Rudolph's Shiny New Year - Production Notes

Production Notes

• The reindeer model used for Rudolph in this special was significantly different from the one used in the original special, most notably in that it had a wider, rounder mouth and a more blunt face as opposed to the elongated model used in the original. This model was also used for the 1979 finale Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.
• A lady with blonde hair at the front of the crowd at the end of the special was also used as the mother in The Year Without a Santa Claus.
• While Rudolph's Shiny New Year takes place after Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer, Rudolph appears in this film as a fawn, without a full set of antlers. This seems to be out of continuity with the end of Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, where he appears to be a fully grown deer with antlers.
• The camel who carried Rudolph and General Ticker to Father Time's castle was the same camel who served as "Joshua" in The Little Drummer Boy, another Rankin-Bass puppetoon.
• In one scene, the characters are on a boat using a calendar page as a sail. The calendar page is of August 1928, a reference to writer Romeo Muller who was born on August 7, 1928. The calendar page is inaccurate, since it shows the month starting on Thursday, whereas August 1, 1928 was actually a Wednesday. In addition, August appears with 30 days instead of 31.
• In the "The Moving Finger Writes" sequence, the calendar dates seen accurately reflect a common year starting on Monday.
• None of the characters from the original special returned in voiced parts except for Rudolph and Santa Claus. Rudolph's parents, (his father being Donner) are shown in the scene where Rudolph explains to Happy about himself, but are not referred by name nor do they have any lines. Donner is seen as part of Santa's sleigh team towards the end after Happy makes the Aeon laugh and it strikes midnight when Rudolph says "There's got to be a way to get to Father Time's castle before the 12th bong" and Santa and the reindeer team showing up instantly, but again is not referred by name. In the scene when 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer' is being played, when young reindeer are seen playing ball, a female reindeer resembling Clarice, Rudolph's girlfriend, (due to her bow, which is red with white polka dots, like in the original special) is seen. However, when in the original special where Clarice is the only reindeer that does not make fun of Rudolph's nose, in this special she runs away with the other reindeer and appears to be laughing at him.
• One more difference between the original special and this one is the role of the narrator in the story. In the 1964 special, Sam the Snowman apparently knows Rudolph, but doesn't interact with him. In this special, Father Time acts as the narrator and has some interaction with Rudolph.
• The special currently airs annually on ABC Family as part of its 25 Days of Christmas programming block (despite the fact that it is not a Christmas special); it is occasionally aired on sister network ABC in the week between Christmas and New Years Day.
• Big Ben would later appear in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, albeit briefly.