Beloved Christmas Favorite Returns To TV Home After 53 Years

One of the best and most loved Christmas specials of them all is going home after 53 years.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, TV’s longest-running Christmas special returns to NBC in December, where it premiered 60 years ago.

The claymation special will air on December 6, the very same date it premiered back in 1964 as a part of the General Electric Fantasy Hour.

Fun Nights of Classic Christmas TV Viewing

NBC has put together a two-night Christmas TV special lineup that will make you smile.

Rudolph will air 8-9:15 pm Friday, Dec. 6, the exact date the show debuted in 1964.

Frosty the Snowman, after more than five decades on CBS, will be broadcast at 8:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 5, following the Dr. Suess cartoon, How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

The Bass-Rankin “stop-motion” animated Rudolph debuted a year before CBS premiered A Charlie Brown Christmas, and two years before Boris Karloff first narrated The Grinch cartoon on CBS.

Rudolph aired every year on NBC through 1971.

CBS obtained the rights in 1972 and showed it annually through last December.

The Stop-Motion Filming Technique of 'Rudolph'

 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer used a stop-motion animation technique called Animagic to create its claymation.

According to Smithsonian.com, Bass-Rankin contracted with Tad Mochinaga, a stop-motion pioneer in Tokyo, to create the animation. Scripts, pre-recorded voices, and sounds were sent to Japan, where an estimated 82 tiny 8-inch puppet figures were made.

The characters were built with joints so that any part of their body could be moved, including their eyes, mouth, and ears. 

It took 24 frames to create one second of filmed animation. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was in production for 18 months.

The Story of 'Rudolph'

"The classic animated special offers the perspective of Rudolph, who's told he could not play in any Reindeer Games due to his glowing nose," a synopsis said.

"Rudolph sets out on a fantastic journey where he meets Hermey the elf, prospector Yukon Cornelius, and a host of Misfit Toys, all while trying to hide from the Abominable Snow Monster,'."

"The story is told narrated by Burl Ives, who plays Sam the Snowman and whose iconic recording of the 'Rudolph' song has become part of the culture."