We've all seen the Rankin-Bass 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' TV special, right? But did you know you've probably been seeing an edited version with a different ending most of these years?

CSJ/TSM-Rochester
CSJ/TSM-Rochester
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That's right, there was a new ending tacked into the classic special nearly 50 years ago, after viewers complained about the original ending. And one of the scenes cut to make room for the new ending explains why Yukon Cornelius keeps licking his pickax.

According to this Huffington Post story, the most 'significant deleted scene' was one called, 'The Peppermint Mine' scene, which shows Yukon throwing his pickax and then picking it up out of the ground and licking it, only to discover he's hit... peppermint. Yukon exclaims, "Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it rich. I've got me a peppermint mine ... Wahoooo!" Which also explains why he'd lick his pickax and then exclaim, "Nothin!" at various times earlier in the special-- he wasn't able to detect silver or gold by taste; as it turns out, he was always prospecting for peppermint!

So why was that scene deleted? Well, outside of the TV networks needing more time for commercials over the years, it was also because the original ending caused viewers to complain. This story has a full explanation, but it centers on the original ending NOT showing Santa returning to the Island of Misfit Toys (In the story, Santa promised to return and the producers originally apparently thought that was good enough. But viewers back in 1964 wrote in to complain. So, a new ending was added for the next year's airing.)

The story explains, "For the first re-airing of the special in 1965, the network added a new scene in which Santa’s first stop on Christmas Eve is to the Island of Misfit Toys, where he picks up the toys and delivers them to children. That has been the official version of the special ever since..."

Now, if you own the DVD copy of the special, which was released some years ago, you get the full version-- including all the deleted scenes, some extra verses on songs, and everything else. My wife and I watched the DVD version a few years ago, so when this story about the deleted scene hit the Interwebs, I thought it was old news. But if you've only seen the edited TV version all these years, now things might make more sense!

Here's the deleted Yukon Cornelius 'Peppermint Mine' scene we've been talking about...

 

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