Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudoph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa’s sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea…
<%%item_is_not_adult%%
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Sam the Snowman (voice): Burl Ives
- Rudolph (voice): Billie Mae Richards
- Yukon Cornelius (voice): Larry D. Mann
- Santa Claus / King Moonracer (voice): Stan Francis
- Donner / Clarice’s Father / Comet the Coach (voice): Paul Kligman
- Clarice (voice): Janis Orenstein
- Charlie-in-the-Box / Other Reindeer (voice): Alfie Scopp
- Head Elf / Spotted Elephant / Other Toys (voice): Carl Banas
- Mrs. Donner / Others (voice): Peg Dixon
- Hermey (voice): Paul Soles
- Doll / Others (voice): Corinne Conley
Film Crew:
- Producer: Jules Bass
- Producer: Arthur Rankin, Jr.
- Story: Robert May
- Writer: Romeo Muller
- Director: Larry Roemer
- Music: Johnny Marks
- Sound Supervisor: Bernard Cowan
- Sound Recordist: Eric Tomlinson
- Sound Recordist: Alan Mirchin
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Bob Elder
- Sound Effects: Walter Gustafson
- Sound Recordist: Bill Giles
- Sound Recordist: Ralph Friedman
Movie Reviews:
- Peter McGinn: This program is of course a Christmas classic. I don’t even know how young I was when I first watched it, or have any idea how many times I have seen it since. The music is fun and the story cute even in its lack of depth. But of course it is aimed at children, to watch as children, with children, or as an adult remembering childhood.
There are a group of follow-up shows in what the industry calls a franchise, but I confess I haven’t seen any of them. I expect I wouldn’t have the same fond feelings for them, if only because I would judge it for the first time as an adult. It is like the Charlie Brown Christmas show that way, compared to some of the later ones.
If you like humorous satire, go to YouTube and look up the Honest Trailer for this show, part of a series done by a channel called Screen Junkies. It is funny, but only if you can take a joke at the show’s expense.