MOVIE | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer toddler review.

Look, the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special is batshit. There’s no other way to put it. It’s whackadoodle. You’ve got parental neglect and emotional abuse from Donner, and an incomprehensibly mean/detached Santa. There’s an elf who wants to be a … dentist (‘kay). Then there’s Bumbles-the-abominable-snow-monster (who may or may not be a villain? I literally still can’t tell), and the shouty-yet-mush-mouthed prospector. And most intense, the whole the trippy-ass Island of Misfit Toys bit, which I could never parse, even as a child. What’s wrong with a Charlie-in-the-box? Why are polka dots on an elephant such an issue?

The whole thing is nuts.

I remember, watching it as a kid, how long it felt. It just seemed to drag on and on, and so much seemed to happen. I was shocked as an adult to find that it only runs about an hour.

Considering all this, I wasn’t sure if Smeetchy would take to it, but she’s already in love with Christmas and, it seems, open to all things imbued with a little “holiday magic”. So she’s watched it a couple of times already (not generally in a single sitting, but in full, eventually).

It’s not her favourite of the holiday specials. She prefers both The Grinch and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street at the moment, but Rudolph, in all it’s wacky glory, is getting a fair bit of play.

For nostalgia’s sake alone, I happily recommend this particular special for toddlers and bigger kids alike.

There is something so wonderful about sharing the things you loved as a child with a child of your own, and something to be said for the feeling that comes from watching their little faces as they relive some of your old memories and experiences.

On the whole, I don’t think it’s wise or healthy to try to force this kind of thing, but when it seems to happen organically, and when they seem to like the things you liked without being pressed, it’s a pretty nice feeling.

And now, Smeetchy at the Movies brings you this Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer toddler review.