Robbie the Reindeer is a trilogy of three Christmas-themed animated comedy television specials created by Richard Curtis. They follow the title reindeer character who travels to the North Pole to follow in his father's footsteps and join Santa Claus's reindeer sleigh team. The characters are loosely (and unofficially) based on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May. The third special, "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind", was animated in computer animation by Absolute Digital Pictures. The specials were produced by BBC Bristol, Absolute Digital Pictures and Comic Relief. They premiered on BBC One between 1999 and 2007 and were distributed by BBC Studios.

Characters

  • Robbie: The easy-going and childlike son of Rudolph whose nose acts as a tracking device. He is the captain of the sleigh team.
  • Prancer: An upbeat and slow-witted reindeer and a member of the sleigh team that befriends Robbie.
  • Donner: A support member of the sleigh team who is Robbie's best female friend, love interest and eventual wife. The name is a play on the British pronunciation of the feminine name 'Donna'. Reindeer, unlike other members of the deer family, have antlers in both sexes, so that both Donner and Vixen can be accurately portrayed as female.
  • Blitzen: The former captain of the sleigh team who bitter at having been upstaged and replaced by Robbie's famous father and seeks to prevent Robbie from repeating that feat.
  • Old Jingle: The reindeer that trained Rudolph and prepares Robbie for The Reindeer Games.
  • Tapir: A reindeer who is a good friend of Robbie and a member of the sleigh team.
  • Des Yeti and Alan Snowman: Commentators for The Reindeer Games. The characters are parodies of presenter Des Lynam and football commentator Alan Hansen (who both starred on BBC One's Match of the Day in the 1990s).
  • Vixen: An attractive, but vain female reindeer and a member of the sleigh team. She was Blitzen's girlfriend (until she ended their relationship at the end of "Hooves of Fire") and Robbie's original love interest before falling in love with Donner.
  • "Ru:" Robbie's father, a legendary red-nosed former sleigh team member (seen only in a painting) who once "saved the day" for Santa and as a result is popular enough to have merchandise and a song named after him. He has since moved south and sent his son Robbie to the North Pole for "character building." Blitzen has long been jealous of "Ru" for being more famous and, in a running gag, interrupts any character who attempts to say his full name (presumably Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, censored for trademark avoidance The films were also cropped to 4:3 from their original 16:9 aspect ratio.

The uncut version of the dub is featured on the 2003 American DVD, with the original British version as an alternate audio track. The DVD also presents the films in their original aspect ratio of 16:9.

Before the CBS airing of "Legend of the Lost Tribe", the original British version of the film also premiered in Canada on CBC on 10 December 2002.

CBS stopped carrying the two specials in 2024 as its pending subsumption into Paramount Skydance was completed and the network permanently cut almost all of its recurring holiday offerings.

Home video

In the United Kingdom, Hooves of Fire was released on DVD on 27 November 2000. A "Collector's Edition" release adding Legend of the Lost Tribe followed on 24 November 2003 and a collection of all three specials, subtitled The Whole Herd, was released on 2 November 2009. The 2009 release contained the special features from previous releases, including a 5.1 sound mix on Hooves of Fire, directors' commentary on the first two specials, the complete Hooves storyboard, behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Peter Peake. In the United States, Hooves of Fire was released on DVD on 4 September 2001, containing the British voice cast and the same extras as the UK release. A DVD adding Legend of the Lost Tribe was released on 7 October 2003, containing both the British and American dialogue tracks. This release also contained the extras from the UK edition, with the exception of the 5.1 mix and storyboards for Hooves of Fire.

References

  • Press pack from the BBC
  • the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire at Keyframe