Title: Rudolph, the movie.
Genre: Action/family/fantasy
Myth used: Santa Claus (slightly edited version)
Synopsis
The year is 2020, and in this world Christmas is celebrated a little differently, where Santa Claus delivers presents to kids throughout December, and they can only be opened on Christmas day. Santa Claus is also transported around by a reindeer called Rudolph, where they make many trips from the various toy stores to houses.
For quite some time Rudolph has felt a little neglected and thinks that the public is only appreciative of Santa, and ignores Rudolph’s efforts. Rudolph faces a slight existential crisis, but brushed it away at the thought of the children waiting for their presents. In early December as Santa and Rudolph are beginning their rounds, a quirky scientist is seen on the news as finalizing the technology for delivery drones to be used all around the world. A few days later while waiting on the roof for Santa, Rudolph spots a few drones flying suspiciously around some houses and tries to tell Santa, only to be brushed off.
Soon after the scientist announces that the technology is complete, and begins deploying the drones for more efficient deliveries. That night Santa and Rudolph discover that the drones have taken over their job, delivering presents at a much faster pace. Feeling obsolete, Santa leaves town and encourages Rudolph to do the same as the children no longer needs them. Rudolph decides to hang around for awhile more to see if the children are aware of this change and is dismayed when nobody notices anything. Technology has indeed taken over.
Right before leaving, Rudolph spots something amiss with the presents given by the drones, and realizes that they are unusually heavy. Rudolph confronts one of the drones to find out more, but is left empty. Enlisting the help of Santa, the pair manages to trace the drones back to a house high up on the mountains. Santa and Rudolph end up getting caught and locked up by the scientist, where he reveals his plan to destroy the town. After a scuffle, Rudolph and Santa stops all drone activity and proceed to swap all the bombs with actual presents.
With a few hours left to Christmas, Rudolph and Santa are left with a few houses, and encounter the scientist trying to plant a bomb. The final scuffle ends with the scientist getting tied up, and Rudolph throwing the bomb up into the air, which explodes right when the clock strikes 12 and the children open their presents. At the sound of the blast the children look out their window, only to see that the once-forgotten Rudolph had saved the everyone. Rudolph is now well loved by the people, who look forward to the traditional way of getting their presents delivered every Christmas. Rudolph also finds his identity as that of a hero which brings happiness to the town.
Why I chose this story/character
I chose to tell the story from Rudolph’s perspective because that character was quite popular when I was young, but seldom seen in the media in recent years, and decided to revive it and give life to Rudolph.
Also, Rudolph to me represents the unsung heroes in everyday society that we often overlook, but work just as hard as those that are celebrated/glorified. I also wanted to highlight the existential crisis faced by Rudolph, which I feel is very relevant in this age of social media where people are continuously glamourizing their lives. This also changes the conventional description of events where instead of seeing Santa going into houses, we get a picture of Rudolph patiently waiting and thinking.
A cultural function of telling the story in this manner is to highlight to people that technology has its undersides, such as the erosion of traditions like Santa personally delivering the presents, and to be aware of it in order for our lives to remain meaningful. This message is also hopefully conveyed to children, who are getting really engrossed on smart devices, thus missing out on certain pleasure of life like playing catching for example. Due to my message of preserving traditions, I could update the myth to a certain extent without being contradictory.
I feel that this poster sufficiently captures the main conflict in this movie, of Rudolph against technology, which is enticing as it shows Rudolph in another light but yet doesn’t reveal too much about the plot. The angle was inspired by Wally Wood’s 22 panels, and the contrast really conveys a sense of conflict. I chose to show a silhouette of Rudolph’s antlers because I think everybody is familiar with it, and to express the movie’s focus on Rudolph’s perspective.
