Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television family favorite that first
aired on Sunday December 6, 1964. This stop motion animation classic, produced
by Rankin and Bass, brings focused attention to the misfit feelings in all of
us. The story is narrated by the voice of Burl Ives (as Sam the snowman), singing
and telling the tale of a reindeer named Rudolph, born at the North Pole with a
glowing red nose. As a yearling, lack of family support and severe peer ridicule leads Rudolph to feel himself an outcast and run away from home.
Meanwhile, a North Pole elf named Hermey tackles his own
problems. Wishing to be a dentist instead of a toymaker, he consistently
disappoints the Head Elf. He too feels unwanted and alone and decides to leave
in pursuit of his own dreams. Out on their own, Rudolph and Hermey eventually meet
up and join forces. The bond of being unique draws them together and they
decide to be misfits together. Now "independent together", they set
out to seek "Fame and Fortune", singing the song of the same name.
On their journey, Rudolph and Hermey meet another unique
individual, a prospector named Yukon Cornelius who is determined to find silver
and gold. Adventuring with Cornelius, the two misfits eventually end up on the shore of The Island of Misfit Toys.
The island is
a sanctuary where defective and
unwanted toys are sent. Among the inhabitants
are a misnamed, but otherwise normal Jack-in-the-box named Charlie-in-the-box,
A spotted elephant, a toy bird that swims instead of flies, a cowboy that rides
an ostrich, a train with square wheels on it’s caboose, a boat that sinks, a
plane that cannot fly, a squirt gun that shoots jelly and a dolly for Sue with
no apparent defect.
Most interesting however is King Moonracer, a winged lion, who
acts as the island’s ruler and lives in the large castle atop a hill on the
island. As sovereign ruler he enforces the rules, deciding who is permitted to
stay on the island. However, he has no apparent ability to meet the deepest
need of the island inhabitants, their need for unconditional love.
After leaving in the middle of the night, to spare his new
friends from imminent danger and then subsequently coming to their rescue,
Rudolph is welcomed back home at the North Pole, just in time to also heroically
save Christmas by becoming Santa’s headlights and cutting through the worst of storms.
The first stop for Santa on that foggy Christmas Eve became the Island of Misfit Toys to meet the needs of the
toys there by providing them to loving boys and girls around the world.
This is one of my favorite Christmas stories. Perhaps it is
because the deep felt needs of misfits around the world really can be and are
met by the unconditional love that God so graciously gives. He truly is the
only light that can burn through the fog that still blinds some men to the
truth.
I have come as Light into
the world, so that everyone who
believes in Me
will not remain in darkness. John 12:46
