Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Is Santa the Real Villain?

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to return to our favorite Christmas specials. Among the best of the best is the 1964 classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, an older but beloved story of outcasts finding acceptance. However, beneath the positive message of embracing your oddities, one character represents the concept of alienating others. Even though the Abominable Snowmonster (Bumble, for short) is an imposing physical threat, the true antagonistic force behind the story’s plot is Santa himself.

It isn’t easy to accept that Santa Claus (Stan Francis) belongs on the naughty list, but his negative attitude toward those who are different is apparent from the moment Rudolph (Billie Mae Richards) is born. When Santa visits the new parents and their calf, he congratulates Donner (Paul Kligman) and is genuinely excited to potentially have another reindeer join his sleigh team. But as soon as Rudolph’s nose begins to glow, his positivity disappears. His change in attitude could be due to the admittedly annoying whistling sound Rudolph's nose makes, paired with the bright red glow. All the same, this is no excuse to treat Rudolph like a defect.

Annoyed and even angry, Santa writes Rudolph off and says that unless they do something about poor Rudolph’s nose, he will never join the sleigh team. Suddenly, Rudolph’s bright future has been destroyed, seemingly by his equally-bright nose.

But it is Santa’s discrimination that causes the conflict between Rudolph and the rest of Christmas Town, and even between him and his father. Upon hearing Santa’s angry and vocal opinions regarding Rudolph’s strange nose, Donner immediately covers the oddity in an attempt to both improve Rudolph’s future and to save himself the embarrassment of having a misfit son. Even when Rudolph says that the cover is uncomfortable and that he doesn’t like it, Donner ignores the complaint, swayed more by Santa’s opinion than by Rudolph’s feelings.

Because Santa is the infallible voice of authority in Christmas Town, it isn’t a surprise that when Rudolph’s nose is revealed by accident, he is ridiculed and ostracized by everyone, except Clarice (Peg Dixon). In a particularly immoral act, Santa berates Donner for his son’s strange nose.

The effect of Santa's judgmental behavior is reflected in those around him. When Hermey (Paul Soles), an elf who wants to be a dentist (making him a fellow outcast and friend for Rudolph), shows interest in something other than making toys and singing Christmas tunes, the head elf immediately threatens to fire him. Though Christmas Town is a whimsical winter wonderland on the surface, the underlying discrimination of its inhabitants begins at the highest authority, Santa, and trickles down to everyone else from there.

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In addition to his actions and behavior leading to the ostracization of a child (who ends up running away from home into the dangerous wilderness, where he faces the Abominable Snowmonster), Santa’s behavior can also be rudely indifferent. While Christmas is still far off, the head elf and the rest of the toymakers (excluding Hermey) perform an original Christmas song proclaiming their pride in their work and the honor of being one of Santa’s elves. The song was composed by the head elf himself, who repeatedly glances over his shoulder to see Santa’s reaction. Unfortunately for the head elf, Santa doesn’t care at all about the hard work of his elves when it isn’t Christmas. As soon as the song ends, Santa grumbles and leaves, leaving Mrs. Claus to praise the elves on their performance instead.

While Santa is busy doing seemingly nothing in particular except grumbling and showing indifference, Rudolph goes on a journey of self-discovery and discovers the Island of Misfit Toys. The inhabitants lament that they can't be given to boys and girls on Christmas because they are different in unexpected ways. While the toys and the king of the island imply that Santa is not aware of their situation, it's interesting to note that toys in this world are typically made in Santa's workshop by the elves. It isn't too far a leap in logic to imagine Santa casting aside the seemingly defective toys in favor of ones that live up to his standards.

Nevertheless, after his adventuring, Rudolph returns home as a hero, having rescued his family and Clarice from the Abominable Snowmonster with the help of his outcast friends. Though the rest of Christmas Town welcomes him back, Santa still shows annoyance and anger at the sight of Rudolph’s nose. It isn’t until Santa finds a practical use for Rudolph that he finally accepts the outcast and praises him. The only reason Santa does this is so that he can use Rudolph to continue his work on Christmas Eve.

These instances of Santa’s behavior are antagonistic at best and villainous at worst. It is only because Santa and the rest of Christmas Town belittle and otherize Rudolph that he embarks on his journey. Because the Abominable Snowmonster is a very present physical threat in the story, Santa’s involvement in the central conflict is hidden, leading younger viewers to assume that Santa is and always has been a good guy. But when rewatching the special years later as an adult, the signs of Santa’s villainy are clearer.

The Abominable Snowmonster is not the villain of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The giant but bumbling Bumble has a change of heart by the end of the story and even helps decorate for Christmas Eve. The only reason for his rampage is the irritation from a toothache (which is easily remedied by Hermey’s thorough, albeit terrifying, tooth removal). A giant monster who seems set on eating the characters serves as a stellar red herring, hiding the true villain unless you take a closer look.

Santa is the one who indirectly drives Rudolph away from his home by belittling him and ridiculing him, encouraging his elves and the other reindeer to do the same. He blames Donner for his son's strangeness and refuses to let Rudolph be a part of his sleigh for no reason other than his red nose. Santa is indifferent to the lives of his elves, and he doesn’t change by the end of the story. He only accepts Rudolph because he finds a practical use for him, praising him more as a moving flashlight than as a sentient being.

It’s a hard truth to accept, but Santa is undoubtedly the true villain of Rudolph’s story and deserves a lump of coal in his stocking.

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