Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. Though he initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team's path through harsh winter weather. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr., described Rudolph's story as "the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for his or her individuality and/or special qualities. Rudolph's story embodies the American Dream for the child, writ large because of the cultural significance of Christmas."
The Leningrad Cowboys are a Finnish rock band who perform rock and roll covers of other songs. They have exaggerated pompadour hairstyles and wear long, pointy shoes. They often work with the Russian military band the Alexandrov Ensemble.
Big Trouble in Little China is a 1986 American fantasy action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The film tells the story of truck driver Jack Burton (Russell), who helps his friend Wang Chi (Dun) rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan (Hong), who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to be released from a centuries-old curse.
The Chuckle Brothers were an English comedy double act comprising real-life brothers Barry David Elliott and Paul Harman Elliott. They were known for their BBC children's programme ChuckleVision, which aired from 1987 to 2009 and celebrated its twenty-first series with a 2010 stage tour titled An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers. The comedy of the Chuckle Brothers usually derived from slapstick, other visual gags, and wordplay, and their catchphrases included "To me, to you!" and "Oh dear, oh dear!"
For the Birds is a 2000 American animated short film produced by Pixar and written and directed by Ralph Eggleston. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2001. It debuted on June 5, 2000, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, and was shown alongside the theatrical release of the 2001 Disney/Pixar feature film Monsters, Inc.
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated silent children's television series which is developed by Aardman Animations. A spin-off in the Wallace & Gromit franchise, the series focuses on the adventures of Shaun, the eponymous sheep previously starring in A Close Shave, as the leader of his flock on an English farm. The series premiered on 5 March 2007 on CBBC in the UK, also airing on BBC Two. Since 2020, the series is streamed globally on Netflix. In March 2024, it was announced that the seventh series is in development and will premiere in 2025. With 170 episodes over 6 series, Shaun the Sheep is one of the longest-running animated series in British television.
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is a 1977 live-action/animated musical fantasy film loosely adapted from the 1924 novel Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. It was directed by Richard Williams, produced by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and released theatrically by 20th Century-Fox. A 1941 short film had previously featured the Raggedy Ann and Andy characters created by Johnny Gruelle. It was the first feature-length animated musical comedy film produced in the United States. In the film, Raggedy Ann and Andy, along with other toys, live in Marcella's nursery. During Marcella's seventh birthday, Babette, a doll from France, is introduced as the new doll from a large package. Meanwhile, Captain Contagious kidnaps Babette in the pirate ship and escapes from the nursery. Raggedy Ann and Andy have to explore and find Babette in the Deep Deep Woods to save her.
In traditional festive legend and popular culture, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts made by Christmas elves to children on Christmas Eve.
Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek! The series primarily focuses on Shrek, a bad-tempered but good-hearted ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world. It includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a 2026 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was made and premiered at Broadway for more than a year (2008–2010).
A. Film Production A/S is a Danish animation studio and production company currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Affiliated to the Copenhagen studio are A. Film Estonia located in Estonia and A. Film L.A., Inc. in Southern California. It produces traditional and CGI animation for feature films, television, advertising and games. The studio's notable original features include Checkered Ninja, Help! I'm a Fish, Jungledyret Hugo and Terkel in Trouble. A pig serves as a mascot to said company.
Prep & Landing is an American animated television special, based on an idea by Chris Williams at Walt Disney Animation Studios and developed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton into a half-hour Christmas special. It first aired on December 8, 2009, on ABC.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a 2010 Finnish fantasy action horror comedy film written and directed by Jalmari Helander about people living near Korvatunturi who discover the secret behind Santa Claus. The film is based on the 2003 short film Rare Exports, Inc. and its 2005 sequel Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions by Jalmari Helander and Juuso Helander, both of which involve a company that traps wild Santa Clauses and trains and exports them to locations around the world.
Arthur Christmas is a 2011 animated Christmas comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Aardman Features, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is Aardman's second computer-animated feature film after 2006's Flushed Away. It was directed by Sarah Smith, co-directed by Barry Cook, and written by Smith and Peter Baynham. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen, the film centres on Arthur, the youngest son of Santa Claus, who discovers that his father's high-tech ship has failed to deliver one girl's present. Accompanied only by his grandfather, a Christmas elf and a team of reindeer, he embarks on a mission to deliver the girl's present personally in the early morning hours of Christmas Day before sunrise.
The Flight Before Christmas is a 2008 animated Christmas film directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen. It revolves around a young reindeer named Niko who must overcome his fear of flying by heading to Santa Claus' fell to save him and his fleet of flying reindeer from a pack of wolves. The film was a Finnish production with co-producers in Denmark, Germany and Ireland. It was produced by Anima Vitae, Cinemaker Oy, A. Film A/S, Ulysses Films, and Magma Films. The animation was produced in Finland, Germany and Denmark, with post-production carried out in Ireland. A 45-minute television edit in American English was produced in the United States for CBS under the title The Flight Before Christmas.
Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups is a 2012 Christmas adventure film directed by Robert Vince and produced by Anna McRoberts. It is the sequel to The Search for Santa Paws (2010). The Santa Pups save Christmas around the world. The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a film download on November 20, 2012.
Guardians of Oz is a 2015 animated adventure film, directed by Alberto Mar and executive produced by Jorge Gutierrez. The film was produced by Ánima Estudios, Discreet Arts, and distributed by FilmSharks International. The film is the first English-language and flagship CG production for Ánima Estudios, as well as the studio's biggest production and is described as Mexico's biggest animated production. Mexico's take on the early 20th century Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum, it features an original story and new characters, and was released theatrically on 10 April 2015 in Mexico.
Anima Vitae is an animation studio based in Helsinki, Finland. Anima is known for CGI animation feature Niko and The Way to the Stars (2008) which was sold to over 100 territories. The movie was also nominated for the Best Feature at the European Film Awards in 2009. Currently the sequel for Niko, "Niko2 – Little Brother, Big Trouble", is traveling around the world. The film's producers Anima Vitae and Cinemaker were also nominated for Cartoon Movie's European Animation Producer of the Year in 2013. In 2013 Anima set up its second animation studio, AnimaPoint, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in cooperation with a local partner, Creative Media Point.
Puffin Rock is an animated children's television series that aired on RTÉjr. Narrated by Chris O'Dowd, the series premiered on 12 January 2015 and is co-produced by Irish company Cartoon Saloon, Northern Irish company Dog Ears and American company Penguin Random House.
Sven is a fictional character in the Frozen Franchise, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is a reindeer that lives together with his companion, Kristoff. Sven, alongside Kristoff, assists princess Anna in her search for her sister, queen Elsa, who has run away after placing the kingdom of Arendelle under an eternal winter. During their adventure, Sven also meets and befriends a living snowman, Olaf. Years after the events from the first film, Sven and the others go in search of a mysterious voice heard by Elsa. In the course of the journey, Sven meets other reindeer. Besides the two films, Sven is also present in the short film Frozen Fever (2015) and the featurette Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017).
