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''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass Productions and currently distributed by DreamWorks Classics. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of ''The General Electric Fantasy Hour''. The special was based on the Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the 1939 poem ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS, with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' and ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'', ''Rudolph'' no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season on CBS. Unlike other specials that also air on several cable channels (including ABC Family), Rudolph only airs on CBS. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special in history. 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the television special and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014. ==Plot== Sam the Snowman is introduced at the start of the special. He welcomes the viewers to Christmastown and begins to regale the viewers with a tale of a young reindeer and his glowing red nose. The wife of Donner the reindeer has just delivered a male fawn. They decide his legal name will be Rudolph, and they are surprised that he possesses a glowing red nose. Santa Claus arrives to meet the new fawn and is surprised by his glowing nose as well; he makes it known that Rudolph will not pull his sleigh if this trait continues into adulthood. Donner attempts to ameliorate the situation by placing a dirt cover on Rudolph's nose, to make it appear normal. A year later, Rudolph's parents take him out to the reindeer games where Rudolph, along with all of the other young bucks, will be trained to fly and pull Santa's sleigh when they get older. There, Rudolph meets a friendly reindeer named Fireball, and they quickly become friends. The pair then sees a group of does, including one named Clarice, who seems to be attracted to Rudolph; Fireball encourages Rudolph to speak with her. She thinks he's cute, which causes Rudolph to perform a dazzling leap into the air and fly. However, when Rudolph and Fireball engage in celebratory play, the cover pops off Rudolph's nose and unveils his "non-conformity", scaring Fireball and ending their friendship. All of the other yearlings then make fun at Rudolph's nose, and he is not allowed to join in any more reindeer games. Clarice, the only reindeer not the least bit bothered by Rudolph's secret, catches up with the sulking Rudolph to try to comfort him. However, Clarice's father forbids her to hang around with Rudolph. Meanwhile, an elf named Hermey dreams of becoming a dentist rather than making toys. The head elf is outraged at Hermey's persistent obsession with dentistry, which is interfering with his work as an elf. Eventually Hermey and Rudolph meet and, noting that they are both misfits in their respective societies, decide to team up and run away together. Along the way, they meet a cheerful and boisterous prospector named Yukon Cornelius, who dreams of discovering silver and gold, before the trio bumps into the Abominable Snow Monster (the Bumble, for short) who is attracted to Rudolph's nose. Escaping on an iceberg, they arrive on the Island of Misfit Toys, where unwanted toys live with a winged lion named King Moonracer, until he can find homes for them. The king agrees to let them stay for one night, in exchange for a promise from Rudolph that as soon as he, Yukon, and Hermey return, they will ask Santa to deliver the Misfit Toys to children who need them. However, Rudolph decides to leave the island alone, knowing that his nose will endanger his friends. Rudolph grows older and drifts from place to place, making and losing friends as he is continually rejected for his glowing nose. Eventually deciding to go home, he returns to his cave two days before Christmas to find that his peers continue to mock him, and his parents, along with Clarice, had left to search for him months ago. Rudolph then sets out to find his family and discovers that they have been captured by the Bumble, who plans to eat them. After a brief fight, Rudolph is knocked unconscious. Fortunately, Hermey and Yukon arrive, and hatch a rescue plan. Luring the monster out of the cave, the pair knock the Bumble unconscious, and Hermey extracts his teeth. Rudolph awakens, but he and his family are blocked from their escape by the also awakened beast who blocks the entrance to the cave. Yukon chases the now toothless Bumble to a cliff, driving them both off the edge. Mourning Yukon's apparent death, Rudolph, the Donners, Clarice, and Hermey nonetheless return home, where everyone apologizes for the way they acted while the travelers relate their adventure. Santa promises Rudolph that he'll find homes for all the Misfit Toys, the Elf Foreman agrees to let Hermey open his own dentist's office a week after Christmas. Even Donner apologizes to Rudolph for being critical about his nose. During the celebration, Yukon returns with a tamed Bumble, now a kinder and gentler monster, and thus reveals he survived because "bumbles bounce!" However, a huge blizzard blows in, which threatens to cancel Santa's flight. While announcing the news to the elves and reindeer, Santa notices Rudolph's gleaming nose and decides that its light could cut through the storm. With Rudolph leading the sleigh team, Santa and his reindeer fly off to the island where the Misfit Toys, grieving about being left out and unloved, are cheered up when Santa and Rudolph arrive to pick them up. The special ends with Santa wishing the viewers a merry Christmas as he and Rudolph fly off into the night. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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