RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER – An in depth analysis and what I have learned from this classic tale.

December 23, 2022 janelleranek

One of my absolute favorite Christmas shows on television is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

The animation, the characters, the songs….well sometimes the songs. But it is an absolute nostalgic treat for me. I like to watch it when it comes on ‘real’ TV, live, rather than trying to stream it.

When we were kids, my parents limited the amount of TV we would watch, but when a Christmas Special was on, all bets were off! We watched, even if it was on a school night.

Watching Rudolph as an adult brings back that same nostalgic feeling, but this year I looked at it differently.

To start, let’s talk about the Burl Ives Snowman. In general, I like him; Great narrator and he keeps the story moving.

However, when it comes to the song “Silver and Gold”, he whips out a banjo! There is no goddamn banjo in that song! What the hell no leg scooting dapper snowman!

Let’s talk about the main character. Right off the bat, poor Rudolph, who is born disfigured becomes the object of his father’s shame. Donner, as a result of his maimed newborn, probably feels his masculinity is being threatened, insists on covering up his only son’s nose with mud. That’s kind of fucked up.

Rudolph just wants to be a normal flying reindeer. But out of shame inflicted by his overbearing father, he wears a fake nose. This isn’t like putting coverup on a zit. A zit goes away eventually. This is his face!

When Rudolph’s fake ass nose falls off, all of the other flying reindeer students (who by the way are all male), AND Comet, the instructor become compete assholes! What the fuck? Even Santa turns into a douche bag! He should talk, he’s a Santa with an eating disorder!

Who isn’t a total asshat? Clarice that’s who. My favorite line of the whole show is when Clarice tells Rudolph she thinks he’s cute. “She says I’m cute!” Rudolph yells in his little plugged nose pre-pubescent voice, and filled with excitement, he flies!! Take that assholes! I’m motherfucking flying! Ha! Clarice is my kind of reindeer!

Everything is peachy keen in Christmas town, right? Nope. Not for Rudolph. Sure, Clarice thinks he’s hot, but Rudolph is bullied and tortured by his peers, Comet the asshole flying coach – AND Santa. So, Rudolph is like, Fuck this, I’m out.

Meanwhile Hermey, the elf who refuses to conform with the whole elf sweat factory toy making gig, stays true to his calling of wanting to be a dentist. An honorable profession, especially in Christmas Town – where inevitably there is way too much sugar being consumed. Is his dream nurtured? Hell no. Head elf dude is like, forget it, shut the hell up, make toys or get the hell out.

So, he did. Hermey and Rudolph took off. Enter, Yukon Cornelius! What a fellow he was! A crazy ass silver and gold hunter with an awesome team of little sled dogs.

Yukon Cornelius, what to say? Did he come off as harsh and loud? Yes. But talk about eternal optimism! WAAAA WHOOOO! Every time he thought he’d struck gold. (Which he never did.) He handled his never-ending disappointment was not with tantrums, blame or self-hatred and loathing. Just a simple, “Nuthin’.” Then he let it go and moved on, this is the definition of resilience. Let us all learn something from Yukon Cornelius!

No questions asked, he took Rudolph and the Dentist Elf along with him to the island of misfit toys. Flying lion king said they could hang for a little while. So they did.

Meanwhile, Clarice and Rudolph’s mom and dad were out looking for him. They got trapped in fucking Abominable’s lair or cave or whatever. Rudolph finds them, Bumble knocks him out and it looks like it will be curtains for them all. Who comes to the rescue? Yukon badass Cornelius that’s who! He basically sacrifices himself and his little dog sled team by going over a fucking cliff distracting the Bumble from eating them all. Later sharing that Bumbles Bounce. WTF??

One thing I’m not so sure about is the need to disfigure the poor Bumble in order to “tame” him. Hermey takes out all of his teeth. This seems a bit extreme to me and besides, look at his goddamn claws, even without teeth, he could rip a tiny reindeer, a bunch of elves and a skinny Santa to shreds.

They end up back at Christmas Town where currently a wicked storm threatens to cancel Christmas, but hold the phone Myrtle, here comes that merry band of misfits to save the fucking day. Rudolph will guide the sleigh, Mamma has fattened Santa up, Hermey gets to work on some cavity ridden elf teeth and The Bumble places the star on the tree.

As for the Bumble, I think there was something deeper going on, like he wanted to get caught so he could be a part of Christmas town. He’s probably super lonely, because who knows, he may be the only Bumble in existence. And remember, hurt people, hurt people. It’s sad to me, that he had to go through so much just to find happiness. They all did, Bumble, Hermey, Rudolph, Clarice, Santa. The point is, it’s important for everyone to find their own Yukon Cornelius who will believe in us fiercely and show us our best self.

I’ve always had a very special space in my heart for the Bumble.

Brenda is much like a Bumble, in that she is very tall (at least to me) and she can fetch things on a high shelf and put a star on the tree, cause I can’t reach it. She’s my Bumble. She is also my Yukon Cornelius, she believes in my fiercely and has made me better!