Clickable Advent Calendar, 15: The Island of Misfit Toys
Five questions about The Island of Misfit Toys from the classic “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” special.
The silver-and-gold standard for stop-motion animated Christmas specials is the original Rankin-Bass “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” special from 1964. At my house we watch it several times during the holiday season and I have two traditions that probably annoy other people. First, when Rudolph meets the sweet doe who bats her eyes at him and says “My name’s Clarice,” I always say, in a Hannibal Lecter voice, “Well, hello Clarice!” Second, I can’t help but obsess over practical issues regarding the Island of Misfit Toys (which, incidentally, had its own CGI spin-off special, “Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys,” airing on ABC Family tonight at 7 p.m.). I have at least five questions:
1. What is the standard for being a misfit toy? It seems pretty inconsistent. Some of the playthings have mild “nonconformities” (to quote Sam the Snowman), like the polka-dot elephant, the cowboy who rides an ostrich, etc. Others, like “the boat that doesn’t float” or the train with square wheels on its caboose, don’t seem like “misfit” toys. They just seem like crappy, defective toys. Apparently there’s a fine line between being a “misfit” and being “garbage.” Next thing you know, China will be sending barges full of recalled lead-containing playthings to the island.
2. Why isn’t King Moonracer more help? Sort of like Narnia’s Aslan, a flying lion called King Moonracer rules the island. (I’m not sure if King Moonracer’s a toy himself, but if so, a life-sized flying dragon would be the most awesome toy ever, improvable only with the addition of rocket-launchers.) He travels the world, finds unwanted toys and brings them to an arctic island that’s like a frozen leper colony. When Rudolph, Hermie and Yukon Cornelius arrive, he asks them to tell Santa Claus about the toys’ plight. But why can’t King Moonracer tell Santa himself? You can fly, dude! It’s not like the North Pole is that far away. It didn’t take Rudolph and company very long to get to the island, and they floated there on an ice floe.