Santa and Mrs. Claus are two very important characters in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. However, Santa’s wife is not nearly as important as the jolly red guy himself. Though I will say that Santa is definitely on the naughty list in this 1964 Rankin/Bass special.

They are pretty much what you expect from the characters they represent. In my mind, the classic Mrs. Claus is just as white in her hair as her Christmas representing husband. But she is very innocent and sweet, as she always should be. Therefore, I find it strange that she calls him “Papa,” especially since they do not seem to have children.

But Santa is a low key jerk in this movie sometimes. When he met Rudolph, he sang about how he was a deformed freak and then promptly left. He expresses the same kind of bigotry when Rudolph is growing up and still has that red nose. Did he really expect it to just disappear?

But he definitely shows enthusiasm about the children of the world. When the plans for Christmas seem to be ruined by wintry weather, he is very bitter about disappointing the children this year because they were so “very good.”

But just like most people in this circumstance, once he had the opportunity to get something from Rudolph that he could get nowhere else, suddenly he is his best friend. Really convenient, Mr. Saint Nick.

But at least he was able to go back to the Island of Misfit Toys before Christmas was over. I guess he learned his lesson about freaks, because he had no problems with these oddball toys. Nor do I think he had problems with their future owners.