Robbie the Reindeer

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. 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, 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")).