Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer record album from 1980 by MCA Records. This copy is a re-release of the album that was originally released by Decca in 1965 which has an almost identical album cover. The only difference is the Decca version has an arrow next to the title that says Decca inside of it, and it does not say MCA Records or have an MCA catalogue number in the top corners.
I don't think there is anyone alive who doesn't have a soft spot for the Rankin/Bass stop-motion Rudolph TV special that was recorded in 1964. It has been shown on TV each year around Christmas time since then. Aside from the record album I don't ever recall there being very much merchandise based on the show during the 70's, 80's and 90's, but in the 2000's that changed completely. Below is my small collection of Rudolph merchandise.
The Bumble action figure by Playing Mantis released in 2001.
The merchandising blitz began in 2000 with the release of the Rudolph PVC figures by Playing Mantis, which also released a set of action figures in 2001. Plush toys quickly followed, and then everything else you could think of was marketed with the Rankin/Bass Rudolph characters. Every Christmas since then there has a new wave of Rudolph merchandise, especially plush toys and decorations. There's so much of it now that it would be impossible to collect all of it!
The Bumble action figure out of the packaging.
The back of the packaging shows the entire collection of action figures and small PVC figures that were initially available. The action figure series was later expanded with more characters added including several elves, Coach Comet, Mrs. Clause and King Moonracer.
Here are the Bumble and Rudolph PVC figures which were sold in 2000 with or without key chains.
The back of the PVC figure packaging also showed the assortment of action figures and PVC figures only the photo was in black and white.
Above are the three different sizes of Rudolph plush toys, large, medium and small, plus an additional medium version of Rudolph laying flat rather than sitting. These were sold at Shoppers Drug Mart in 2008, made by the Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Co. based in New York as indicated on the back of the hang tag for the larger sized plush.
Although they were clearly all made by the same company, the medium and small sized plush do not have that company name on them anywhere, instead the only manufacturer company name is found on the sewn on tag, MTY International Co. Ltd. In any case they are all made in China. The nose on the largest size Rudolph plush lights up when his ear is squeezed, but unfortunately the battery has run out so it no longer works. The noses on the other three Rudolph plush are hard plastic covered with flocking. The eyes on all four plush toys are embroidered.
Here is a comparison of the small and medium sized Rudolph plush toys from the above group photo. The small one is 5 inches tall X 6 inches long, and the medium plush is 8 inches tall X 7 inches long.
Here is the same large plush Rudolph next to the large plush Bumble that was made as part of the large size set. It's funny that Rudolph is even bigger than Bumble. There is also a Clarice plush the same size as this Rudolph. I don't recall if there were any other characters in the large size assortment.
Here is the same large Bumble plush toy next to the small version that was made. Unfortunately I'm missing the medium sized version.
Here are some of the medium sized plush toys: Santa, Hermey the Elf, Rudolph, and Sam the Snowman. I'm missing Clarice, Bumble and Yukon Cornelius from this medium sized set. It's funny that Hermey was made without a nose!
Here are the medium plush toys of Clarice and Rudolph made to be laying down rather than sitting. Below is a better look at their faces.
Small size Bumble and Rudolph plush toys. I suspect Clarice was also made in this size. I don't recall what other characters were made for the small plush series.
A year or two after selling the above series of plush toys Shoppers sold a second series of Rudolph plush. Above is the small version of Bumble from the first series (left) next to the one from the second series (right) which plays the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer song when the tummy is pressed.
Just for fun, here are all of my Bumbles!
These small tree ornaments light up when a button on the bottom of the base is pressed. They were made by Enesco, likely in the early to mid 2000's. I'm missing the Rudolph ornament from this set (he's wearing a scarf), and there is also one of Rudolph with Clarice. I'm not certain if any other characters were made for this set.
This is a cake topper set made by DecoPac Inc. that included two blow molded forms and three toy rings. Below is a different view of the toy rings.
This is a small paper gift bag, roughly 8 inches X 10 inches, that was sold at a dollar store in the early 2000's, made by Festive Designs. Below are two larger sized gift bags, roughly 10 inches X 12 inches, that were sold at the same time, made by the same company.
This is a very cool activity book published by Golden Books in 2001, with punch out figures of the Rudolph characters. Below is the first page to show how the characters were made as figures to be punched out. It includes Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius, Hermey, Santa, Sam the Snowman, Bumble, Clarice, Charlie-in-the-Box, a girl elf in a pink outfit, Santa's sleigh with reindeer and a bag of misfit toys, and a Christmas tree as punch out figures to make.
This is the back of the activity book which promotes some of the VHS home videos that were available. Below is a closer view of the videos.
More recently, around 2022, I got this funny Bumble T-shirt for Christmas.
There are still a few more Rankin/Bass collectables that I have which I'll add here eventually, such as an unopened roll of Rudolph wrapping paper and my collection of VHS and DVDs.
The New Adventures of Pinocchio, Rankin/Bass, stop-motion TV series, 1960's
This show was a regular in re-runs on TV throughout the 1970's that I watched whenever I could. It had a very catchy theme song that I still remember after all these years: "Oh Pinocchio was a happy soul since the day he lost his strings, I can walk and talk and fly, do anything I try!"
There was a fair amount of memorabilia generated from this program including comic books, games, puppets, plush toys and more. Larry Mann who voiced Yukon Cornelius for the Rudolph TV special also did the voice for Pinocchio's nemesis Foxy Q. Fibble. He had previously worked as the on camera host along side puppeteer John Conway's characters for the CBC TV show Uncle Chichimus (1953 -1954) that was directed by Norman Jewison, as well as on Adventures of Chich (produced 1957-1958).
Pinocchio Tin Toy The coolest toy based on this program in my opinion is the tin toy of Pinocchio playing a xylophone. This was made sometime between 1960 and 1969. I'm not sure what company made it as the only markings say "Rosko R Tested". After years of searching I finally found this one in the 1990's at a nostalgia show (this was before the internet!). It's in rough shape though, as the shoulder section is missing. Pinocchio's rubber/plastic head is also starting to "sweat" due to it's age.
This toy is seen in a popular segment from the Sesame Street TV show called "Song of Ten" that was produced in 1969. The segment shows 10 automated tin toys in motion as child calls out how many toys there are. The segment ends with a bakery man (voiced by Jim Henson) falling down some stairs with a tray of cakes. Below is a link to the Muppet Wiki page about this segment along with a photo of the scene in question. I added a circle to show where the Pinocchio toy is.
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Numerosity#.22Five_Song_.28Song_of_Five.29.22
Pinocchio's Talking Cricket friend is included as an illustration. The red off/on switch for the toy is near the Cricket's feet. You can also see how the shoulder section on this toy is missing.
Pinocchio 11.5 inch doll by Knickerbocker, 1962 This is a small doll with a rubber/plastic head. Unfortunately there's not much left to this doll. The stuffing has deteriorated significantly and the fabric is quite worn out, which is why I took the picture of the doll laying flat. There is a matching Cricket doll in this style. I've also seen a marionette version of this doll and a larger version of the Pinocchio and Cricket dolls with fake fur fabric for the bodies.
This show was a regular in re-runs on TV throughout the 1970's that I watched whenever I could. It had a very catchy theme song that I still remember after all these years: "Oh Pinocchio was a happy soul since the day he lost his strings, I can walk and talk and fly, do anything I try!"
There was a fair amount of memorabilia generated from this program including comic books, games, puppets, plush toys and more. Larry Mann who voiced Yukon Cornelius for the Rudolph TV special also did the voice for Pinocchio's nemesis Foxy Q. Fibble. He had previously worked as the on camera host along side puppeteer John Conway's characters for the CBC TV show Uncle Chichimus (1953 -1954) that was directed by Norman Jewison, as well as on Adventures of Chich (produced 1957-1958).
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Numerosity#.22Five_Song_.28Song_of_Five.29.22
The last thing to show from my collection is the best! This amazing book, "The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio", is the result of an extremely impressive amount of detailed research on every aspect of every Rankin/Bass production you ever knew about, as well as many that you didn't know about! Simply put, if you want to know anything about Rankin/Bass this book is essential reading! I consider myself very fortunate to own a copy!
And now you've seen essentially everything in my small collection of Rankin/Bass merchandise!
Text and photos copyright Mikey Artelle, 2015
