Robbie the Reindeer is a trilogy of three Christmas-themed animated comedy television specials that have been produced by BBC Bristol, Absolute Digital Pictures and Comic Relief. The three television specials have also been premiered on BBC One between 1999 and 2007. The three television specials have also been distributed by BBC Studios and have also been sold to more than 30 countries.[1][2] The three television specials follow the title reindeer character who travels to the North Pole to follow in his father's footsteps and join Santa Claus's reindeer sleigh team. The first television special (titled "Hooves of Fire") and the second television special (titled "Legend of the Lost Tribe") were animated in stop motion by the BBC Bristol animation unit and originally Aardman Animations,[3] while the third television special (titled "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind", a title parody of the 1977 Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind) was animated in computer animation by Absolute Digital Pictures. Loosely based on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May, Robbie the Reindeer was created by Richard Curtis (who was also the executive producer (for "Legend of the Lost Tribe") and also the co-writer (for "Hooves of Fire")).[2]
The programme was first shown in the United States on Fox Family with the original British voices until 2001. In 2002, CBS acquired the rights to the first two specials and recorded new dialog with American actors.[1] The American cast included Ben Stiller (Robbie), Britney Spears (Donner), James Woods (Narrator, Viking 1), Brad Garrett (Prancer), Hugh Grant (Blitzen, largely imitating Coogan's original characterization), Leah Remini (Vixen, Koala), Jerry Stiller (Old Jingle), Dick Enberg (Des Yeti), Dan Dierdorf (Allan Snowman), Grey DeLisle (Mrs. Santa, Arctic Fox, Female Viking), Rob Paulsen (Head Elf, Viking 2/4) and Jim Belushi (Santa, Tapir, Little Magnus). Whereas the original British characters of Des Yeti and Alan Snowman originally parodied their counterparts on Match of the Day, the selection of Enberg and Dierdorf for the American dub parodied their work as a broadcast team for the NFL on CBS at the time. CBS stopped showing the program after the 2005 Christmas season, after which Nicktoons Network showed the original British version for two years. In 2016, CBS began broadcasting the first two specials again using the American dub. "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind" has not been dubbed nor made available in the United States.[citation needed]
In addition to the dub, the first two films have been shown as a single-hour long (45 minutes and advertisements) special on CBS since 2002, cutting around fifteen minutes of material from the original versions. One of the most obvious edits is the removal of the scene where Robbie actually discovers the Vikings in the first place. The edited and redubbed versions of "Hooves of Fire" and "Legend of the Lost Tribe" premiered on CBS on 13 December 2002.[citation needed]
The uncut version of the dub is featured on the 2003 American DVD, with the original British version as an alternate audio track.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom, Hooves of Fire was released on DVD on 27 November 2000.[6] A "Collector's Edition" release adding Legend of the Lost Tribe followed on 24 November 2003 and a collection of all three specials, subtitled The Whole Herd, was released on 2 November 2009.[7] The 2009 release contained the special features from previous releases, including a 5.1 sound mix on Hooves of Fire, directors' commentary on the first two specials, the complete Hooves storyboard, behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Peter Peake. In the United States, Hooves of Fire was released on DVD on 4 September 2001, containing the British voice cast and the same extras as the UK release.[5] A DVD adding Legend of the Lost Tribe was released on 7 October 2003, containing both the British and American dialogue tracks. This release also contained the extras from the UK edition, with the exception of the 5.1 mix and storyboards for Hooves of Fire.[8]
