Robbie the Reindeer is the title character in two animated BBC Christmas comedy television specials, filmed in aid of Comic Relief. The programmes are based on the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with Robbie as Rudolph's son and the tenth of Santa Claus' reindeer, it is also being shown on Nicktoons Network at this time. Mark Knopfler composed most of the music for the television specials (most parts along with Guy Fletcher). The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... A television special is a television program, typically a short film or television movie, which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. ... Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. ... Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a popular Christmas story about Santa Claus ninth and lead reindeer who possesses an unusually red colored nose that gives off its own light that is powerful enough to illuminate the teams path through inclement weather. ... Santa Claus reindeer are a team of reindeer which pull his sleigh and help him deliver Christmas gifts. ... Nicktoons Network, once known as Nicktoons TV and simply Nicktoons, is a digital cable and satellite television network. ... Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born August 12, 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a English-Hungarian guitarist, singer, songwriter, and film score composer. ... Guy Fletcher (born May 24, 1960 in Maidstone, Kent) was the keyboardist to the popular 1978-1996 British rock band Dire Straits. ...

Relation to original story

Robbie is the eponymous hero, the son of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Various parts of the original story have been changed for the purposes of plot or jokes. For example, Donner, who according to the original Rudolph storyline would be Robbie's grandfather and wholly male, was changed to Robbie's love interest (though the spelling was not changed to the popular woman's name, Donna). “Heroine” redirects here. ... Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a popular Christmas story about Santa Claus ninth and lead reindeer who possesses an unusually red colored nose that gives off its own light that is powerful enough to illuminate the teams path through inclement weather. ...

A running gag in the program is that none of the characters can ever mention Rudolph by his full name. The reason given is that the villain, Blitzen, is outraged to hear the name of his rival, but the implication for the viewers is that the program's producers were unable to get copyright permission to name Rudolph. Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ...

Episodes

In the original British production, Robbie was voiced by Ardal O'Hanlon. Other voices were provided by Jane Horrocks, Steve Coogan, Paul Whitehouse, Harry Enfield, Jeff Goldblum, David Attenborough (as himself), Alistair McGowan and Ricky Gervais, among others. The director was Richard Goleszowski of Aardman Animations. Though not technically an Aardman production, several of the company's staff did work on the project, hence its heavily Aardman-esque visual style. The executive producer was Richard Curtis. Ardal OHanlon (born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his roles in television sitcoms as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted and George Sunday in My Hero. ... Jane Horrocks Jane Horrocks (born January 18, 1964) is an English actress and singer. ... Stephen John Steve Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, impressionist, and comedian. ... Suits you Sir Mark Williams (left) with Paul Whitehouse (right) The Fast Show For the motor vehicle and aircraft painter, see Paul Whitehouse (painter). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy-Award nominated American actor. ... Sir David Frederick Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born on 8 May 1926 in London, England) is one of the worlds best known broadcasters and naturalists. ... Alistair McGowan (born November 24, 1964) is a British impressionist and actor. ... Ricky Dene Gervais (IPA: ) (born June 25, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning English comic writer and performer from Reading, Berkshire. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Aardman Animations, Ltd. ... Richard Curtis in London, 1999 Richard Curtis CBE, (born 8 November 1956), is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, best known for the TV programmes Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley as well as movies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually. ...

The program was first shown in the United States on Fox Family with the original British voices until 2001. CBS then aquired the rights and began airing the special in 2002. However, the program was redubbed with American accents. Ben Stiller voiced Robbie, while other voices included Britney Spears, Leah Remini, Dick Enberg (in a cameo), Brad Garrett, and Stiller's father Jerry. Fox Family was a cable channel in the United States (launched August 15, 1998) that aired shows from Fox Kids programming block such as Storytime with Thomas and The Three Friends and Jerry. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ... Benjamin Edward Stiller (born November 30, 1965 ) is an Emmy-winning American comedian, actor, film producer and director. ... Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American pop singer, dancer, actress, author and songwriter. ... Leah Remini (born June 15, 1970 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress. ... Richard Alan Dick Enberg (born January 9, 1935 in Mount Clemens, Michigan) is an American sportscaster. ... Brad Garrett (born Brad H. Gerstenfeld[1] on April 14, 1960) is a three-time Emmy Award-winning American actor and comedian known for his roles on the television sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond and Til Death. ... Jerry Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian, actor, and father of Ben Stiller. ...

The two episodes produced so far are titled "Hooves of Fire" and "The Legend of the Lost Tribe".

Hooves of Fire

The story begins when overweight reindeer, Robbie, arrives at the North Pole in August to be the navigator for the sleigh team. However, he has an enemy in Blitzen, his father's jealous arch-rival. Blitzen gets Robbie kicked off the team, and the only way to regain his place is to win the steeple-chase at the Reindeer Games.

Robbie is trained by 'Old Jingle', a mad old coach. Just before the race is due to start, Old Jingle's house begins to slide down the hill on which it's built, forcing Robbie to abandon the race for a rescue mission. Nevertheless, he manages to join the race late, and catch up thanks to his heavy training. A photo finish is taken between himself and Blitzen - and he sees to his horror that Blitzen has won. He is then stampeded by the other competitors. However, he is given a kiss from Donner, and in his happiness promptly beats every single record for every single event.

As Blitzen is arrested for taking drugs, Robbie and Donner take the sleigh to the moon and enjoy a romantic day together. It then shows Blitzen painting Robbie dolls in prison.

Legend of the Lost Tribe

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Robbie now owns a bankrupt holiday resort with the other reindeer. While rescuing a tourist, Robbie falls of a cliff and is rescued by a Viking, who then disappears. Meanwhile, Blitzen returns and captures the reindeer. Robbie escapes and finds the lost tribe of Vikings. He discovers that the reindeer have been put into an exhibit at Blitzen Theme Park. Robbie rescues them and Blitzen is once more jailed. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

External links

• Press pack from the BBC
• Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire at Keyframe - the Animation Resource