Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie

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 liked this movie and thought that it was great even for adults. I didn't find the music distracting from the overall message of the film. The wonderful fact that it teaches courage in the face of insecurity is one that is lost in a lot of movies that are made today. It also teaches that we do not have to be the same as everyone else around us. We can be different and even if we get teased about it we can find solace in ourselves in the fact that we are the way we are because that is the way that we were made and we are each special and unique. I found it a joy watching it by myself for the first time and again watching it with my 4-year-old nephew. It is one that I am glad that I bought and will watch many times over the holidays.

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.

Strangely, I found this movie quite good. It fills you with a sense of Christmas and there's nothing wrong with sitting down and watching this before you open your presents. A nice little kids movie which appealed to me quite a bit. This year I was feeling a bit bah humbug, but this warmed my heart. The plot is good, sticking to the original idea while skewing away in places, but it remains a nice honest film which everyone can watch. The acting is above average IMO, and Leonard the Bear is my favourite character. A story of the underdog rising up is always great, and this delivers just like it's predessor. Especially fitting for a nice Christmas Day morning. There were some questions left unanswered, however, such as how do the reindeer's fly? But all in all, this is a worthy Christmas tale, telling a story about everyone's favourite reindeer. It is just a shame that this will forever be compared with the original. This is the way great films are ignored and this movie is getting bad feedback because 'it does not live up to the original'. This film is still great, however little can see it's potential. Sad.

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.