Rudolph's Shiny New Year

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Rudolph's Shiny New Year

TV-G

1976

50m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Adventure

Comedy

Animation

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

50%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer must save the day when Happy, the new baby New Year, goes missing. Father Time asks Rudolph to search the Archipelago of Last Years, where old years go when they retire. Happy must be found by midnight, or the old year will not end. As Rudolph and his friends search for Happy, they encounter Aeon, a buzzard whose aim is to kidnap the baby New Year, hoping to keep the calendar on Dec. 31 forever.

Erik Adams

AV Club

It all adds up to a largely nonsensical wintertime fairy tale, but with Rankin/Bass' seasonal powers in the process of diminishing, Rudolph's Shiny New Year represents a last-ditch effort to synthesize a number of imaginative concepts into a single story.

Nov 28, 2018

Full Review

Emily St. James

Vox

In its best moments, Shiny New Year lives up to the howling madness at the center of all Rankin/Bass.

Nov 27, 2018

Full Review

People Staff

People Magazine

The songs, again by Marks, are syrupy. The Animagic process quickly becomes aninoying. And Muller's plot proves even more impenetrable.

Nov 28, 2018

Full Review

Kyle Anderson

Nerdist

I'm sad to say, the specials stopped being essential - they ran out of ideas.

Nov 27, 2018

Full Review

Matthew Jackson

Syfy Wire

[It's] just one of the weirdest holiday specials ever conceived

Nov 27, 2018

Full Review

Ryan Voyles

Paste Magazine

On paper, the special sounds like a fun trip, but it's a laborious viewing experience. The weird factor can only do so much to cover up the weak story, songs and supporting characters.

Nov 27, 2018

Full Review

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Yosef F

Best movie ever! No cap

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/25

Full Review

Kevin P

Bizarre and scattershot, so much so that it has its own weird, unforgettable charm that's unique and entertaining enough to make it worth a watch (at least once in a Blue Moon).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/25

Full Review

Sabrina M

One of my favorites from childhood! I love it just as much as Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. I love all of the characters. It is very fun and wholesome.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/21/24

Full Review

Jack's A

An extremely unique take on New Years with catchy songs, a neat story, and funny characters

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/22/23

Full Review

Roxann L

We're they on hallucinogenics when they wrote this?!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This Rankin / Bass Christmas film is all over the place, featuring elements of a number of fairy tales, and figures from history including Ben Franklin, among others. Technically, it is 1776 embodied as Ben Franklin, but either way...a search for the lost Happy (AKA baby New Year).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Jules Bass

Director

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Director

Frank Gorshin

Sir 1023

Red Skelton

Father Time

Morey Amsterdam

One Million

Billie Mae Richards

Rudolph

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Synopsis

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer must save the day when Happy, the new baby New Year, goes missing. Father Time asks Rudolph to search the Archipelago of Last Years, where old years go when they retire. Happy must be found by midnight, or the old year will not end. As Rudolph and his friends search for Happy, they encounter Aeon, a buzzard whose aim is to kidnap the baby New Year, hoping to keep the calendar on Dec. 31 forever.

Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Producer: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Screenwriter: Romeo Muller
Rating: TV-G
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Adventure, Comedy, Animation
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 9, 2018
Runtime: 50m