Rudolph went from department-store giveaway to the one reindeer everybody can name under pressure. These 120 questions cover the 1939 booklet, hit song, 1964 television special, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, the Misfit Toys, production details, sequels, and one extremely useful nose.
The 1939 Story, Robert L. May & Gene Autry’s Song
Q: Who created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
A: Robert L. May, a copywriter working for Montgomery Ward.
Q: In what year was Rudolph first introduced?
A: 1939.
Q: What company originally distributed the Rudolph story?
A: Montgomery Ward, the Chicago-based department-store company.
Q: What form did the first Rudolph story take?
A: A promotional illustrated booklet given to shoppers during the Christmas season.
Q: Why did Montgomery Ward create its own Christmas booklet?
A: The company wanted to save money instead of buying coloring books to distribute.
Q: What job did Robert L. May hold at Montgomery Ward?
A: He wrote advertising copy.
Q: Which illustrator drew the original booklet?
A: Denver Gillen, who worked in Montgomery Ward’s art department.
Q: What animal did Denver Gillen study while developing Rudolph’s appearance?
A: Deer at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.
Q: Which name was considered before Robert May chose Rudolph?
A: Rollo and Reginald were among the alternatives.
Q: Why did Rudolph’s red nose initially concern some company executives?
A: Red noses could be associated with drunkenness, making the idea seem risky for children.
Q: What helped executives approve the red-nose idea?
A: Denver Gillen’s appealing illustrations showed a charming young reindeer rather than a comic drunk.
Q: How many copies of the first Rudolph booklet were distributed in 1939?
A: About 2.4 million.
Q: Why was Rudolph booklet distribution interrupted during World War II?
A: Paper shortages and wartime restrictions limited production.
Q: What happened when Montgomery Ward distributed the booklet again in 1946?
A: More than 3 million additional copies were given away.
Q: What generous business decision gave Robert May control of Rudolph?
A: Montgomery Ward transferred the copyright to him in 1947.
Q: How was Johnny Marks related to Robert L. May?
A: Marks was May’s brother-in-law.
Q: Who wrote the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
A: Johnny Marks.
Q: Which singing cowboy recorded the famous 1949 version?
A: Gene Autry.
Q: Who persuaded Gene Autry to record the Rudolph song?
A: Autry’s wife, Ina, encouraged him after he was initially reluctant.
Q: In what year did Gene Autry’s Rudolph recording become a hit?
A: 1949.
Q: Which record label released Gene Autry’s Rudolph recording?
A: Columbia Records.
Q: What kind of chart achievement did the song earn?
A: It reached number one on the U.S. pop singles chart around Christmas 1949.
Q: Which earlier reindeer poem supplies most of Rudolph’s teammates’ names?
A: A Visit from St. Nicholas.
Q: How many reindeer are named before Rudolph in the song?
A: Eight.
Q: What weather problem gives Rudolph his chance to lead?
A: Fog on Christmas Eve.
Q: What does Santa ask Rudolph to do?
A: Guide the sleigh with his glowing nose.
Q: How do the other reindeer treat Rudolph after he saves Christmas?
A: They celebrate him and predict he will go down in history.
Q: What children’s game do the reindeer exclude Rudolph from?
A: Reindeer games.
Q: Which phrase describes Rudolph’s unusually bright nose?
A: It glows, and the song says a viewer might even call it shiny.
Q: Why did the song become bigger than a single department-store promotion?
A: Its simple story, memorable chorus, Gene Autry recording, and annual radio play reached a national audience.
Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice & the 1964 Special
Q: In what year did the stop-motion Rudolph television special first air?
A: 1964.
Q: Which production company created the 1964 special?
A: Videocraft International, later known as Rankin/Bass Productions.
Q: Who were the two producers whose names became the Rankin/Bass label?
A: Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.
Q: What animation process did Rankin/Bass call Animagic?
A: Stop-motion puppet animation photographed one small movement at a time.
Q: Who narrates the special as Sam the Snowman?
A: Burl Ives.
Q: What instrument does Sam the Snowman play?
A: A banjo.
Q: Who voices Rudolph in the 1964 special?
A: Billie Mae Richards, credited at the time as Billy Richards.
Q: Why was Billie Mae Richards credited as Billy?
A: The shortened name obscured that an adult woman voiced the young male reindeer.
Q: Who is Rudolph’s father in the special?
A: Donner.
Q: What does Donner first try to do about Rudolph’s nose?
A: Cover it with mud so the glow will not show.
Q: What happens to the mud during reindeer practice?
A: The covering falls off, revealing Rudolph’s glowing nose.
Q: Who coaches the young reindeer?
A: Comet.
Q: Which young doe tells Rudolph she thinks he is cute?
A: Clarice.
Q: What happens when Clarice compliments Rudolph?
A: He becomes so delighted that he leaps and flies impressively.
Q: Who is Clarice’s disapproving father?
A: An unnamed buck who orders her to stay away from Rudolph.
Q: What is the name of Rudolph’s elf friend?
A: Hermey.
Q: What career does Hermey want instead of toy making?
A: Dentistry.
Q: Who supervises Hermey in Santa’s workshop?
A: The Head Elf.
Q: Why does Hermey leave the elf workshop?
A: He dislikes making toys and wants to pursue dentistry.
Q: Where do Rudolph and Hermey meet?
A: In the snowy wilderness after both run away.
Q: What do Rudolph and Hermey call themselves?
A: A couple of misfits.
Q: What makes Rudolph leave Hermey and Yukon temporarily?
A: He realizes his glowing nose is attracting the Abominable Snow Monster and endangering them.
Q: How long is Rudolph away before returning home?
A: He grows into a young adult during an absence described through a seasonal transition.
Q: What does Rudolph discover when he returns to Christmas Town?
A: His parents and Clarice left to search for him.
Q: Who has captured Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Clarice?
A: The Abominable Snow Monster of the North.
Q: How does Rudolph try to rescue his family?
A: He enters the monster’s cave and confronts it.
Q: What does the monster do to Rudolph?
A: It knocks him unconscious before Hermey and Yukon arrive.
Q: How does Hermey disable the Abominable Snow Monster?
A: He removes all of the monster’s teeth.
Q: What happens to Yukon during the rescue?
A: He falls over a cliff with the monster while trying to save the others.
Q: How does Rudolph ultimately become Santa’s lead reindeer?
A: His nose shines through the storm when ordinary navigation fails.
Yukon Cornelius, the Misfit Toys, Songs & Production
Q: What full name does the special give Yukon Cornelius?
A: Yukon Cornelius.
Q: What does Yukon search for across the North?
A: Silver and gold, according to his repeated prospecting cry.
Q: Why does Yukon throw his pickaxe into the air?
A: He lets it land, then licks the metal to test for minerals.
Q: What mineral did a deleted explanation suggest Yukon actually found?
A: Peppermint, matching the wintry striped candy.
Q: What dog team pulls Yukon’s sled?
A: A mismatched team including small dogs and other breeds rather than classic huskies.
Q: What nickname does Yukon use for the Abominable Snow Monster?
A: The Bumble.
Q: What surprising claim does Yukon make about Bumbles?
A: Bumbles bounce.
Q: How does the now-toothless Bumble help at the end?
A: He places the star on top of the giant Christmas tree.
Q: Who rules the Island of Misfit Toys?
A: King Moonracer.
Q: What kind of creature is King Moonracer?
A: A winged lion.
Q: What does King Moonracer do each night?
A: He flies around the world searching for unwanted toys.
Q: Why does King Moonracer allow Rudolph’s group to stay only one night?
A: The island is meant for toys, not living visitors.
Q: What promise does Rudolph make to the Misfit Toys?
A: He will ask Santa to find homes for them.
Q: Which misfit toy is a jack-in-the-box with the wrong name?
A: Charlie-in-the-Box.
Q: What is wrong with the toy train on the island?
A: It has square wheels on its caboose.
Q: What is wrong with the toy boat?
A: It cannot stay afloat and sinks.
Q: What unusual ammunition does the toy water pistol shoot?
A: Jelly.
Q: What pattern makes one toy elephant a misfit?
A: Pink spots.
Q: What bird is ridden by the island’s cowboy toy?
A: An ostrich.
Q: What happens when Santa finally visits the Island of Misfit Toys?
A: He loads the toys into his sleigh to deliver them to children.
Q: Which song introduces the special’s snowman narrator?
A: A Holly Jolly Christmas.
Q: Which song does Sam sing about precious metals?
A: Silver and Gold.
Q: Which song expresses Clarice’s affection for Rudolph?
A: There’s Always Tomorrow.
Q: Which song do Rudolph and Hermey sing about not fitting in?
A: We’re a Couple of Misfits.
Q: What replacement song appeared in some versions of the special?
A: Fame and Fortune.
Q: Why was the ending changed after the first broadcast?
A: Viewer letters asked that Santa keep Rudolph’s promise to the Misfit Toys.
Q: What scene was added to answer those letters?
A: Santa visits the island and delivers the misfit toys.
Q: Who wrote the television special’s screenplay?
A: Romeo Muller.
Q: Who wrote most of the special’s original songs?
A: Johnny Marks.
Q: Where was much of the puppet animation produced?
A: Japan, by a team associated with stop-motion pioneer Tadahito Mochinaga.
Sequels, Adaptations & Hard Rudolph Trivia
Q: What company originally sponsored the 1964 broadcast?
A: General Electric.
Q: Which network first aired the special?
A: NBC.
Q: What visual element in the original credits reflected the sponsor?
A: Elves presented appliances bearing the General Electric name.
Q: Which network aired the special for many decades after it moved in 1972?
A: CBS.
Q: What makes Rudolph one of the longest-running annual television specials?
A: It has returned to American television every Christmas season since 1964.
Q: What happened to the original Rudolph and Santa puppets after production?
A: They passed into private hands and were not carefully preserved for years.
Q: Who restored surviving original Rudolph and Santa puppets?
A: Screen-used figures were professionally restored after collector Kevin Kriess acquired them.
Q: What material forms the bodies of many Rankin/Bass stop-motion puppets?
A: Jointed armatures covered with sculpted heads, fabric, fur, and other miniature materials.
Q: Why do the puppets appear to move between frames?
A: Animators adjust them slightly, photograph each pose, and play the images in sequence.
Q: What 1976 Rankin/Bass sequel brings Rudolph into a New Year story?
A: Rudolph’s Shiny New Year.
Q: Who is Rudolph asked to find in Rudolph’s Shiny New Year?
A: Happy, the missing Baby New Year.
Q: What feature embarrasses Happy the Baby New Year?
A: His unusually large ears.
Q: What 1979 special pairs Rudolph with Frosty the Snowman?
A: Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July.
Q: Who threatens the heroes in Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July?
A: Winterbolt, an evil wizard.
Q: What 1998 animated movie retells Rudolph’s story in a new continuity?
A: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.
Q: Who voices Santa in the 1998 animated movie?
A: John Goodman.
Q: Who voices the villain Stormella in the 1998 movie?
A: Whoopi Goldberg.
Q: What threatens Rudolph in the 1998 movie?
A: Stormella creates a powerful winter storm and tries to prevent him from helping Santa.
Q: Which 2001 animated sequel follows the 1998 movie?
A: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys.
Q: Who voices the Toy Taker in the 2001 movie?
A: Richard Dreyfuss.
Q: What is unusual about the 2001 Island of Misfit Toys animation?
A: It uses computer-generated animation rather than the 1964 special’s stop-motion puppets.
Q: Which comedy sketch imagined Rudolph violently overthrowing Santa?
A: A 1990s MADtv parody called Raging Rudolph became a darker comic spoof.
Q: What legal distinction separates Robert May’s Rudolph from the older eight reindeer?
A: Rudolph began as a copyrighted twentieth-century character rather than a name from the 1823 poem.
Q: Why can many adaptations use Santa’s original eight reindeer freely?
A: Their names come from a nineteenth-century poem that is in the public domain.
Q: What makes Rudolph’s story a classic underdog tale?
A: A trait used to exclude him becomes the exact ability his community needs.
Q: Which lyric follows “Then one foggy Christmas Eve”?
A: Santa came to say.
Q: What does Santa call Rudolph’s nose in the song?
A: So bright.
Q: Which line predicts Rudolph’s lasting fame?
A: He will go down in history.
Q: Why does the television special add Hermey and the Misfit Toys?
A: They broaden the story from one excluded reindeer into a community of characters seeking acceptance.
Q: What keeps Rudolph recognizable across books, songs, television, and movies?
A: The red nose, rejection by peers, foggy Christmas Eve, and final rescue remain the core story.
How Did You Score?
If you knew Romeo Muller, the missing Misfit Toys scene, and why Yukon licks his pickaxe, your nose is glowing with authority. I remembered every song but still cannot explain why dentistry is treated as radical career rebellion.
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