http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964 "Could it be that some of you are not acquainted with the story of Rudolph? Well, pull up an ice block and lend an ear..." — Sam the Snowman Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Stop Motion animated Christmas Special based upon the classic storybook by Robert L. May, made by Rankin/Bass Productions and first broadcast on NBC (under the General Electric Fantasy Hour umbrella) in 1964. Sam the Snowman (Burl Ives) narrates the story of Rudolph, son of Santa Claus'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 to cover 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. A second plot thread follows Hermey, one of Santa's elves. Unlike all the other elves, who are content to hammer out toys for all the good little children of the world, Hermey has dreams of being a dentist. His rage-prone supervisor won't tolerate this talk of dentistry, however, and Hermey quits. He meets Rudolph, and the two "misfits" decide to run away together. In their travels they have adventures that include meeting a prospector named Yukon Cornelius, who is searching the wilds of the frozen north for silver and gold; finding an Island of Misfit Toys, where broken and unwanted toys go; and having to flee from the scary giant Abominable Snow Monster. Directly followed (with diminishing returns) by Rudolph's Shiny New Year in 1976 and the crossover movie Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July in 1979, while the characters re-appeared in the 2001 direct-to-video CGI film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (also made by GoodTimes, who previously made the unrelated 1998 Rudolph feature film.) Burl Ives returned as narrator for Rankin-Bass' 1976 special The First Easter Rabbit, albeit not as Sam The Snowman. The special was also used as inspiration for the North Pole aesthetic in the 2003 film Elf, particularly the elf attire and use of stop-motion characters. As of 2021, it's the longest running Christmas Special and has been annually airing on television for over 50 years. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and its sequels provide examples of:
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