Big Change For Cartoon Classic 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

There are a few holiday cartoon classics that every Gen-Xer grew up with and passes on to their children or enjoys watching with nieces and nephews. Dare I say my own brother found himself watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, by himself after stumbling upon it this year.

Talk about nostalgia.

It's one of the biggest classics, and it has been hitting the small screen every October for Halloween since 1966. Then there's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving every November since 1973 and a Charlie Brown Christmas in December since 1965.

We can even buy the famous, beloved, ugly Charlie Brown Christmas tree in stores or online, which looks exactly like the one Charlie Brown bought in the Charles M. Shultz cartoon. As you know, it's basically a stick with a few branches with evergreen needles and room for just one round, red ball ornament. It only stands thanks to two wooden boards nailed together. 

Speaking of the holidays, let's get to the major changes coming to two cartoon Christmas classics: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, released in 1964, and Frosty the Snowman, which started airing annually in 1969.

When these two classics aired, the entire night was based around watching them together as a family, often complete with popcorn and hot chocolate or cookies and milk. Now, after decades, according to the TV Line website, they are leaving CBS, a network so closely associated with them we just assume they will be there, and moving to NBC.

A special 75-minute edition of Rudolph will air Friday, Dec. 6 at 8/7c on NBC to mark its 60th anniversary. The stop-motion animated classic based on the beloved Christmas carol is closely associated with CBS, but it actually debuted on NBC back in 1964, airing there until it moved to CBS eight years later.

Frosty the Snowman will air on NBC on Thursday, December 5, at 8:30 pm.

According to TV Line, NBC will air both cartoons again: Rudolph on Wednesday, December 11, and Frosty on Thursday, December 12.