Martin Goodman.

What bespeaks the acceleration of pace so endemic to our culture more than seeing Christmas decorations edging their way into stores while Halloween candy lines the shelves? The end of October, which nears as I compose this column, seems to be a juxtaposition of at least three holidays, making this as good a time as any to present this piece to my readers. Halloween has origins that stretch perhaps back to the days of the Celts and Druids. Thanksgiving is a purely American holiday, an enduring national myth that is likely apocryphal in nature. Christmas, on the other hand, is a relatively recent phenomenon; as I noted in my holiday column of 2002, the Christmas we celebrate likely took final form around 1890. Animated holiday specials date from 1962 and are still being produced today, but few have impacted American culture as the seminal Christmas specials produced by Rankin/Bass.

The two specials that deserve specific mention are the first and 10th in the R-B manifest, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. They were produced in 1964 and 1970, respectively, bookending a period that represented monumental cultural change in America. The time was a propitious one for the revision of old myths, as much of the cultural fabric that held traditional America together was unraveling and stitching itself back together in new and unforeseen patterns. It was an era of reinvention, and even animation had a role to play. It is also noted that many of the existing Christmas myths, especially those of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, were either cloudy or skimpy in origin.

The original Rudolph story, as I once recounted in a past column, was contained in a Montgomery Ward store souvenir flyer in 1939. The writer was Robert L. May. In 1949, May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote a hit Christmas tune based on the story, and Gene Autry recorded the popular tune. (Animation fans may note that Max Fleischer produced a cartoon version of Rudolph's story for the Jam Handy Corp. in 1944; this was five years before Marks' song was on the charts.) Santa Claus and his story have origins that stretch back to Odin and through Germanic and Saxon legends, finally finding visual codification by American cartoonist Thomas Nast. Rudolph's origins were far too simple, while Santa's was tortuous and complicated. Rankin-Bass deepened the myths -- and made them more accessible -- by adapting a story that has resonated through numerous cultures over time. It is known as the monomyth.

"The Hero's Journey," the most enduring monomyth known, is replicated in both the Rudolph and Santa Claus specials. As mythologist Joseph Campbell describes it:

This monomyth is actually divided into 17 distinct sections, but Campbell noted that not every single stage of the structure is present in all cultures; there are more simplified versions, but all of them consist of stages known as "The Departure," "The Initiation" and "The Return."

Joseph Campbell's monomyth "The Hero's Journey," is replicated in both the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (above) and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town specials. All images courtesy of RankinBass.com. © 2002 Rankin/Bass Prods.

In order to see how Rankin/Bass used this enduring myth, we first look at Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The 1964 Rankin/Bass Christmas television special is undeniably the most popular one ever produced. As Arthur Rankin Jr. related to R-B historian Rick Goldschmidt, Rudolph, after more than 30 years, was the "longest-running, highest- rated special in the history of television." As late as 1995, it was the highest-rated animated program that aired during the entire year. Why, in the long history of animation, was this particular special so popular and exceptional? It is undeniable that the characters were engaging, the musical numbers memorable and the "animagic" process charming, but let us look a bit deeper.

Rudolph's "departure" comes as the result of a deformity that earns the enmity of the reindeer population. Even Santa himself cautions Donner that the glowing nose simply will not do. After his defect is revealed before all of the other reindeer, Rudolph decides to leave Christmas Town in the company of Hermie the misfit elf. According to the monomyth, the Hero then encounters a (sometimes supernatural) protector who provides the hero with advice and aid. Thus, we have the experienced prospector Yukon Cornelius befriend Rudolph and Hermie. The Hero then typically crosses a "threshold" between his familiar world and one which is unfamiliar. This is the Island of Misfit Toys, where Rudolph finds he shares a different kind of fellowship with the inhabitants.

The Hero next embarks on the "road of trials" on which he must face a succession of obstacles. In the Rudolph story, Rudolph heads alone into the wilderness so as not to endanger his friends. He reaches maturity and wisdom and decides to return home to his family and his lady Clarice. Rudolph now experiences "the apotheosis," in which he sacrifices himself for a greater good in an attempt to rescue his parents and Clarice from the fearsome Abominable Snow Monster, who has captured the three reindeer. The Hero is aided by his supernatural helper in his hour of need (in this case, a team-up between Yukon Cornelius and Hermie the elf, who almost magically reappear in the story).