Customer Reviews

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

I'm alittle confused on some of the reviews for this movie. Some of the reviews were made before this movie was released and some are of the original Rudolph. Anyway, I was a little skeptical at first when I started to watch this "sequel" . I was sure I wasn't going to like it but to my surprise it was quite enjoyable. The computer animation looks great and you will find almost all the old characters in this movie except Sam. They tried to use voices that sounded like the original characters and they even have a couple catchy songs. My kids just love it. They have already watched it numerous times. They love seeing these familar faces in a new movie. I still prefer the original Rankin/Bass Rudolph but this is a very cute movie that all kids will enjoy.

I'll be the first to admit that GoodTimes has produced some, shall we say, "less-than-perfect" features over the years, but they have done very well here. This tale was obviously made by people who have a great deal of love and respect for the 1964 classic original. They have worked very hard to use computer animation to come as close as possible to the look of the old stop-motion animation, and I think they have succeeded. The characters' movements are a bit smoother than the original, but that is about the only difference.

Returning from the '60s are Rudolph, the reindeer of the famous shiny nose, his dentist/elf buddy Hermie, the whacked-out miner Yukon Cornelius, the Abominable Snow Monster (will he ever learn to swim?), Rudolph's girlfriend Clarice, all of the minor characters, and of course, Santa Claus. They have come together to investigate the mysterious Toy Taker, who has managed to succesfully pirate all the world's toys, including Santa's workshop itself. The new actors provided to give voice to the classic characters all sound perfect. Richard Dreyfuss does well in a role as the obligatory snowman narrarator (though I do miss Burl Ives), and Jamie Lee Curtis puts in an appearance as the Hippo Queen. Rick Moranis provides the voice of the Toy Taker himself.

Like many others out there, I grew up watching the original stop-motion Rudolph every year. I was a little worried that this wouldn't be any good, especially when I saw the GoodTimes label on it. But, my kids LOVE it! And, it was produced for them, after all. This movie makes absolutely NO pretense whatsoever that it was designed and produced for anyone but preschoolers, and it certainly succeeded with mine.

As adults, we see the world with different perspectives than we did as little kids. Nothing, no matter how well done, will ever recapture the joys of the specials we saw for the first time as little kids back when you only had a chance to watch these shows once or twice a year. Especially since now you can buy them on DVD or VHS and watch them over and over, any time you want. Anything is more special when you are a kid and it is only availble to watch once a year.

The animation is not the most top-notch out there, but then, it's not supposed to be. It's more concerned with looking like the original, with all its flaws due to 60's technology. And yes, the plot is not the most original in the world. Any parent will figure out the identity and motives of the Toy Taker before the movie is half over. But the kids will love it, and really, isn't that what it's all about??

...but guess what kiddies, it doesn't!!!!!

I will put this very gently. Anyone here who rates this movie with a 1 (or less) and says nothing more than "It's not the original" is a moron. Now let me put things in a proper perspective.

Now I must admit that I've grown up with the original Rudolph for 19 years straight and am a MAJOR fanatic of anything produced by Rankin/Bass, so when my 5-year-old little cousin forced me to watch this movie when I visited him for the weekend, I was VERY worried. First of all, this movie has been bombed online more than the Middle East, and it dons the "Goodtimes" label. (Goodtimes VHS of beloved movie=Adjusting the tracking for at least an hour before you get a good picture, and anything else from Goodtimes Entertainment=crap). Anyway, cherishing what memories I had left of the first Rudolph, I reluctantly sat down to watch. Surprisingly, it was excellent.

First of all, everybody from the original (except most of the original misfit toys have been "replaced" with the next generation of misfits including the "Boomerang that doesn't return", and the Burl Ives snowman was replaced with Scoop the Snowman) makes a comeback (and with voices that are dead-on to the originals). Clarice is now learning how to fly, but will Rudolph's advice help her to stay off the ground? Hermie comes back, and this time, he has built his own super-duper, portable all-terrain dentist cart! He's the best dentist the North Pole could ask for, but he has a crush on someone. Will this timid, shy elf/dentist find a way to ask her out? The Abominable Snowman (now known as Bumbles) and Yukon Cornelius now run a Peppermint Mine. (If anyone would like to know why a Peppermint Mine instead of a silver and gold one, one of the cut scenes from the original shows that Yukon stumbled upon this mine, and that's why Yukon throughout the first Rudolph kept licking his pick after it touched wherever it landed.) Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus look a little different, because they don't have dots for eyes. They actually look better that way. And YES!!!!!! There's more footage of King Moonracer!!!!! Oh my God he is my favorite!!!! He has a horrible toothache!!!!!! Thank god a skilled elf/dentist like Hermie takes his nifty all-terrain dentist cart to the Island of Misfit Toys, but what will poor King Moonracer need done? My favorite of my three new characters was Queen Camilla. I actually knew someone who talked and acted the way she did in real life. I was laughing the entire time she was on the screen. The only character who I didn't care for too much was Scoop the Snowman. I'm not saying this because he's no Burl Ives. If he's not Burl Ives, SO WHAT?!? Sure Burl Ives was better, but I'm saying this because at some tense, thematic moments in this movie (which in the first one would be Bumbles BEFORE he was tamed), instead of hiding behind an umbrella, he tells the story with what appears to be an evil, grinning face. That's the best I can describe it. When Scoop had his "evil" face on during the tense, thematic moments, it scared the crap out of my little cousin, and I had to pause the movie and get him a glass of milk.

Anyway, the story line was brilliant. If anyone can recall a TV cartoon series from 1993 called Bonkers and can remember the two-part pilot episode, then they'd too know what I'm talking about!!! (In Bonkers, there was this deranged cartoon rabbit called "The Collector" and he took cartoons like the "Toy Taker" took toys.) Okay, some people think that the ending was ripped from Toy Story 2, but let me give you all a reality check here. This actual movie was shown on some cable channel for the first time in 1998, and THEN three years later was released onto video. So in other words, this came out BEFORE Toy Story 2. And for those of you who are complaining about the computer graphics, DON'T. This is Goodtimes Entertainment we're talking about, not the multi-million dollar razz-a-ma-tazz computer animation job we're so used to seeing!!! For goodness sake, I found the computer animation to be just fine by me. "Moving tanks", "choppy animation", etc. PLEASE!!!! Okay, so Yukon's beard was off just a touch. LET IT GO!!!!

Now comes the other reason why I give this a four and a half (I gave it a five because that's what 4.5 rounds up to). (Scoop was the first reason for the lower rating). The songs were actually VERY catchy, but the orchestration sounded like it came out of a cheap MIDI module. It sounded chinsy. The songs themselves (if you can ignore the cheap instrument sounds) were very great, and would be so much better if Goodtimes hired a real orchestra.

Anyway, to sum it up, the movie (other than the lacking orchestration) was superb. If you're looking for the original Rudolph, then don't waste your time complaining about this one, but if you're looking for a trustworthy sequel, then go for it. (Note that the DVD has special features showing the painstaking time it took for them to get the computer animation just right). Also, if you people want something to moan and groan about, go purchase "Frosty Returns" and see what an abomination THAT one was to the original "Frosty". Thank you.

There are three types of reviews worth ignoring for this video:
(1) Anyone who thought they were buying the 1964 classic. Why would you trust the review of anyone that dumb?
(2) Anyone who says "Rudolph is sacred." Rankin Bass et al. have already done two Rudolph sequels. This isn't virgin territory.
(3) Anyone who says my kids loved it, but I hated it. Just who are animated Christmas specials produced for, anyway?

Truth is that this could have been awful like Goodtimes Rudolph movie from a few years back. This time the writers went out of their way to be faithful to the spirit of the original. Nearly every moment pays homage to some element of the original Rankin & Bass production, from the opening credits to the concluding musical number.

Rankin & Bass's Rudolph sequels, great as they are, abandon all the other characters but Rudolph (even Santa was replaced by the Frosty Santa or the Year w/o Santa Claus Santa). The writers of this try to pick up where the 1964 special left off, with Hermie and Clarice and Yukon et al. (no Fireball, unfortunately)

The songs are, with some exceptions, a definite attempt to draw on Rankin & Bass type orchestrations. They aren't all as great as the Johnny Marks songs, but "Best Christmas Ever" is a worthy contender.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the writers were able to build on Romeo Muller's world from 1964 without wrecking it. It's a fun, warm holiday special. Real Rudolph fans ought to give it a chance.

My chief complaints are that the computer animation falls apart with Yukon and the Bumble and Yukon's voice is off. These are really pretty minor complaints, however.

Yes, my kids love it.

I remember watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer when it first appeared on TV in 1964. They used stop-motion animation techniques. As a result, the movements of the characters were at times jerky and fuzzy. However, the storyline was great and it has become a classic over the years.

Finally, after over 35 years, a sequel is made in which computer animation is used. The animation is just fine despite some of the previous reviews. Though it doesn't match the quality of Pixar, it certainly is better than many of the computer animated cartoons on TV, VHS and DVD. The show is far more colorful and detailed than the original. The story is good and fun. As for the Queen Hippo, she is there to let Rudolph learn something. But most importantly, it uses facts and characters from the original and does not make illogical storyline changes. It is a very worthy sequel.

This DVD is worth owning. If you have small children, they will love it.

Terrific sequel to the beloved 1964 classic. Great story line for young & old! Jamie Lee, Richard Dreyfus & Ric Moranis were wonderful. The animation looks great. It stayed true to the original classic but had a fresh, contemporary feel. Buy it, your kids and you will thoroughly enjoy it. A great addition to the familiar Christmas classics library.

I am as diehard a Rudolph fan as you could ever hope to find. After reading all the reviews on this film, I shyed away from purchasing it, but then I decided to go for it. Now it's true we're all spoiled by Pixar's computer animation and this doesn't compare to them. Once again, GoodTimes Entertainment pulls off a winner with good songs and an entertaining story line. I really loved their animated feature musical from 1998 in spite of the reviews on that as well. It was great to see the original cast back in this feature and the voicing was very convincing. How will this feature attract kids? I can't answer that. As an adult, I really liked it. Though I did not care for the style of animation, the soundtrack was nice and music pulls a lot of weight when I choose what movies I like or dislike. I give 2 thumbs up to GoodTimes and hope they continue to publish great Rudolph related titles in the years ahead!

This new Rudolph uses digital animation instead of the wonderful stop-motion action of the original, and it's a poorly-scripted, miserably-executed mess. It's an unfortunate appendage to one of my favorite childhood specials, and I hope someone takes a magnet to it. No matter, though -- my kids have already forgotten it. Don't even consider buying "Island of Misfit Toys" unless you've exhausted the wonderfully-creative originals. They are decades better than this quickly-conceived piece of shlock.

I was amazed by how horrible the CGI graphics were. If you are going to try to revive a classic please do it right. Instead, the visuals look like someone has a 'make your own animated film' software on a PC at home and whipped them up in one night. Wow, what a horrendous thing this film is- poor story, poor visuals, poor writing- there are 200 Christmas movies on Amazon someone should consider before this. Please do yourself a favor and don't subject your family to this.

Being a huge fan of the original 1964 Rankin/Bass puppet-animated masterpiece, I immediately took offense to this computer-animated sequel. So I watched this movie pretty intent on hating it. I would have preferred that if they were going to make a sequel, that they'd at least use stop-motion animation, but this was not bad. To my surprise - I actually enjoyed this special. I found it to be very colorful and Christmas-y looking, although the characters did lack facial emotions (at some points in the film, some of the characters reminded me of the ghosts from "Pac-Man"). I'm not an expert on computer animation but I liked what was done here....a little bit weird....but weird is good.

The story was cute - it concerned the faceless Toytaker who sucks up toys through a giant vacuum into his blimp. Most of the original characters were here (Rudolph, Clarice, Hermey the Dentist, Yukon Cornelius, Charley-in-the-Box, King Moonracer etc...) as well as a few new ones (a different Snowman narrator, a pink hippo who performs plastic surgery on toys, a piggy bank with no slot for coins etc...) I felt, after viewing this, that the makers did actually have a genuine like and respect for their predecessor (after all, imitation is the highest form of flattery) and that they tried to keep the look and sound of everyone as close to the original as they could.

The burning question of the original...."What exactly was wrong with the doll that caused her to be on the Island Of Misfit Toys"?....is never answered in this sequel and I guess, will forever remain one of the great mysteries of our time.

The one thing I did not like about this special were the songs...the best of which were bare-able, the worst of which were pretty bad. While an excellent score like that of Rankin/Bass's "Rudolph" would be almost impossible to top, this one did not even come close.

But overall, a very enjoyable Christmas special (especially for kids) that I will probably watch again. However, I think when all is said and done....in a couple years, this show will fade away - like the other "Good Times" Rudolph remake a few years back - and the original classic will still be shining as brightly as Rudolph's nose!