Why The 1964 Rudolph Christmas Special Is Receiving Criticism All These Years Later
source: MeTV via NBC Universal
I have such fond memories of watching the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special as a kid. Looking back, I think it was also fun to watch for my parents who had their own memories of the special from their childhoods. Nostalgia all around! While I just fixated on poor misunderstood Rudolph, his pal Hermey, and the jovial Yukon Cornelius, apparently some critics have decided to examine the Christmas special from an (unsurprisingly) more critical lens.
In an article titled “7 Disturbing Truths We Must Accept About Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” author Mick Joest put together a list of criticisms about the Christmas special that viewers “must address about this Christmas classic”:
- Santa thought Rudolph was an abomination
- Hermey the Elf was a sadistic psychopath
- The elves may have been inbreeding
- The job rate of reindeer in the North Pole is astronomically low
- Yukon Cornelius was mentally unstable
- Rudolph’s family missed a bulk of his childhood
- Clarice and Rudolph had an incredibly shallow relationship
While the tone of this article was obviously humorous, I’m sure some longtime Rudolph viewers won’t be too pleased to hear these insights. HuffPost also took a similar stance, tweeting that the Christmas special is “seriously problematic.” Unsurprisingly, many people did not take kindly to this comment.
So, what do you think? Were there underlying issues at play between the characters and plot, or can we just enjoy the special for what it is – a Christmas classic? I don’t know about you, but the Rudolph special is always part of my holiday movie lineup and that won’t be changing any time soon.