Red Oneincludes plenty of characters from Christmas legend and lore, but there’s a good reason why its missing an iconic character. The2024 Christmas movierevolves around the plot for Dwayne Johnson’s Callum Drift, the leader of ELF, to find Santa Claus after he’s abducted by Gryla, the Christmas witch. This plot allows for manymonsters and mythological beings to appear inRed Onebeyond Saint Nicholas and the evil witch. The film pulls in Santa’s cold-hearted brother, Krampus, and alludes to a broader world of mythical creatures and folklore characters throughout.
The effect ofRed One’s worldbuilding means there is a grand scope of characters from and beyond the Christmas season that exist within this world. Even if they aren’t shown, the potential existence of Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster are teased. There are even trolls and talking polar bears and penguins who work for Santa, while hellhounds and a mix of additional myths are seen in relation to Krampus. Sticking with the Christmas tradition, Santa’s reindeer are included up toRed One’s ending- although arguably the most iconic of them all is absent.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Isn’t Part Of Santa’s Reindeer In Red One
Rudolph Is A Christmas Movie Icon
Santa’s reindeer are featured throughoutRed Onein a small capacity, but Rudolph is noticeably absent. In every instance that the reindeer are on screen, there are eight of them. WhileRed Onenever goes through the trouble of naming each of the flying, giant animals, familiarity with Christmas tradition makes their identities clear. The reindeer that do appear are quite obviously Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.
Even without naming the reindeer, there are telling signs thatRed Onedoes not include Rudolph.None of the reindeer have Rudolph’s recognizable red, glowing nose. There are also only eight of them at all times, but Rudolph is always shown as the ninth member leading the pack. Considering how iconic of a presence Rudolph is in the realm of Christmas movies dating back to 1964’sRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the fact that he is missing fromRed Oneentirely is sure to seem like an odd decision at first.
Red One Couldn’t Include Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Due To Copyright
The Reindeer Legally Could Not Appear
The reason why Rudolph is not inRed Onecomes down to the fact that the character is copyrighted. Character Arts, LLC holds a copyright over Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer due to the nature of the character’s creation (viaCreative Law Center). Whereas Santa’s other reindeer are public domain and creations by Clement Clarke Moore from his 1823 poem"A Visit from St. Nicholas,“Rudolph was not created until 1939. His first appearance came in a coloring book created by Robert L. May. Rudolph’s popularity skyrocketed after Johnny Marks and Gene Autry’s song, leading to his first movie appearance in 1964.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will enter the public domain in 2034
Due to Rudolph’s copyright, the iconic red-nosed reindeer has not been in most Christmas movies.1964’s stop-motion animated movie/TV specialRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerwas his debut, and he returned for the sequelsRudolph’s Shiny New YearandRudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. He’s had various other minor appearances, including a cameo inDoctor Who, but that’s it.Red Onejoins the list of Christmas movies likeElfandThe Santa Clausethat sadly couldn’t use Rudolph.
