Anyone else watching this on CBS right now? - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Discussion

[–] TexasJack (12516) 7 years ago

Just finished up on my channel. Haven't seen this in a loooong time.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

LOL yeah, been a hell of a long time for me as well. Like I said, I guess I was probably five years old the last time. That was about 30 years ago now.

Even as a kid, I never was entirely in love with all the claymation holiday shows. I always preferred traditional animation.

Still kind of fun and nostalgic to revisit, though.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (77571) 7 years ago

Yup just finished and sent kiddies off to bed
Watch it every year and love it
A true classic...never tire of it!

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Honestly, considering its age, I'm a bit surprised it's still shown every year, and not just shown but shown in prime time.

How did your kids like it? Did they complain about it feeling dated at all?

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (77571) 7 years ago

They complain a bit whenever i show them the classics but when i explain how things were hand drawn or required stop-motion animation or honest to goodness tiny models back then etc they get tuned in again...ive got really decent kids

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Ha ha, well that's good. Considering that these shows are really for kids, not adults, I'm surprised that the networks haven't abandoned them in favor of something that's contemporary to the current generation.

I'm not saying they SHOULD do that. I'm just a little surprised they haven't.

But maybe that's just because even as a kid I was kind of iffy on the claymation specials.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (77571) 7 years ago

I get you and the old classics are pretty dated its true...
But i dont see any new ones that compare to the oldies...
The best of them (Frostie, Charlie Brown, Grinch, Rudolph...) really hold up and were all perfect examples of self-contained storytelling, beautifully animated and had fine sound tracks...
They are real classics
Please suggest a newer Christmas animation for kiddies and i promise to seek it out

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like networks have even tried to come out with contemporary animated Christmas specials that are meant for a wide audience.

I know there's been smaller stuff, like Disney productions, Shrek the Halls, and other smaller specials that ended up on Netflix or went straight-to-video or whatever, but I can't think of any big, major animated specials that premiered on one of the regular networks.

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[–] pioneergrrrl (2411) 7 years ago

Yeah the animation and dialog are dated. But since I don't have kids that did not come up. Now I watch these specials for the politics

Rudolph
*Disability issues--Rudolph is expelled from school because of disability (his nose). He is not given an accommodation even though he could perform the flight as good or better than the others. The coach's only problem was the way he looked.

The island of misfit toys is a institution for toys with disabilities--such as the choo-choo with square wheels, the doll who cries, and the spoted elephant. They are put there against their will for their own good--but they are not happy about it. There is nothing for them to do all day. When Rudolph etc arrive...the toys are first unsure if it is safe to come out even though this is their own home.

The toys do not know if or when they will ever leave

*This special was made in 1960's---before special education, before ADA...etc

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[–] pioneergrrrl (2411) 7 years ago

It's a really good marker of how things have changed.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Interesting.

I'm a bit surprised your thought was "disability," but thinking about it, I guess that's not incorrect.

My thought was more that Rudolph was just "different," in the same way that white folks and black folks are different, but you wouldn't call skin color a disability.

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[–] pioneergrrrl (2411) 7 years ago

Rudolph wouldn't have been rejected by his father or the coach if they were trying to use skin color as metaphor.

The reindeer of different color were schooled together. When physical disability appeared, his right to receive schooling terminated.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Well my point is this, it wasn't a disability. Just like skin color is not a disability. It is merely a difference.

Paraplegics are called disabled because they are exactly that. They are physically incapable of doing things that other people are capable of doing.

Rudolph's nose didn't make him incapable. It's not like all the other reindeer's noses were able to do something that rudolph's couldn't do. In fact, it ended up being the other way around. Rudolph was actually the most capable of all the reindeer. He just looked a little funny.

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[–] pioneergrrrl (2411) 7 years ago

but parapalegics still can potentially drive with hand controls for the vehicle, still can race etc. They too 'look a little funny'

It's difficult to see the analogy to disability now...because Free Appropriate Public Education of all children with disabilities is required in all 50 states regardless of the child's type/severity of disability. The public school can't claim it's too expensive/difficult to educate the student specifically because of disability. Laws changed.

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[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

How can you watch this on CBS? They cut more and more of the show from the original as time goes on and it is obviously sped up. Just watch the original complete show online. Watching it on CBS is a waste.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8759) 7 years ago

Well, to be quite frank, the integrity of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is not something I'm especially concerned about.

That energy is probably better geared toward some of the cuts that have been made to Charlie Brown, though I hear this year they intend to air it in its entirety.

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[–] PaladinNJ (21528) 6 years ago

Watched it last night.

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[–] AmeriGirl26 (14488) 6 years ago

Don't need to. We have it on dvd and can watch it any time we want ;)

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[–] andreaahr (2337) 6 years ago

I watched it last night. It was great! :)

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