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Editorial Reviews
Long, long ago, the North Pole was ruled by the good fairy Lady Boreal and her enemy was the wicked wizard Winterbolt. To protect Santa Claus from Winterbolt's foggy fury, Lady Boreal grants Rudolph the Reindeer a magical, glowing nose. Years later, Rudolph and his friend Frosty the Snowman are called on to save a needy circus at a special 4th of July benefit. But their big-top act turns to big-time trouble when Winterbolt appears -- with a plan to steal Frosty's magic hat and extinguish Rudolph's legendary nose! Brought to shing Animagic life with the voices of Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Red Buttons and Shelley Winters, this feature-length fable is a must-see for all seasons.
Year: 1979 Directors: Arthur Rankin, Jr., and Jules Bass
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have more to say about it at DVDtoons.com, but here's the short of it: It does run a little long, and could have certainly used some editing, but this movie is fun and rates well against the R-B TV specials. Anyone who thinks this movie is too confusing could not have been paying much attention, and I also would not say it's scary--- my 3-year old loved it (of course, it will depend on your own child's "scare threshhold"). Personally, I enjoyed the "origin" of Rudolph, found the new mythology of the characters charming, and thought Winterbolt to be a great villain. The movie gets a 7/10 from me, although the video quality could have been a little better on the disc. The lack of extras was disappointing too.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
If you are a Rankin-Bass fanatic like me, you will want to add this video to your holiday viewing schedule. While it's not perfect, the enjoyable parts outweigh the flaws. It's wonderful to see old friends like Rudolph, Frosty, Crystal (along with their two snow children), Big Ben, Jack Frost, and others all reunited. Winterbolt and his crew are without a doub the most scary of all Christmas villains and lend a chilling element to the story that adults will love, but which may be a bit too much for children. Though I do agree that it would have been even better to see Clarice, Hermie, and Yukon again too, the characters who DO appear are wonderful. I think you'll enjoy this one.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I guess the highlight of this feature film is that we finally get to see Frosty the Snowman in Rankin/Bass's trademark stop-motion puppet-animation process, Animagic! Now, don't get me wrong, the original TV specials "Frosty the Snowman" and the sequel "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" were great but I think we all wish that they were done in puppet-animation like Rudolph, Jack Frost and Santa Claus. Unfortunately, that may be one of the only highlights of this film.
At a running time of over 95 minutes, there is very little to keep the story rolling. There is also an over abundance of non-sensical plot twists and flashbacks that even I found confusing, let alone the children this movie was targeted for. And unless your child is a fan of showtunes (and c'mon what child isn't?), then the songs which appear every few minutes will most likely bore them.
The plot concerns the evil King Winterbolt who was put into a long deep sleep by the magical Lady Boreal. Upon awakening, he finds there is a new king of the North Pole named Santa Claus, and decides to make him get lost in a blizzard courtesy of his snow-breathing dragons so that he may once again rule the North Pole with his evil ways. The only problem is Rudolph's nose, which he decides must be extinguished for his plans to be carried out. In one of the many flashback sequences we learn that Rudolph's shiny red nose which came from the magic of Lady Boreal, will go out if it is ever used for bad purposes, even once.
King Winterbolt decides to offer Frosty and his family magic emulets that will allow them to visit the great 4th of July Circus by the Sea without melting, but only until the "Final Fireworks Fade on the Fourth". Santa Claus agrees to pick them all up when the fireworks end and whisk them back to the North Pole before Frosty and his wife and two children are turned into puddles of water.
But, Winterbolt's snow breathing dragons whisk up a storm to keep Santa and Mrs. Claus from reaching the circus in time. Meanwhile, Winterbolt gets some help from a mean-spirited reindeer named Scratcher, and the two decide to use their sneaky ways to blackmail Rudolph into using his nose for bad.
If this seems confusing, imagine actually watching this film or better yet, imagine a child watching this film! Like many of R/B's later efforts, this one is rooted more in the magic and mystical style of "Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" than the fairytale-ish style of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".
There are some crazy songs which I found very amusing, like "Don't Let The Parade Pass You By" which is sung by Ethel Merman in her crazy style. There are also some special guest stars including Jack Frost from "Jack Frost" and Big Ben the whale from "Rudolph's Shiny New Year". In fact, there are a lot of nice touches and this film with the three biggest stars of Christmas could have been really good, if only the writing were better, some of the songs were scrapped and the running time was shortened.
If you are a fan of Rankin/Bass's work, you will not want to miss this one although you most likely will have trouble getting your kids to sit through the whole thing with you.
**Warning!!** The DVD release of this film has the sound very badly out-of-sync which annoys one throughout the movie! Because of this I lowered my rating for this film to 2 stars. I'm surprised that Warner Bros would allow a DVD to be released like this, and what's worse is that the former VHS release did not have this problem!! Shame on you, Warner Brothers!
At a running time of over 95 minutes, there is very little to keep the story rolling. There is also an over abundance of non-sensical plot twists and flashbacks that even I found confusing, let alone the children this movie was targeted for. And unless your child is a fan of showtunes (and c'mon what child isn't?), then the songs which appear every few minutes will most likely bore them.
The plot concerns the evil King Winterbolt who was put into a long deep sleep by the magical Lady Boreal. Upon awakening, he finds there is a new king of the North Pole named Santa Claus, and decides to make him get lost in a blizzard courtesy of his snow-breathing dragons so that he may once again rule the North Pole with his evil ways. The only problem is Rudolph's nose, which he decides must be extinguished for his plans to be carried out. In one of the many flashback sequences we learn that Rudolph's shiny red nose which came from the magic of Lady Boreal, will go out if it is ever used for bad purposes, even once.
King Winterbolt decides to offer Frosty and his family magic emulets that will allow them to visit the great 4th of July Circus by the Sea without melting, but only until the "Final Fireworks Fade on the Fourth". Santa Claus agrees to pick them all up when the fireworks end and whisk them back to the North Pole before Frosty and his wife and two children are turned into puddles of water.
But, Winterbolt's snow breathing dragons whisk up a storm to keep Santa and Mrs. Claus from reaching the circus in time. Meanwhile, Winterbolt gets some help from a mean-spirited reindeer named Scratcher, and the two decide to use their sneaky ways to blackmail Rudolph into using his nose for bad.
If this seems confusing, imagine actually watching this film or better yet, imagine a child watching this film! Like many of R/B's later efforts, this one is rooted more in the magic and mystical style of "Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" than the fairytale-ish style of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".
There are some crazy songs which I found very amusing, like "Don't Let The Parade Pass You By" which is sung by Ethel Merman in her crazy style. There are also some special guest stars including Jack Frost from "Jack Frost" and Big Ben the whale from "Rudolph's Shiny New Year". In fact, there are a lot of nice touches and this film with the three biggest stars of Christmas could have been really good, if only the writing were better, some of the songs were scrapped and the running time was shortened.
If you are a fan of Rankin/Bass's work, you will not want to miss this one although you most likely will have trouble getting your kids to sit through the whole thing with you.
**Warning!!** The DVD release of this film has the sound very badly out-of-sync which annoys one throughout the movie! Because of this I lowered my rating for this film to 2 stars. I'm surprised that Warner Bros would allow a DVD to be released like this, and what's worse is that the former VHS release did not have this problem!! Shame on you, Warner Brothers!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Xmas Movie
Don't listen to reviews saying the storyline doesn't make sense, how could the story line not make sense, it was written for kids, I understood it when I was 5 and still understand... Read more
Published 1 month ago by equistina
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas in July
My granddaughters, 3 and 5 years of age, absolutely love this. Since it is no longer Christmas season, I'm rather tired of it but they are not!
Published 1 month ago by MargaretC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rudolph Christmas in July
This movie continues the great tradition of Rudolph movies, my wife now has every single one I think! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Steven Downham
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of My Favorites!!!
Christmas in July how cool is that, everyone would love to go to the beach and play in the snow all in the same day.
Published 3 months ago by GRIMM
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable!
My husband recommended this movie and our children ages seven, two and none months love it! A little drama but not too much. Shipped out and arrived earlier than expected.
Published 4 months ago by EmmyNic
5.0 out of 5 stars
dvd
My Grandson loves this DVD, we have watched it 3 times since Christmas Day. Our house can't seem to get enough of Rudolph.
Published 4 months ago by KBrown123
5.0 out of 5 stars
My son loves this!
My son loves this movie! He watches it quite a bit. He loves the characters from the Christmas classics he has seen in other movies. The animation is so adorable. Read more
Published 4 months ago by jennifer johnson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Forgettable camp
Not as good as Rankin/Bass other specials. The songs in this are forgettable, while the plot drags on (an on, an on). Read more
Published 10 months ago by ✧ St. Winter ✧
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Christmas DVD
I loved the DVD. It came in time for Christmas. The only thing I didn't like was the cover was cracked when I received it.
Published 16 months ago by Midwest Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars
dvd
this product was everything that i hoped it would be so thank you for the swift and easy transaction. the product got to me in a reasonable fashion.
Published 17 months ago by elaine hall
