Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie

I absolutely adored this movie when I was younger, and I hate it when people compare it to 'superior' '64 version with puppets. What's so wrong with a fresh new remake anyway. Did the world suddenly stop back in 1964?

The story, like all Goodtimes films, is short, sweet and simple, and should please most children, although some little 'uns might find a few scenes scary. The animation is very fluent for a Goodtimes film, and there are some wonderful sequences with the Northern Lights and snowstorms. The songs are fun and catchy, and they are never there just for the sake of having a song. The songs help emphasise on what Rudolph or any other character is feeling right now.

I loved this movie so much when I was a kid, I wouldn't just watch it at Christmas. It was an enjoyable romp at any time of the year (look, I'm reviewing this in June!)

There's no bad language, no extreme violence, but just a sweet simple story with a strong moral that kids will love. And some open-minded adults will like this too.

I thought this movie was very adorable, and I'm surprised it didn't get more recognition. It's nice seeing so many famous actors doing a kids' movie together. Especially Eric Idle doing the voice of the fox with an American accent- he's truly delightful...I could barely tell it was him! OK, so it was a tad cheesy, but what's a feel-good family movie without a bit of cheese thrown in? I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember loving the voice of the younger Rudolph. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten more roles, or more of a bio on IMDb! So, if you've got kids, or you just want to giggle at how cute/corny it is, rent it or buy it. Sure, it's not a classic like the one with the Abominable Snowman, Yukon Cornelius or Hermy the elf, but it's just as delightful.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. This is not the Rankin-Bass version by any stretch of the imagination. That was a stop-motion short that is now considered a Christmas classic. Rudolph: THE MOVIE is no where near that special. The entire package, from the animation to the characters, should never have been released in theaters. That's right, this thing was on the big screen for, like, a whopping three weeks b4 going straight to video. As I said before, the animation would be right at home on UPN's Saturday Morning Lineup right next to the New Tex Avery Show. It's not The Prince of Egypt, let's just say that. Also, what is with the army of wacky side kicks? We get a polar bear voiced by Bob Newhart (Bob, what happened?), a thumb-sucking Arctic wolf, some kareoke singing faeries who painfully narrate the story, and a penguin who wears a tuxedo (Ha! My sides!). At the very, very least they added a new element to the old legend of Rudolph with the ice queen, who is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, but even she isn't that interesting. Plus, it's a musical. And a bad one, at that. Listening to two different people do Rudolph's speaking voice and singing vocals is hilarious, since Singing Ru is about eight octaves deeper than Speaking Ru. So basically, stay away. This is one tiresome flick. 1 out of 4 stars.

An instant Christmas classic! Great cast (voices) and decent animation make this a family classic for any Christmas occasion. Considering the fact that this film isn't Disney, it belongs in the category of excellent animated films. On a Friday afternoon of September 1998, I came across "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer : The Movie" opening today in limited release. Fortunately my movie theater was playing it and with a cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Debbie Reynolds, & John Goodman, I couldn't resist. Why Legacy Releasing opened a Christmas movie in the fall I'll never know, but if you haven't seen it with your kids, get it this Christmas season. Soundtrack includes a special musical performance of "A Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul and Linda McCartney. Now on video from Goodtimes Entertainment.

I originally reviewed this movie when I was about 14 or 15, And lets just say I didn't really give it a fair try. So after actually watching it nearly all the way through, I can write a better review that doesn't look like some troll wrote it.

First off, if you loved the original Claymation original, Stick to it, it's so much better and more well received by the general public. This one isn't too much to love, unless you're from the 12 years and under demographic and you can stomach an hour-long musical.

The story is loosely, and inconsistently narrated by 4 fairies, named "The sprites of the northern lights" (Yeah, I have a whole paragraph to dedicate to them, so sit tight.) But the story itself is based around the character of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, a reindeer born with a red nose, making him different from the other reindeers...You know what, You should already know this story.

But you don't know the other characters that go along with the story, Lets begin with Slyly the white fox, Who might as well be Tails the fox dragged out of a coloring book, but with the personality of Locke from Final fantasy VI. In short, he's a streetwise (Or in this case, arctic-wise) fox who's philosophy is "It could always be worse." Then we have Zoey the girl reindeer. The 1964 Rudolph movie equivalent of Clarice. and if you've seen the original, it's more or less the same character, just a little less figurine and more animated. Then there's Stormella, And I have to admit, it's comforting to know that Whoopi Goldberg can be both a gentle character as well as someone you just want to slap.

Now I promised you a whole paragraph on what I think of the sprites of the northern lights. They totally ruin the movie for me. It's like someone said "lets just throw these fairies in there to tell the story." But damn it, i'll take a singing snowman with some guy pretending to be Burl Ives any day over that. Maybe I really don't like them because I didn't like 4kid's flagship show Winx club either.

Bottom line, This is one you might want to check out, it's not Oscar worthy material but if you have an hour you don't have anything planned, it's worth a view. If not you, at least your youngest kids.

5/10