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1[[quoteright:337:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsny.jpg]]
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3->''"You know Rudolph, who guided and pulled Santa's sleigh\
4And who saved Christmas by lighting the way\
5But there's more to tell\
6Rudolph saved the New Year as well!"''
7
8''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' is a 1976 StopMotion special created by Creator/RankinBassProductions and first aired on Creator/{{ABC}}. A direct sequel to the studio's own 1964 ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'', the special is narrated by Creator/RedSkelton as Father Time.
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10FatherTime has a problem. Happy, the BabyNewYear, has run off (or crawled off, as it were) because everyone was laughing at his big ears. If he's not found in time, the Old Year will never end and it will remain December 31st forever. Rudolph is sent to search for him in the Archipelago of Last Years, where the Old Years go to retire. Every retired Old Year lives on an island where it forever remains the year during which the Old Year was the New Year.
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12Hitching a ride with a whale named Big Ben, Rudolph explores the archipelago, visiting three islands onscreen. He's joined on his quest by their personifications, "O.M" (short for "One Million BC"), Sir 1023 (pronounced "ten-to-three" for the time pun), and "Sev" (short for 1776). There is, of course, also a villain. It's a great evil bird called Aeon the Terrible, so named because he's fated to live for exactly one eon. His eon will end with the New Year, so he hopes to capture Happy in order to freeze time and live forever.
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14Keep the MST3KMantra firmly in mind, because not a whole lot about this special makes logical sense. Note the number of times this page tells you to "just go with it."
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16Followed by the 1979 feature film ''WesternAnimation/RudolphAndFrostysChristmasInJuly'', forming a trilogy of sorts. The Rankin-Bass version of Rudolph also returned in the 2001 CG film ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeerAndTheIslandOfMisfitToys''.
17----
18!!''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' provides examples of:
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20* TheSixties: "1965 was too noisy." This could be a reference to the tumult of the 1960s or just a jab at modernity in general. In any case, 1965 is the most recent year mentioned by the special.
21* AlwaysMale: To judge by what we're shown and told, the personification of years are this.
22* AncientEgypt: Apparently, the theme of 4,000 BC's island, which is visited off-screen. Rudolph mentions they were obsessed with building pyramids over there.
23* AnthropomorphicPersonification: FatherTime, of course. Additionally, every year has its own personification, each of whom started off as a Baby New Year. We meet three - the personifications of One Million BC (a caveman), 1023 (a knight), and 1776 (a Creator/BenjaminFranklin lookalike).
24* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Happy is laughed at for having big ears. And yes, they do point out the really obvious connection, complete with a reprise of Rudolph's theme song.
25* AmbiguousSituation: Father Time implies that he was once a year during his song. Of course, given that the other years simply retire to their own islands when they finish their job, he seems to work independently of them. Possibly he was the very first year, at the dawn of time itself.
26* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Aeon's island is "due north of the North Pole," even though literally every place on Earth is located ''south'' of the North Pole. Just go with it.
27* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Gee, where even to begin? It would be easier to point out the things that ''were'' historically accurate.
28** Dinosaurs are included in the year one million BC, of course. And yes, Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs are mixed in together. And yes, the carnivorous dinosaurs don't seem to be trying to eat the herbivores. And yes, the dinosaurs speak English.
29** 1023 has the aesthetics of TheHighMiddleAges instead of TheLowMiddleAges. For example, those castles should be built out of wood rather than stone. Another point is that the fairy tales we all know and love took place in 1023. Creator/CharlesPerrault's ''{{Literature/Cinderella}}'' and ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' were published in the 1600s. Most of the Grimm fairy tales referenced, via appearances by the Seven Dwarves from ''Literature/SnowWhite'' and the title character from ''{{Literature/Rumpelstiltskin}}'', were published in the 1800s. To be fair, since Creator/TheBrothersGrimm merely collected their stories, it can be argued that those took place in some far off time, but Perrault intended his stories to be satirical and timely.
30** The Americans of 1776 hold Fourth of July parades every day when they should still be fighting their war for independence. Also, independence was actually declared on July 2nd (the 4th was when the Declaration was drafted), and the Betsy Ross flag wasn't adopted until June 14, 1777.
31** Oh, and 4,000 BC predates Egyptian civilization, let alone the Pyramids. The Pyramids were, however, built about 4,000 years ago, so it's possible someone at Rankin/Bass confused 4,000 years ago with 4,000 BC.
32* ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology: The boat in which Happy departs One Million B.C.'s island is described as a "conch shell" by the narrator, but is clearly a scallop shell. Conchs and scallops aren't even in the same taxonomic class.
33* ArtShift: The flashback to Rudolph's story is done in hand-drawn animation.
34* BigDamnHeroes: Just as Aeon is about to attack Rudolph, Big Ben surfaces to confront him. Later, SantaClaus shows up to get everyone back to Father Time before the twelfth bong.
35* TheEeyore: This is implied to be the case with 1893, who apparently "never heard of" Happy. This may be a reference to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893 the Panic of 1893,]] making the 1893 island one of the only {{Crapsack World}}s in the entire Archipelago of Last Years.
36* ExtremelyShortTimespan: While the first special takes place over the course of at least a year, ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' starts immediately after the end of it and is set in the span of less than a week.
37* FeatheredFiend: Aeon the Terrible, though it's hard to blame him if you look at things from his perspective.
38* FlintstoneTheming: Hope you like time puns!
39* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Rudolph could have solved a lot of his problems in this special by ''flying'', but he seems to have forgotten that he can do that.
40* TheGayNineties: 1893 is one of the islands visited off-screen. All that's mentioned about it is that Happy hasn't been seen there.
41* GentleGiantSauropod: Some peaceful sauropods live alongside other dinosaurs on the One Million B.C island.
42* GroundhogDayLoop: The people on the 1776 island celebrate Independence Day every day. They don't seem to mind.
43* HollywoodPrehistory: The first island Rudolph is a tropical isle inhabited by dinosaurs, whose year's personification is a caveman who goes by "O.M.", short for "One Million BC".
44* HumanSnowball: Aeon causes an avalanche that sends Rudolph, O.M., Sir 1023 and Sev rolling down his mountain as snowballs. Rudolph melts the snow off him using his nose.
45* ImmediateSequel: The special starts on the very same night that Rudolph made his famous flight to save Christmas.
46* ImmortalsFearDeath: Aeon's motivation. He's not ''technically'' immortal, but he's clearly lived several millennia - to clarify, he will live "until he is one eon old," and an eon is one ''billion'' years. With the deadline looming, he's ''terrified'' of dying, and thinks he can stave off death by kidnapping the New Year. (And he succeeds, just not the way he figured.)
47* InkSuitActor: Father Time is designed to look like Red Skelton.
48* InnocentlyInsensitive: Literally everyone who sees Happy's ears laughs at him, but Father Time establishes that none of them meant to hurt his feelings. Rudolph explains it by saying that the sight of Happy's ears make people feel so good inside, it just "pops right out" in the form of laughter.
49* ItsAllAboutMe: Aeon doesn't care about how important the new year is to everyone; he just doesn't want to die. Understandable, but still selfish.
50* JustInTime: They deliver Happy to Father Time's castle "without a bong to spare." (Not that kind of bong!)
51* LargeHam: Sir 1023 is made of Ham. Being voiced by [[Creator/FrankGorshin the first Riddler of the 60s]] will do that to someone.
52* LighterAndSofter: Than the ValuesDissonance-riddled [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer original special]].
53* LostWorld: The Island of 1 Million B.C, complete with LivingDinosaurs and a ContemporaryCaveman.
54* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: The island of 1023 has this as its theme. As Father Time informs us, it turns out 1023 was the year in which all {{Fairy Tale}}s really happened. Just go with it.[[note]]For the record, there's no particular significance to the year 1023 in RealLife. The special presumably selected it for the sake of the "ten-to-three" pun.[[/note]]
55* MrExposition:
56** When Rudolph meets Father Time, he's the one who explains how New Year's Eve works and what the Archipelago of Last Years is, even defining the word archipelago.
57** Quarter to Five is the one who explains to Rudolph (and the audience) who Aeon is and why he wants to find Happy.
58* {{Narrator}}: Father Time, voiced by Red Skelton.
59* NeverSayDie: Aeon the Terrible's lifespan is expiring and is said to "turn into ice and snow" when it ends.
60* NewYearHasCome: ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' depicts New Year's Eve as being an ordained and necessary ritual that must occur at midnight on December 31st for time to continue flowing.
61* NoIndoorVoice: There is not one line that Sir 1023 doesn't shout as loud as humanly possible.
62** This is also implied to be the case with 1965, who, according to Rudolph, "was too noisy."
63* NostalgiaFilter: The song "Turn Back the Years" outright advocates this:
64-->''Just remember the good times that you knew''\
65''Don't remember the bad times you've been through''
66* OnlyFriend: Rudolph is the only one who actually accepted Happy for who he is.
67* OnlySaneMan: The only characters who don't laugh at Happy's ears are Santa, Father Time, and the people at the New Year's Eve party.
68* PowerIncontinence: Averted with Rudolph's nose glow. In ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964'' it glowed whenever he felt strong emotion, and he couldn't control it; this was why he and his friends kept almost getting caught by the Abominable Snow Monster. But in this special now that he's more mature and secure, he can make it glow on and off at will.
69* PatrioticFervor: The island of 1776, themed after UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, where "every day is the Fourth of July." Can you tell this special originally aired in the year of the bicentennial?
70* PepTalkSong:
71** "It's Raining Sunshine" by O.M., as he cheers Rudolph and encourages him to think happy thoughts.
72** "Have a Little Faith in Me" by Rudolph, as he lets his sidekicks know that no matter what happens, he'll be there to help them.
73* PleaseKeepYourHatOn: Happy has to keep his on to avoid having anyone laugh at his big ears.
74* {{Retcon}}: In the 2D animation flashback to the events of ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964'', Rudolph's false black nose is knocked off when he and the other reindeer children are playing catch by bouncing a ball with their noses. In the original special, it happens as he playfully roughhouses with his new friend Fireball while celebrating his success in the Reindeer Games and Clarice liking him.
75* RhymesOnADime: General Ticker, Father Time's captain of the guards, speaks in rhyme.
76* SapientCetaceans: Big Ben, a whale with a giant clock on his tail, sent by Father Time to help Rudolph.
77* SequelNonEntity / ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Rudolph and Santa are pretty much the only characters to return. Rudolph's parents are briefly seen during the ArtShift segment, but that's it. Hermie, Yukon, Clarice, etc. are never seen or mentioned.
78* ShoutOut: The sail on Rudolph's boat is a calendar page for August 1928. That's the month and year in which screenwriter Romeo Muller was born.
79* SocialOrnithopod: Some friendly hadrosaurs live alongside the other dinosaurs on the One Million B.C. island.
80* TakeAThirdOption: Regarding Aeon's fate, either he dies (turning to ice) or the New Year doesn't come. [[spoiler: Rudolph assures the audience that Aeon's laughing fit at seeing Happy's ears will keep him warm and alive anyway.]]
81* TimeStandsStill: What will happen should Rudolph fail.
82* TimeTravel: Visiting the islands in the Archipelago of Last Years is a kind of time travel. Sorta. Well, the song "Turn Back the Years" does encourage you to think of it this way.
83* TragicVillain: Ultimately, Aeon the Terrible is an example, as despite being a monstrous vulture who kidnaps Baby New Year and intends to stop the new year from coming, but the reason he’s doing this is to avert his own death when he turns one eon old.
84* VileVulture: Aeon resembles a giant buzzard with a serrated beak and is the film's BigBad.
85* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: Happy must come to Father Time before the twelfth bong of midnight on New Year's Eve, or there won't be a new year for eternity.
86* WingdingEyes: Any time a character laughs at Happy, their pupils turn into upside-down Us.
87* WithFriendsLikeThese: Baby Bear declares Happy his friend, but has the distinction of being somewhat nasty in guilt tripping Happy for not "doffing his helmet" during a game of "knights and dragons." This also holds true, albeit to a lesser extent, with literally everyone Happy encounters, since they all laugh at his ears.
88* WholePlotReference: On the island of 1023, they briefly reenact the {{Literature/Goldilocks}} story, but with Happy taking the place of Goldilocks.
89* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: If you think about it from his perspective, Aeon the Terrible is this. Yes kidnapping an infant and trying to avert the coming of the new year is a jerk move, but Aeon can only live for one eon (hence his name) and if the new year comes, that deadline will finally be up and he'll be reduced to ice and snow. In short, Aeon isn't so much malicious as he is ''terrified of dying''. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Rudolph and Happy manage to avert that fate for him]].
90* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: Apparently, this is the theme of 1492's island, where they were "too busy discovering things" to pay attention to Rudolph's search. If 1776 is any indication, we can assume that 1492's personification resembles UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus.
91* YearX: Turns out the new year is "19-wonderful". Just go with it.
92* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: This is how Sir 1023 talks. Being from the early 11th century, he should be speaking Old English, but if we raise that point, we'd have to question [[EternalEnglish how O.M. knows English at all]].
93* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Rudolph to Happy about their similarities over being different and he shouldn't let his big ears bother him.
94* YourDaysAreNumbered: Aeon is aware that his eon will be up this December 31st and is determined to hold Happy captive so he can continue living forever.

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