Have You Ever Spotted the 'Murder' in 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'?

In one scene, an elf shoves a flightless bird out of Santa's sleigh as it soars through the Christmas sky.

By Stephen Andrew

The classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stop motion animated special is a beloved holiday favorite but, as some fans have pointed out over the years, there is a surprising case of murder in the vintage film. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), users have shared images from the movie, showing an elf shoving a swimming bird out of plane. This is notable, as the bird is from the Island of Misfit Toys and had previously stated that it can swim but not fly.

"THE ELF AT THE END OF RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER PUSHES THE SWIMMING BIRD OFF THE SLEIGH WITH NO UMBRELLA! WHAT?" one person exclaimed. Someone else offered, "Can't remember the last time I watched the oddly charming RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. Watched it again this morning and had completely forgot about the elf dropping the swimming, non-flying misfit bird out of the sleigh without an umbrella during the closing credits."

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a stop-motion animated TV special from 1964. It was produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, who would go on to also bring the world Christmas specials like Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. In addition to the original movie, Rankin and Bass also produced a number of spinoffs, such as Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.

The character of Rudolph was created by Robert L. May, as an assignment for the Montgomery Ward department store. Later, May persuaded his brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, to turn the character into a song. Initially released in 1949, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was first sung by crooner Harry Brannon on New York City radio in November, but later soared to No. 1 on radio charts the following month when it was recorded by legendary country musician Gene Autry.

According to official Gene Autry biographer, Holly George-Warren — in the book Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry — the country singer wasn't too keen on recording the song at first, but the song's writer, Marks talked Autry's musical director, Carl Cotner, into convincing him. Notably, Marks always credited Autry for giving the song the life it took on, according to a letter he sent in 1961. 

"What I sent you in 1949 were ink dots on a piece of paper. You had to translate this into a sound, lyrically and musically, that people would like," Marks told Autry. "How many great songs have been lost because of the wrong rendition? Many people have said: 'Anyone could have made a hit with Rudolph.' My answer has always been: 'We'll never know. I only know that Gene Autry did do it, and that all the others followed.'"

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