"Everyone has a light that shines from within - but only a lucky few
can make their light shine bright enough for the whole world to see."
Hello everyone!
Yes, yes, obviously I know what's what and who's not real but, the magic of Christmas DOES seem to be particularly strong when it boils down to the actual evening and then day afterwards of the time allotted.
I have to work until 5 pm today (luckily, our shift is shortened!) so I won't be participating in any shenanigans until I get home afterwards, but I honestly can't wait to just sit back, stretch my legs out, and not have to worry about a single thing.
Which means that I'm going to be just like the reindeer who pull Santa's sleigh, since they really only work one night per year for AMAZING benefits LOL.
Tonight's movie choice is all about that, or at the very least all about life up at the North Pole where Santa and his wife rule, and where a lonely reindeer buck with a red nose is the hot topic for discussion from the moment he's born.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, read on: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer flies straight into Christmas next!
Rudolph's born on a particular night up on the North Pole, when the sprites that make up the Northern Lights are putting on a magnificent show. Right from birth, however, it's obvious that Rudi's got something a little different about him: a red nose that glows, often without any rhyme or reason.
His father, Blitzen, one of Santa's fliers, is concerned that the kids at school will make fun of him once he attends - and he's right to think that way since his friends (and family, as the fliers seem to all be related to some extent) already start the whole teasing jibe right off the bat after seeing the baby buck bouncing about and his nose glowing.
This, however, isn't actually the only issue this movie showcases, but one of a few: the other being that Santa and his people live in somewhat harmony with a wicked witch of the North Pole, Stormella, whose ice bridge is the only way to cross a steep gorge, and the access point to the outside world if you can't fly.
So naturally, you can expect tensions to rise, especially when two of the Elves accidentally crash into her ice garden, causing her to storm into the workshop to punish them.
Since Santa's all about second chances and not punishment, he refuses to hand them over, and she promises that the first person who'll cross her bridge will have her unleash the storm of the century, just because she can. Then she flounces off.
This is kind of set aside as Rudolph grows, and meets exactly the kind of prejudice Blitzen was afraid of, particularly inspired by the goading of his cousin Arrow; we also learn that it's usually Rudi's mood swings that cause the nose to glow, and that only Zoe, a gentle doe in the same year as he is, thinks his nose is just fine and doesn't understand what the fuss is all about.
Santa agrees, seeing Rudolph hiding away one day, and explains that everyone has a part to play in their extended family, even Rudolph.
So even as he watches the fliers take Santa out for another Christmas (on that note, these fliers are about as cocky as the ones IRL who fly fighter jets LOL I feel like that was the inspiration) he decides to work hard so Santa can notice him at the Reindeer Games.
Said Games are a chance for everyone to participate and prove themselves, and they might just get chosen to fly the sleigh eventually - it's basically a contest with different parts that showcase what fliers have to go through when they're up in the air.
Rudolph does in fact participate once he hits his teen years, but unfortunately gets disqualified because of his red nose, a total BS move since Arrow's been cheating left, right and center, and nobody bothered to worry about that.
Ironically, it's also silly how Santa has no say about this, even if they're HIS games, nominally at least.
Anyway, Blitzen makes the grave error of calling the nose an accident, and having heard that, Rudolph decides to run away so that he can live his life out alone. Zoe, who's dumped Arrow because he's an insufferable twat with no Iceman or even Hangman redeeming qualities to him, learns this, and hightails it after him.
But while Rudolph is smart enough to venture into the wild AWAY from Stormella's bridge, finding friendship and shelter with a arctic fox Slyly, and polar bear Leonard, Zoe doesn't seem to possess the same smarts, as she crosses the bridge.
This makes Stormella pretty gleeful, but she doesn't actually unleash the storm until after Rudolph and Leonard try - and fail - to rescue the doe. Rudi learned of her imprisonment from the sprites, who also taught him how to actively control when his nose turns on or off, so this is a big help from that moment on (the funniest thing to me is when they're crossing the bridge, Stormella's alarm goes off, but all she sees is red light so she thinks the whole thing is on the fritz).
Slyly, who initially didn't tag along, now comes to the rescue, although the crew gets cornered by Stormella again; in the stand-off, she goes over the edge and almost into the chasm, but Rudolph saves her, which means she now owes him one wish. This seems to be the law at the North Pole, which even she has to abide by.
Rudolph wishes for one thing: for Stormella to be nice. Despite everyone trying to convince him otherwise, he sticks to that, and so they get a cutesy, cuddly Stormella in the aftermath, who explains that she can't stop the storm she's unleashed, it has to run its natural course, then hurries the kids home across her bridge.
As Santa's launched a rescue mission, they meet up with the two Elves who originally started the bridge fiasco, and ride home in style, but the situation's dire: Santa can't fly in this weather, because visibility is close to zero.
Then he gets the brilliant idea to use Rudolph's nose to light the way.
Harnessed in with the rest of the fliers - and his father's pride warming his backside since Blitzen usually leads the team up front - Rudi does what's expected of him and leads them all out through the storm to the other side.
Next morning, upon their return, they all have a huge party in the aftermath, and Rudolph is finally accepted exactly as who he is. He now has basically everything: Zoe and he are in love, he's got friends, and he's one of Santa's fliers. Life couldn't be better!
Ninety minutes and change of an animated story tackling issues about inclusivity and acceptance, this one will bring tears to your eyes every once in a while, and make you laugh at other times. Featuring stellar voice acting led by John Goodman as Santa and Whoopi Goldberg, of all people, as Stormella, you really can't help but fall in love with these characters.
Sure some are dopey and silly, but there's only so much you can do in the limited amount of runtime. It still gets to deliver exactly the message its wants - which is to say, everyone's different, and should be accepted as such - with an added bonus of some good humour along the way.
Definitely recommend you watch this around this time of year!
xx
*images and video not mine
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