Donner and Mrs. Donner are two very important characters in the 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rankin/Bass. As the parents of the titular character, it is genuinely difficult to dislike them, even though the father has his notable flaws. I also found it odd that the creators did not give Rudolph’s mother a real name, instead simply calling her Mrs. Donner.

They love their son with all their hearts, but Donner especially views Rudolph’s red nose as something that could potentially harm him. Given the strange bigotry that exists at the North Pole for some reason, he is not exactly wrong.

As one of Santa’s lead reindeer, Donner definitely wants Rudolph to eventually take his place leading Santa’s sleigh. However, he tries to hide Rudolph’s red nose by covering it with a black substance.

Santa Claus is visibly disappointed that Rudolph still has a red nose. What did the Jolly Red Man actually expect? For his nose to mutate back to normal? Santa is definitely on the naughty list in this movie.

After Rudolph runs away, Donner and his wife do their best to find their son and end up being kidnapped by the Abominable Snow Monster. They all fortunately manage to avoid becoming Bumble food.

Donner is with Rudolph when the red-nosed reindeer gets the opportunity to lead Santa’s sleigh during the worst winter storm of the century. As a father myself, I look forward to seeing my son eventually make me proud in a similar way when he becomes a man.