Foreverisacastironmess I was very struck by how good this festive cartoon looked, the rich small details in all the buildings and everything is gorgeous, especially the interior of Rudolph's house, where everything looks so warm and cosy, and the enchanting snow-covered scenes of classic Christmas joy were all so beautiful, in fact I'd say this is probably the most finely done artwork of snowy scenery I've seen in one of the Fleischer animations, it's definitely a fantastically coloured and drawn short...but I don't know, I really wasn't feeling it too much with this one, beautiful as it is, it really didn't grab me and give me that heartwarming feeling of holiday cheer and goodwill like in the Fleischer Christmas shorts "Christmas Comes but Once a Year" and "Somewhere in Dreamland" did. This just seemed a little stilted and weak somewhere to me. And that bothers me, because I love the Fleischer style of animation and especially enjoy their wintry animations a lot, but I guess I must be missing something with this one. If this truly was Max Fleischer's last ever animated short than as a big fan of his, I must say that this was far from the best of what he was capable of and a mere shadow of his earlier works. I think for me it's the reindeer, I found their design really weird and off-putting, they all look so spindly and feminine, and I found the image of them walking on two legs and wearing clothes to be quite freaky, the image doesn't work the way it's meant to. And I never cared for the moral of Rudolph, they make fun of his pretty glowing red nose until it's suddenly useful to them and then he's suddenly accepted, not for who he is but for what he can do! And there was something a little off about that Santa too, he wasn't fat enough, in fact he looked positively jacked under that red gear! He voice didn't sound jolly enough either, he sounded more like He-Man! The voice actor did a terrible job. All in all though I didn't hate this, it just didn't work for me, I found it most wanting. It's just a wholesome fluff piece and a good old fashioned nostalgic throwback to the children's Christmas tales of yesteryear... X

Scarecrow-88 This one is a bit different than what you are accustomed to seeing in that the village of the cartoon is occupied by reindeer instead of people(well, except for Santa). Rudolph, who of course is self conscious of his bright and shining nose, becomes Santa's most prize reindeer in that he provides the light which allows old Saint Nick to see. There's even an unusual coliseum celebration in Rudolph's honor. The reason to see this is because it contains the old Max Fleischer touch and is a look back to the way animation used to be, simple and rough around the edges but endearing and in rich color. It was kind of unusual seeing Santa delivering presents to reindeer, but even that gives this particular cartoon(only a mere 8 minutes)a charm.

John Cassidy Before people get the wrong idea, I absolutely love the 1964 Rankin-Bass special (I happen to be a Rankin-Bass fan, too; MAD MONSTER PARTY is my other favorite), but if one should be virtually faithful to the the source material by Robert May and Johnny Marks, then look no further than this animated short by Max Fleischer! You can't get any better than the Fleischer brothers (Max or Dave), so this classic short should never be forgotten. The animation is just as good as their famous Superman shorts. The story is much simpler, without any excess supporting characters to steal the show. Rudolph and Santa Claus share the full spotlight, and I couldn't have it any other way. It's a bit unfair to compare the two versions, I know. But if you think about it, this is just about as faithful to the source material as you could get. Plus, Rudolph looks adorable, as he should.As for the plot, well, sing that famous song and you have it all in a nutshell!While it won't be officially available as of this writing, your best bet is to look for some cheap Christmas-themed public domain DVDs which should include this short. I recommend it! It should make a great companion to the 1964 special, especially for historical reasons.

carbunkle The talents of Max & Dave Fleischer were surely not wasted on this terrific little cartoon. The use of real sets or dioramas for the backgrounds in their cartoons was a brilliant idea, and looks fantastic. Especially compared to the cranked-out garbage that litters the TV nowadays. This toon is available on many 'public domain' vhs tapes, and should be easy to locate by eager collectors or cartoon fans.