It's obvious why this theatrically released Rankin/Bass holiday claymation movie is not considered a family classic. It just goes way too far in being creepy and disturbing, uniting the stories from three Christmas specials of the '60s and '70s into one overlong feature. The voices of the original TV Rudolph, Frosty and Santa (from different holiday classics still beloved today) get together to fight an evil Ice King, seemingly forgotten by Rankin and Bass that they had created Freeze Miser just a few years before. Paul Frees, who had voiced the role of the Burgonmeister Meisterburger, takes on the role of this evil sleeping king woken up and it determined to take over Santa's kingdom, destroy Rudolph and reclaim the far north for himself, and it's ironic that one of the characters he encounters looks like the Burgenmeister, even though the script indicates that it's another character. Mickey Rooney once again is Santa Claus, with "The Bold and the Beautiful'" belived Darlene Conley as the voice of Mrs. Claus. Jackie Vernon returns as Frosty and has a bride in the sweet tones of Shelly Winters. Billie Mae Richards hasn't changed in voice at all as the youthful Rudolph, his blinking nose in danger from the icicle breathing dragons who are the evil king's tools of evil.
Joining in this bizarre story that has Santa and Mrs Claus in danger when they take a little vacation and Rudolph and Frosty traveling with the circus run by Ethel Merman's Lily Lorraine. She gets a couple of campy songs while looking in claymation like Annie Oakley, playing the mother of the jazz singing Shelby Flint who breaks into a bizarre version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Alan Sues gets a comical villain roll as a demented reindeer jealous of Rudolph and determined to sabotage their journey at the evil king's request, and there are other characters as well that pop into this overpopulated animated fiasco that did have a brief theatrical release before going to television. Some of the line readings sound exactly like a bunch of actors sitting around a table speaking into a microphone, not really giving any effort other than to get the job done and collect a paycheck. After a while, it's just a bit too much, overcrowded with detail and twists and very bizarre elements that really make no sense. This is certainly one Christmas adventure that I can skip on a yearly basis, having seen bits and pieces of it in passing and truly aghast at how it comes off as a whole.
Joining in this bizarre story that has Santa and Mrs Claus in danger when they take a little vacation and Rudolph and Frosty traveling with the circus run by Ethel Merman's Lily Lorraine. She gets a couple of campy songs while looking in claymation like Annie Oakley, playing the mother of the jazz singing Shelby Flint who breaks into a bizarre version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Alan Sues gets a comical villain roll as a demented reindeer jealous of Rudolph and determined to sabotage their journey at the evil king's request, and there are other characters as well that pop into this overpopulated animated fiasco that did have a brief theatrical release before going to television. Some of the line readings sound exactly like a bunch of actors sitting around a table speaking into a microphone, not really giving any effort other than to get the job done and collect a paycheck. After a while, it's just a bit too much, overcrowded with detail and twists and very bizarre elements that really make no sense. This is certainly one Christmas adventure that I can skip on a yearly basis, having seen bits and pieces of it in passing and truly aghast at how it comes off as a whole.