by Ives and previously well-known in its own right. Yukon is a blustery but benign character and ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but an abominable snowman, or "bumble" (Yukon calls abominable snowmen "bumbles" because he has trouble pronouncing "abominable"), as well. Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pick ax into the air and tasting the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.;

Read more at Wikipedia.org