Hard to believe it’s been 45 years since the secular, stop-motion Christmas favorite “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” first appeared on TV. As a kid’s show, Rudolph is both unusual and inspired. For example, King Moonracer, ruler of the Island of Misfit Toys, seemed to have been based upon Aslan, who symbolizes Christ in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” So perhaps there’s a religious element to the show, after all.
The most significant aspect of Rudolph was the groundbreaking introduction of a gay elf with an oral fixation. This clever subtext was lost on most people for many years, just as John Lennon’s reference to a–holes filling the Albert Hall wasn’t obvious.
Curiously, the controversy most often mentioned about the elf character in Rudolph isn’t the question of him being gay, but whether his name is Hermey or Herbie. The answer is here, in an article by Rick Goldschmidt:
http://www.tvparty.com/xmasrudolph.html
One thing I should make clear is that the elf who wants to be a dentist is named Hermey. Why everyone is calling him “Herbie” I will never fully understand.
OK, so it’s supposed to be Hermey. But what I don’t understand is why Goldschmidt doesn’t understand, because the answer is obvious the first time the character’s name is spoken by Boss Elf. The ReadSpeak captioning on the DVD of Rudolph has it right, but listen to the pronunciation.
Quite clearly, it’s “Herbie.” Boss Elf says “Hermey” the second time, but then two of the elves seem to say “Herbie.” So why is there any confusion about the confusion?
