Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin Jr.

Writer:

Romeo Muller (writer)

Release Date:

10 December 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Plot:

Rudolph must find for Happy, the baby New Year, before midnight, New Year's Eve.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | New Year | Father Time | New Year's Eve | Nurse

Cast

Red Skelton	...	Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)
Frank Gorshin	...	Sir Ten-To-Three (voice)
Morey Amsterdam	...	One Million (O.M) (voice)
Harold Peary	...	Big Ben (voice)
Paul Frees	...	Santa Claus / Eon / General Ticker / Seventeen Seventy Six 'Sev' (voice)
Billie Mae Richards	...	Rudolph (voice)
Don Messick	...	Papa Bear (voice)
Iris Rainer	...	(voice)

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | UK:U (video release) (2000)

Company:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia:

Red Skelton recreated his popular radio character "Junior" for the voice of the Baby Bear on Fairy Tale Island.

Quotes:

Big Ben: Don't you fret about that overgrown chicken.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Pod People (#4.3)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Turn Back the Year

One of the first things I saw as a little kid- and it can stick with you

Rudolph's Shiny New Year can be striking, and entertaining, if you're watching it when you're little - little enough that by the time you're my age you have no clear memory of the first time you watched it, just that you did over and over. As a kid you get introduced to claymation someway or another (even those of today who don't have Gumby get Wallace and Gromit), and this plays for a fine hour for the little ones, but can perhaps be of worth for the parents here and there. The story of Rudolph saving the "baby new-year" from the clutches of Eon, a vulture looking to keep December 31st on a loop, is pretty simple, with conflicts and characters that are typical and funny enough to take. But what can be memorable for a child is how some of this special is dark (with Eon) when it's not cute (most scenes with the baby). It's also interesting as a kind of sequel-cum-remake of the original Rudolph story, as the baby has to contend with having big ears- something that a child might find more relatable than a shiny nose. The songs are also a bit of a treat, if dated, and Red Skeleton does a fine double-job with the voicing of Father time and the little Bear on the island. Basically, it's the kind of special that is worth checking out with the kids for a few minutes, and if they get into it, it may prove a treat, and if not, there's still Nickelodeon.