Slyly | |
---|---|
Gender |
Male |
Species |
Arctic Fox |
Personality |
Friendly, Clever, Sly, Wise-Cracking |
Eye Colour |
Brown |
Fur Colour |
White |
Friends |
Rudolph, Leonard, Zoey, Santa Claus, Flyers, Mitzi, Stormella, Ridley, Stormella's Wolves |
Enemies |
Arrow, Stormella (formerly), Ridley (formerly), Stormella's Wolves (formerly) |
Likes |
Tricking foes, snuggling with Rudolph's teddy bear |
Dislikes |
Rudolph staying in his cave (formerly) |
Voiced By |
Slyly is an anthropomorphic Arctic fox and one of the three tritagonists in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. He is a friend and ally of Rudolph.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie[]
Slyly first meets a runaway Rudolph, who is seeking shelter for the night. He squares up with the reindeer, mislabeling him as a "big moose" before charging, but Rudolph easily counters this by moving his legs out of the way, sending Slyly into the cavern wall. He recuperates and grabs onto one of Rudolph's legs, but is wildly thrashed about and again smashed against a wall. In a last attempt, Slyly runs up to the ceiling and drops down onto Rudolph's back, tugging on his ears; he then rides the reindeer like a wild bull, only to faceplant into a stalactite that Rudolph runs underneath. Admitting defeat, the fox welcomes Rudolph and introduces himself.
At that moment, Slyly shocks Rudolph by reading his past, recalling perfectly how he was mocked and ran away, much to the reindeer's amazement. He then sings "It Could Always Be Worse", teaching how to be optimistic even in the worst situation. As Rudolph listens, his nose inadvertently lights up, which Slyly notices after the song finishes. When he initially tries to hide it, the fox only irks him more. Rudolph, embarrassed and in tears, finally reveals his nose, recounting the many mean-spirited jokes said to him about it. In doing so, he causes both himself and Slyly to laugh uncontrollably, which amends his hard feelings.
That night, Slyly inquires what Rudolph has in his backpack, and after the reindeer refuses to tell, he reminds him that friends cannot keep secrets. This escalates into a tug-of-war match, causing said bag to burst open and reveal its contents: a family portrait, Rudolph's scarf, a pendant from Zoey (which Rudolph again refuses to further describe), and a teddy bear given to him as a fawn. After apologizing, Slyly puts them back in the bag before settling for the night. Once Rudolph is also asleep, though, Slyly wakes up and takes out the teddy bear to cuddle with, unaware of Rudolph watching him as he goes back to sleep.
The next morning, an avalanche occurs. Slyly and Rudolph are jolted awake and escape from the cave just in time, looking back to find that it is now buried underneath a mound of snow. When the fox scorns about this, Rudolph reiterates that it could be worse, pointing out that they could be trapped inside instead, to which Slyly concedes. The two then venture off in search of another place to live.
That night, they come across another cave, illuminated and adorned with furniture. Rudolph notes that someone else must already live here, which is confirmed when an irate polar bear shows up behind them. Slyly lies in that they are members of the "Bureau of Cave Safety", and that shifting polar ice has caused the structural integrity of certain caves to become unsafe. He then encourages Rudolph to "inspect" the cave walls, coming to the false conclusion that the cave is unfit for inhabitance. Once finished, Slyly forces the shocked and confused bear out of his home and watches him walk away before gleefully returning to the cave.
When Rudolph confronts Slyly in that his actions were unjust, he responds in that "it's either him or us". At that moment, the polar bear furiously returns and exposes his trick, causing Slyly to run away in fear. He returns later for dinner, learning that all is forgiven and that the polar bear's name is Leonard; when Rudolph reveals that telling the truth was what allowed them to stay, Slyly's jaw drops in shock.
Later that night, Slyly, along with Rudolph and Leonard, stand before the bridge to Stormella's Castle. While the latter two characters bravely journey forward in an effort to save a captive Zoey, Slyly cowers over the thought of the ice queen's wolves. He later proves to be of assistance, however, when he covertly sneaks into the lair and steals Stormella's key while she is asleep. When the queen awakens somewhat while doing this, he candidly informs her of his intentions before instructing her to go back to sleep, thereby using Rudolph's method of telling the truth. When this actually works, the fox breaks the fourth wall before running off to free his friends.
Slyly's ploy turns out to be merely temporary, however, as Stormella eventually realizes what is going on. Meanwhile, the group of escapees maneuver through the maze of icy tunnels, stopping upon a dead end marked so by a cliff. Stormella arrives and blocks the team, threatening to freeze everyone, but Rudolph fends her off by blinding her with a pulse of light from his nose. Unable to see, the ice queen stumbles backwards and off the cliff, but manages to grab onto a lower ledge and begs for help. Rudolph complies, but he nearly falls into the chasm with her when the ledge begins to collapse; this is prevented only by the brute strength of Slyly and the others, who pull them away from the edge and onto more stable ground.
Stormella, displaying gratitude for all who saved her, abides by Rudolph's wish and becomes nice. She instructs the group to walk over her bridge and wishes them a Merry Christmas, where Boone and Doggle take them back to the North Pole. That evening, as Rudolph and the other reindeer depart with Santa Claus and his sleigh full of presents into the storm, Slyly cheers them on along with the others.
The next morning is Christmas Day, and presents are underneath the Christmas Tree. When Slyly and Leonard investigate, they each find one present addressed to them; Slyly's gift turns out to be the teddy bear that he slept with, to which the fox expresses his joy. That day, he and Leonard celebrate Christmas with the others, participating in the festivities whilst singing the ending song, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", as Stormella plays it on the piano.
Songs Sung by Slyly[]
Trivia[]
- Slyly was apparently born on May 17, 1992, therefore making him six years of age in his debut (1998).
- Slyly's voice actor, Eric Idle, used a Bronx accent during acting.
- The screenwriter was inspired to include an Arctic fox after observing one at New York City's Central Park Zoo. He conceived Slyly as an amalgam of Ratso Rizzo, the fast-talking streetwise hustler from "Midnight Cowboy," and Han Solo from "Star Wars".
- Slyly declines to help Rudolph and Leonard rescue Zoey, but later appears to retrieve the dungeon key. This parallels story points in "Star Wars" when Han Solo refuses to help the rebels destroy the Death Star, but returns at the last moment to assist Luke.
- It is unclear how Slyly manages to cross the moat between Leonard's Cave and Stormella's Castle without triggering the alarm (the same one which was tripped when Rudolph and Leonard crossed over her bridge). He may have either somehow snuck across the bridge undetected or found an alternate route to the castle.
- Slyly was originally planned to be a red fox, but was instead changed to be an Arctic fox in order to better align with the story's Arctic setting.