Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys (2001)

Since the animation for that movie was good, I would love to see the storyline of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer before this sequel came out. Wouldn't it be great to have a remake of the Rankin/Bass 1964 classic in this animation this year around Christmastime? I bet it would be a great trip down memory lane.

Okay... where to start...I saw this on TV today, expecting the original Rudolph toon from the '60s. Quickly found out this wasn't the same thing.The first thing that's apparent is that this is not a Rankins-Bass production; that production house's distinctive magic is definitely missing. However, this film does one thing that the official Rankins-Bass sequels ("Rudolph's Shiny New Year" and "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July") failed to do: bring back the characters we know and love. Hermie and Yukon Cornelius are finally back.It's not clear exactly when the story is supposed to take place, except that clearly some amount of time has passed since Christmastown last graced the small screen. Yet for that, Rudolph and Clarice are now pictured as their younger selves instead of the adult versions seen in the latter half of the first film. However, Rankins-Bass's own sequels did pretty much the same thing, so I don't hold that against this newcomer.As for the story itself... the way it's introduced is a little kiddie even by 50s-60s standards, but outside of that it's handled pretty well. You can see where the plot is heading from a mile off, but I suppose the young audience these films target might not connect the dots right away... Anyway, it's a heartfelt story with a message of the same quality.The graphics are primitive by today's standards and maybe even by the standards of 2001 when the film was produced. You get used to it quick enough, and when it comes down to it they don't need too much horsepower to recreate the simple designs of the original puppets. One gripe I have is that the reindeer's fur has no texture. It's just a solid color. My main problem with the graphics is how much more work was put into those of the new characters than those of the old. Queen Camila is a prime example of this. Besides that, the style of the new characters is vastly different from that of the old. It's almost as though they were from two completely different films.The voice acting is the best thing this toon has going for it. The original characters' new voice actors imitated their predecessors to an amazing degree of accuracy. Cornelius's voice gets a little bit too high as the movie goes on... but is still more intact than you'd think. It's forgivable considering that Cornelius's voice with its raspy, grunty qualities probably destroys the vocal chords of whoever attempts it much like the voice of Yosemite Sam. Clarice sounds almost nothing like her previous incarnation, but one does have to consider that her original voice was probably the actress's natural timbre as opposed to Yukon, Hermey and Santa's voices which were effected to serve the character. As such her voice is not as easy to imitate. Hermey, Rudolph, Santa and the original Misfit Toys are spot-on. The elf foreman and King Moonracer are close enough (though the latter is a bit awkward). As for the new voices, not much can be said except that they all pretty much fit the character they were assigned to well enough. My only gripe here is that for the Toy Taker they opted to use a different actor for the character's singing, a common practice which I've never been too fond of.As for the new characters themselves... Camila feels a bit unneeded at first but is tolerable (except for one particular part of her dance routine), though most would probably disagree with me on that. The new misfit toys have pretty much no point, except for the kite who has brief importance.And then... the songs. The song for the Island of Misfit Toys is about as pleasant to listen to as construction machines in the morning when you're trying to sleep. I like all the other songs though. They're not masterpieces and, let's face it, forgettable. Likable but not memorable. The best one would probably be the Toy Taker's song.In summary... The effort alone is worthy of an A. They really tried hard to stay true to the original, and for trying to do that more than forty years later they did about as good as it would ever be possible for anyone to do. The new stuff clashed with the old in some places but still blended enough. It's still a nice toon to watch with the family. It's also a good source of laughs for those who are willing to take the missed marks with a sense of humor. It's not in my list of favorite films by any stretch, but I'll still enjoy watching it around Christmas time in the years to come. I give it a C, which is more than I can give some other movies' sequels.

I picked up this DVD at a garage sale thinking it was the 1964 classic until I read the back when I came home to discover it's a sequel. I looked up the reviews here to see what everyone said about it. I read a lot of negative comments, the most common is the awful songs. I decided to watch it for myself. Regarding the songs, everyone is correct: they are horrendous (which is why it loses a point in my rating), but the cartoon, story and all, surprised the heck out of me! All the lovable characters (including Charlie-in-the-box) from the 1964 classic is brought back with a new set of vocal talents that sound so much like the original cast, it's breath-taking and a little eerie. Yes, it's computer-animated instead of the stop-action of the '64 original, but so much attention, care, and love was given to the details, it doesn't become an issue and it gives this installment its own special charm.Even a new twist on the social issue of Rudolph wishing to be like all the other reindeers was thought-provoking, clever, and wonderfully done. The animators even gave new dimension to Rudolph's nonconformity that does not, in my opinion, ruin the charm of the original. If anything, I look at it as Rudolph's nose changing its nature as he grows older, just as children's traits grow and change and evolve as they go through life.The writers and animators thought of everything, including Rudolph's continuing relationship with Clarisse, and even giving Hermie the elf a love interest after graduating from Dental School. There are lots of in-jokes galore, including Hermie's vehicle having a modern-day alarm remote that chirps when activated, and there's even a "borrowing" from "Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom." The main crux of the story is a dark character called the Toy Taker who has taken toys everywhere including all of the toys in Santa's workshop, and it's up to Rudolph and his friends to solve the mystery, catch the Toy Taker and return the toys in time for Santa's run on Christmas Eve.With all that being said, I heartily recommend you buy or rent this wonderful movie and be in for the treat of your life ESPECIALLY if you're a fan of the 1964 original!!

My 2-year-old is watching it at the moment in the other room -- and it's September.The lyrics to the songs are complex to the point that I wonder how the actors got through them without switching to their normal voices, but I thought they were quite good, despite that.The animation is not up to Shrek's standards, but would we want it to be? Photo-realistic animation would just detract from the story. As it is, the animation reminds me enough of the original stop-motion so that this indeed feels like a sequel.The voice acting is marvelous: Rudolph and Hermey sound like they did in the original, and the other actors drop neatly into place around them. As commented earlier, this takes the characters forward, instead of just repeating the identical behaviors in a different plot.So, see it. You may find it a waste of time, but it's very much a mileage-may-vary thing, rather than a this-is-a-waste-of-celluloid thing.