| The Abominable Snow Monster of the North | |
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Real Name |
Inapplicable (nicknamed "Bumble") |
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First Appearance |
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (December 6, 1964) |
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Original Publisher |
Rankin/Bass |
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Created by |
Romeo Muller & Robert L. May |
Origin[]
The Abominable Snowmonster of the North, called Bumble for short, is the main antagonist (who later turns good) in the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He is a gigantic white-furred yeti with long, pointed fangs along with a hairless blue face, lips, hands and feet.
"Bumble", a corruption of the term "abominable snowman", is so named by Yukon Cornelius, whom he pursues along with Hermey and the reindeer who would become Santa's 9th(see notes) throughout their adventures. Not only does the sight of the reindeer's glowing red nose drive him into a rage, narrator Sam the Snowman explains that he hates everything to do with Christmas as well. The Snowmonster is Yukon's longtime enemy, so much so that he is an expert on Bumble's strengths and weaknesses; in their first escape together as a group, the three set off to sea on an ice floe which Yukon chips from an iceberg with his pick axe since he knows that Bumble cannot float in water.
When the reindeer's mother and father leave the safety of the North Pole to find him, they become prisoners of the Abominable in his cave. Yukon and Hermey make the vocal sounds of a pig to lure him from his cave and away from the trapped reindeer because Yukon knows that Bumble would prefer pork over deer meat any day. He knocks him unconscious by dislodging some large rocks above the entrance to the cave and onto his head. Hermey then extracts all of his teeth, rendering him helpless. Yukon sees this as his chance to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. As Bumble backs away toward a bottomless ravine, he, Yukon, and his dogsled team fall over the cliff, into the ravine, and out of sight.
To the amazement of everyone in Santa's Workshop, Yukon, Bumble, and the dogsled team later come knocking at the door. The sight of Bumble frightens everyone in the room, but Yukon insists that he has reformed his evil ways and has come seeking a job. So tall is he that he is able to place the star on top of the Christmas tree without the use of a ladder. The young reindeer with the glowing nose, who had seen Yukon and Bumble fall into the ravine, asks how he survived the fall. As an expert on the monster, Yukon was unconcerned about falling into the ravine, answering, "Didn't I tell you, boy? Bumbles bounce!"
Notes[]
- The character of Rudolph is not in the public domain and, thus, cannot be used without permission. He was created in 1939 by Robert L. May and his first appearance was renewed. However, he has been popularly referred to as "Santa's 9th Reindeer."
- Like the character, the song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, is NOT in the public domain so avoid using details which are original to it.
- The copyright year in Roman numerals for the special was mis-marked as MCLXIV (1164) instead of the correct MCMLXIV (1964). This invalidates the copyright under U.S. law at the time, which required a valid date of copyright be affixed to the production meaning that still images from the special and all of the characters unique to it are, as a result, in the public domain.