Rudolph's Shiny New Year

This is the one with the villainous Vulture, and where Rudolph gets trapped inside a big snowball. And the kid with the huge ears too...Well, it's not bad-Santa mixed with New Years and whatever-it doesn't quite hold up as well's 'Heat Mizer' or the first Frosty, but it's a fun watch for the family.

*** outta ****

Just finished this, the sequel to Rankin/Bass' "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". With Red Skelton as narrator Father Time as well as the Baby Bear, Frank Gorshin as the knight Sir Ten-To-Three, Morey Amsterdam as the caveman-O.M. (One Million), Hal "Great Gildersleeve" Peary as the whale Big Ben, Paul Frees as various voices, Don Messick as Papa Bear, Iris Rainer as Mama Bear, and, returning as Rudolph, Billie Mae Richards. Written once again by Romeo Muller, "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" is a wonderful Tall Tale about how the reindeer with the shiny nose managed to make sure that it didn't become December 31st forever. Even as an adult, I was enthralled by the way Muller kept making things up as the story went along and didn't care a lick about logic or stuff like that as long as it was still believable. Although when Red said this story took place just after the events in the previous special, I did question why Rudolph's antlers had shrunk to when he was a kid. Other than that, I still highly enjoyed "Rudolph's Shiny New Year". P.S. I just found out Frees and Amsterdam were born in the same city as I, Chicago, Ill.

Rankin/Bass sequel to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer doesn't come close to that classic but has charms of its own. The story is that Happy, the Baby New Year, has run away and unless he is returned by Dec 31st the current year will not end. Rudolph is asked to find Happy, which is appropriate since they both have in common that they were laughed at for physical oddities. Rudolph with his glowing red nose and Happy with his huge ears. It's a running gag throughout the special that every time someone sees Happy's ears they burst out laughing. It seems a little mean after awhile, to be honest.

The most interesting part of the story to me was the Archipelago of Last Years. Basically after every year ends, that year retires to an island all of its own. It's a neat idea that allowed Rankin/Bass to toy with various characters from different times. My favorite of these was the island of the year that all fairy tales and nursery rhymes were created. So we get to see Rankin/Bass animate characters like the Three Bears and Cinderella. Throughout the story, Rudolph picks up various allies and must contend with an evil vulture named Aeon.

The stop-motion animation is, as usual, excellent. I love the vulture in particular. The voicework is great. Billie Mae Richards returns as Rudolph. Red Skelton voices the narrator Father Time, as well as a short bit as Baby Bear (using one of his old standard voices from his radio & TV shows). Morey Amsterdam voices O.M. the caveman. The songs are a mixed bag and probably the special's weakest element. Also, as mentioned, the constant laughing at the baby for his ears is a little rough and the "moral" at the end, as stated by Rudolph, doesn't seem to fit. Still, it's an enjoyable special. It's not one of the best but it's Rankin/Bass so it's solid entertainment despite its flaws.

Rankin/Bass have been responsible for some of my favourites. Of their specials my favourites are Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' To Town. On the most part I did like Rudolph's Shiny New Year. Of course it is not as good as Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, but considering how timeless that is I wasn't expecting the same kind of quality. I do think that some parts did feel stretched out and Rudolph's Shiny New Year could have been told quite easily in half the running time. It does look great though, a lot of detail went into the visuals and stop-motion animation and it really shows, managing to be both enchanting and wonderfully twisted. The score is fitting and whimsical, and while the songs are not among the most inspired or memorable from the Rankin/Bass specials- I personally did find Raining Sun Shine instantly forgettable- there are some pleasantly upbeat ones, the best being Hap-Hap-Happy New Year. The writing has its charm and fun, if not as fresh, witty or touching as some of the best Rankin/Bass specials. The story is interesting, the scenes with Happy are very sweet and what initially seems mean-spirited(I'm talking about Happy having big ears) comes across as touching in the end(I can also see a lot of people relating to Happy for this). There are some strange moments that can lose you first time, but the more times you see it the quicker you feel that it's part of the charm. Of the characters, all of which are engaging with some endearingly quirky names, my favourites are Rudolph, Father Time and Big Ben, though it is difficult not to love adorable little Happy and Aeon is a decent enough villain(even if there are better Rankin/Bass villains around, namely Burgermeister). The voice acting is terrific, Red Skelton being the standout. Overall, not one of the best Rankin/Bass specials but has a lot of good things. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This was included on the same DVD as "The Year Without a Santa Claus," and I must say that I don't remember this one at all from my childhood. It picks up where the original "Rudolph" left off. Rudolph has successfully saved Christmas, so he's charged with saving the New Year as well, sent off into the night by Santa Claus (who's really good at delegating, by the way), to find the New Year's baby, a bizarre little tyke with enormous ears who looks like Harpo Marx and wears a giant top hat. He's run away because everyone laughs at his ears; who better to find him and teach him the value of not taking life so seriously than Rudolph, he of the drunkard's nose?

I liked this one, though it features the least memorable music yet of this kind of animated film. Rudolph is joined by a soldier who's part clock and speaks in rhymed couplets, and a knight whose face we never see and who could be a character out of Monty Python. There's also a gloomy camel and my favorite character, a great whale who gives the group rides around the ocean and helps them chase down the scary monster bird (that's really its name) who wants to kidnap baby New Year so he can stop time and prevent himself from turning into ice (don't ask). Last but not least, Red Skelton fills narration duties as Father Time.

Like all of these films, even if they're not that great, they provide a certain nostalgic satisfaction to those of us who remember a time before computer animation.

Grade: B+