Sam seems to exist entirely outside the story, relating it as an historical event but never directly interacting with the other characters, although he does mention that he told Hermey and Yukon Cornelius where to find Rudolph when they returned to the North Pole.

SANTA: Great bouncing icebergs!
DONNER: Yeah, I'm sure it'll stop as soon as he grows up, Santa.
SANTA: Well, let's hope so, if he wants to make the sleigh team someday.

Hermey does not enjoy making toys like other elves, instead preferring to pursue a career in dentistry. He is teased by the other elves, much like Rudolph is teased for having a glowing red nose.

There's always tomorrow
For dreams to come true
Tomorrow is not far away.

When Santa warns Donner that Rudolph won't make the sleigh team because of his nose, Donner decides to hide the deformity by covering it with mud.

Bumble isn't really that abominable. He's just upset about his toothache!

Throughout the special, Yukon is shown tossing his pick axe into the air, sniffing, and then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice, most of the time saying afterwards in disappointment, "Nothing." This leads the audience to believe that he is searching for either silver or gold by taste, though it turns out that he is actually seeking peppermint, as revealed at the end of the original version of the special.

Rudolph & Hermey sing:
We're a couple of misfits
What's the matter with misfits
That's where we fit in!

It might come as a surprise that Rudolph was voiced by a woman. Billie Mae Richards, then 43, was an actress and singer who had a knack for doing little-boy characterizations.

On the Island of Misfit Toys, Dolly for Sue seems perfectly normal on the outside, and for decades fans have debated why she was there. Producer Arthur Rankin finally revealed on NPR in 2007 that Dolly considers herself a misfit due to her low self-esteem and psychological issues.