Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Title card
Genre	Christmas, Animation, Family, Comedy
Based on	"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Johnny Marks
Written by	Romeo Muller
Directed by	Larry Roemer
Narrated by	Burl Ives
Composer	Johnny Marks
Country of origin	United States Canada Japan
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Arthur Rankin Jr.
Cinematography	Tadahito Mochinaga
Running time	52 minutes
Production company	Videocraft International
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	December 6, 1964 (1964-12-06)
Related
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)[a] Frosty the Snowman (1969)[b] Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970)[c] Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)[d] 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974)[e] The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)[f] The First Easter Rabbit (1976)[g] Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976)[h] Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976)[i] The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town (1977)[j] Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977)[k] The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)[l] Jack Frost (1979)[m] Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979)[n] Pinocchio's Christmas (1980)[o] Frosty Returns (1992)[p] Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (2001)[q] The Legend of Frosty the Snowman (2005)[r] A Miser Brothers' Christmas (2008)[s]
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd.^[1] It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour.^[2] The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. The network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements.

As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer no longer airs merely once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV special in the United States. The 50th anniversary of the television special was marked in 2014,^[3] and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014.^[4] A special exhibit was also mounted at the Masterworks Museum in Bermuda, where the original puppets are held.^[5] In 2019, Freeform (formerly ABC Family) started airing the special as part of its 25 Days of Christmas/Rankin-Bass Christmas holiday programming block.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was initially met with a positive reception among critics, who praised the voice acting, soundtrack, animation style, characters, and sets. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is often regarded as one of the best Christmas films ever made, being featured on numerous "top ten" lists. It has become widely popular among both young children and adults familiar with the Christmas season, and has garnered a large cult following since its initial debut.

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