Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948 film) difficult to get through. Nevertheless, he and his reindeer brave out the storm and go anyway. While on the way, an airplane throws them off course; they land at Rudolph's house, where Santa greets him. Telling Rudolph, "I need you tonight to guide my deer on the rest of our flight", Rudolph helps them. Due to his bravery and his glowing nose, he is accepted and respected by his fellow reindeer and made their commander-in-chief by Santa; the reindeer enjoy a merry Christmas together. This 8 minute animated interpretation of the Christmas poem preceded Gene Autry's 1949 song "Rudolph, the
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) the characters, particularly Santa Claus and the adult reindeer, relied on material that was already public domain anyway; all of the characters except Rudolph, most of the images, and large portions of the spoken soundtrack would thus be public domain in this interpretation.) Because of the indirect copyright protections and uncertainty over their extent, permission is still required to show the program as a whole. The extensive derivative works seen in popular culture are likely a byproduct of this uncertain copyright status. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 Christmas stop motion animated television