Original subtitles

And it all began on that very same foggy night.

Santa received a strange message.

What's this?

Why, it's from Father Time.

My old friend.

"Dear Santa, I am in terrible trouble.

"You must help me.

"The old year ends in a week.

"But this time..

"...there may not be another year to follow.

"Happy, the Baby New Year, is..

...is missing!"

Why-why-why, that's terrible!

If the Baby New Year isn't found

the old year will just keep going on and on

and it'll be December 31st forever!

I'll send out a search party at once.

But wait... nobody could find their way anywhere

in all this dark fog and snow.

Nobody, that is, except..

'...Rudolph.'

Once more, the happiness of all the world's children

depends on you.

You must find the Baby New Year

and you've less than a week in which to do it.

You mean..

Rudolph, with your nose so bright

you've six days left to set things right.

Swish swish

I'll do my best, Santa.

Yes, Happy, the Baby New Year, was missing.

And Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

was on his way to see me

before starting on his journey

to find the Baby New Year.

How do I know, you ask? Who am I?

Well..

I'm Father Time.

What do I do, you ask?

I do what all fathers do.

I take care of things..

...the time, mostly.

All the time in the universe.

I keep everything in tip-top, tick-tock shape.

Slowpoke!

But most of all, I make certain

that every 1st of January

we have a bright and Happy New Year.

That's why I was so upset to find

little Happy missing.

But Rudolph. Well, he just..

Hold on! I'm getting ahead of myself.

Running a little fast, as it were.

Back, please.

Back... to the night Rudolph set out alone.

And was soon joined by General Ticker

one of my most trustworthy officers.

A real clockwork soldier.

Come on, General Ticker, you can make it.

Father Time's castle can't be too far ahead.

You're bold, sir.

I'm cold, sir. This dashed snow.

I'm pretty cold, too.

Don't weaken.

Your beacon must cast its glow.

Don't worry. I won't weaken.

And finally, with great effort

they reached the edge of the great desert.

The Sands of Time.

A desert? What do we do now?

We cross, sir.

The boss, sir, is still quite far.

Father Time's castle

is on the other side of the desert?

Quite, sir.

'Tis right, sir, beneath that star.

'Wow! That's still a long way to go.'

'Perhaps, I might be of some assistance.'

Who are you?

'A friend.'

How do you do?

I am the Great Quarter Past Five.

Father Time sent me to help you

in your journey.

The Great Quarter Past Five?

May I call you Quart for short?

I'd rather you didn't

if it's all the same to you.

Now, hop on, please.

They were halfway across the Sands of Time

when suddenly..

Caw caw

What is it?

I'm seein' Old Eon.

We've got to flee!

'Run! Run! Run!'

caw

'Run!'

All fear Eon the Terrible!

Caw

It was the horrible monster bird

who had terrorized the Sands of Time

for countless ages.

Eon the Terrible.

Caw

There's better pickings.

Yeah!

Squawk

It's not us he's looking for.

Who does he want?

I do fear the New Year.

You agree?

I certainly do.

He's out looking for Happy, too.

You see... Eon can only live

until he is one eon old.

Then, he will turn into ice and snow.

How long is an eon?

Immeasurably long.

But his eon is finally up

this December 31st.

He has only six days left.

That's why he wants to capture the Baby New Year!

To stop time.

If December 31st goes on forever..

...so will he.

He'll never change to snow.

He'll never stop scaring people.

Not if we find Happy first.

Come on, Great Quarter Past Five

get us to Father Time's castle. Quick!

I will.

Since we're being quick about things

you may call me Quart.

Ha! Let's go, Quart!

In no time, they all arrived at my castle.

The Palace Of Happy New Years.

Why, it's true.

That nose of yours is as red as my hair used to be.

They used to call me old redhead.

It's a pleasure to serve you, sir.

Rudolph, do you know what really happens

every New Year's Eve?

Do you know how we make the change

from one year to the next?

No, sir.

All I know is that everybody says, "Happy New Year."

It is a happy occasion and a solemn one, too

'for the passing of time is awe-inspiring.'

It's the one certain thing in all the universe.

In a way, it's like an old king stepping down

and a new one taking his place.

A Baby New Year starts out every January the 1st

innocent and young as springtime.

And as midnight nears, the old year waits.

And all the clocks count down his last moments.

Midnight!

And the magic diamond is lowered

to signify the end and the beginning.

This year, the diamond may not come down.

But what happened to the Baby New Year?

He ran away.

You see, little Happy was anything but happy here.

And I didn't know a thing about it.

Happy was different from all the other little New Years.

You see, he had..

...well, rather unusual..

...big ears.

Well, blimey, I can't help it.

Those bloomin' ears..

I say, do forgive me, but..

No one meant to be cruel.

But that night, poor little Happy ran away

and we haven't seen hide or hair of him since.

Gee, I wish he would've come to me.

I know just how he felt.

I bet they called him names

and wouldn't let him join in any new year games.

Do you-do you have any idea where he went?

His nurse, Nanny Nine O'clock

said that he always wanted to see

the Archipelago of Last Years.

Archipelago?

What does that word mean, sir?

It's a group of islands.

The Archipelago of Last Years

is the most fantastic archipelago of all.

Far north..

...in the most northern of all the northern seas.

Hidden from the rest of the world

by an everlasting icy fog.

Each island is an old year.

I don't understand, sir.

You see, when the Old Year's time is done

he retires to the archipelago

and selects an island.

And the island becomes his alone.

Time stands still

and remains just the same as it was

during the year he reigned.

The Archipelago of Last Years.

Happy may be hiding on one of those islands.

On one of those long ago years.

I'll search every island, if I have to.

Where do I find them?

Go to where the Sands of Time

meets the Sea of Auld Lang Syne.

There you will find a giant sundial.

A sundial... in all this fog?

The arm points through the icy fog

to the Archipelago of Last Years.

Point your gleaming nose in that direction.

Rudolph, and do not veer from your course.

And you'll find yourself going back..

...back into time.

'Hooray!'

Squawks

No!

It's Eon!

Eon the Terrible, he was determined

that Rudolph would not find Happy

and he intended to do everything in his power

to stop the little Red-Nosed Reindeer.

It looked pretty bad for Rudolph.

He was on his way through the icy fog

to the Archipelago of Last Years

searching for Happy, the Baby New Year.

When Eon the Terrible swooped down out of the sky.

Caw

Squawk

Got to go... faster!

Eon was just about to swoop down, when..

Gong

My gosh!

Now, Rudy, don't you fret any

about that overgrown chicken.

Who are you?

Well, folks call me Big Ben.

Look what I can do!

Gong

Climb inside.

It's safe in there.

What did you say?

I asked if you were comfortable?

Kind of hard to talk with your mouth full.

Sure, Big Ben.

But maybe I'd better ride on top.

Okay. Suit yourself.

Caw

I won't let you find Happy

before I do!

You're a bad bird, Eon.

Yes, even Eon the Terrible

was no match for Big Ben.

By the next morning

Big Ben had taken Rudolph

to just about the oldest island

in the whole Archipelago of Last Years.

It was the island

where old One Million B.C. had gone to retire.

While Big Ben was waiting for him in the harbor

the little reindeer went ashore.

To find old One Million himself.

Anybody home?

But certainly. Always is anybody.

No? Yes?

Hi. You must be...

- Who? Me? - O.M.

- O.M.? - Short for One Million.

Too much work all the time saying One Million. Yes?

No? Yes.

I..

I suppose so.

Hey, why for the edges on your mouth go down, not up?

I... I'm looking for Happy, the Baby New Year.

What if I don't find him in time?

Don't? Stop with the don't thoughts.

Start with the do thoughts.

Sounds wonderful, O.M.

I'll take your advice.

And Iknowl'll find Happy.

Hey, who's Happy?

Everybody's happy!

O.M., please!

Happy is the new Baby New Year.

He's missing.

I thought he might've come here.

A little baby? Yeah.

- Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! - He's here?

No.

But he was.

O.M. told Rudolph

that little Happy did visit the island

and made a lot of friends, too.

Why, once, he saved a baby pterodactyl's life.

But unfortunately..

Heartbroken, and misunderstanding

the laughter of his new friends

little Happy made himself a boat

out of a giant conk shell

and sailed off..

...running away once more.

And that is the last time I have ever see him.

Hey, but look, I-let's both look.

He has positively got to be on one of these islands.

M-maybe. Yes?

Okay, come on!

Big Ben is waiting.

At first, they had no luck at all.

For two days they searched.

'1893 never heard of him.'

'1492 was too busy discovering things'

'to even talk to us.'

'1965 was too noisy.'

'And all 4000 B.C. could think about'

'was building pyramids!'

Lots more islands. Lots more.

Lots more.

But it's only three days until December the 31st.

Time's running short.

Yeah, maybe that island up there

'will know something.'

'Certainly looks impressive.'

It was the island belonging to Old 1023

just about the most fantastic island

in the whole archipelago.

Full of castles and princesses

and knights in shining armor.

And as soon as they landed

they met the proprietor of the island

Old Sir 1023 himself.

Thou lookest for the wee babe Happy?

Is he here, Sir 1023?

Aye!

Where?

I have not the slightest notion in me noggin.

But comest thou with me.

Comest, comest. We searcheth.

Comest thou with me. We searcheth.

Clang, clang, clang.

And so, they began to search the island

asking everybody about Happy.

And, the people they met..

You see, 1023 was the year

when all those fairy tales we know

actually took place.

No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen Happy.

Have you, my dear?

Aye, I saw him.

Made me laugh so hard, I fell off the wall.

- But where is he? - Don't know.

When all of the king's horses

and all the king's men started to laugh..

...he ran off!

- 'Nope.' - 'Ain't seen him.'

- 'Not hide, nor hair.' - 'No baby around here.'

'Don't know what he looks like.'

- 'Sorry.' - 'Better look someplace else.'

All seven say no.

Aye, I saw him ...but he ran away from me.

No baby ever wants to stay with me.

So neareth

and yet so fareth!

Little did they know

but Baby Happy was nearer than anyone suspected.

Happy looked down and saw

just about the friendliest little house that ever was.

Nobody was home inside

but everything was as neat as a pin.

He was very hungry.

And there on the table

he spied three bowls of porridge.

The first was, a little too hot.

The second, too cold.

The third was just right.

So he decided to sit down and enjoy breakfast

but the first chair was too hard.

The second, too soft.

The third was just right.

He broke it.

Whoever owns this house is not gonna like that.

But Happy was too tired to care about anything.

So he went upstairs

where he was sure there were some beds.

But meanwhile..

...the owners of the cottage were coming home.

Yes, little Happy, the New Year, had gone to sleep

in the cottage of a family of bears, three bears.

There was the papa bear

the mama bear

and the baby bear.

Someone has been sitting in my chair.

Someone's been sitting in my chair.

Someone's been sitting in my chair

and it got broke! Somebody broke my chair.

Someone's been tasting my porridge.

Yeah, someone's been tasting my porridge.

Somebody ate mine all up!

Someone's been sleeping in our beds!

In mine, too.

And there he is.

Well, he..

What do you know?

'He's sweet!'

He'd make a nice friend.

Boy..

You want to be my little friend?

We could make up games, all kinds of games.

'Knights and dragons. You could be the knight.'

And crusaders, that's a great game.

'Okay, friend?'

Happy had found a true friend at last

and I guess that's about the most important thing

in the world, isn't it?

Making friends, I mean.

Another mouth to feed?

Junior needs a friend.

Well..

I don't imagine he eats much.

At least he likes porridge.

Now, I must be the dragon.

Now, now, you slay me, you slay me. Go, go ahead.

Hit me. Not too hard, but you hit me. Go ahead.

It's only a game, you know.

You got me! You got me! I'm all slayed.

'Now you must cast off your helmet in triumph, see?'

You know, take off your hat.

But you got to!

That's the way the game goes.

Goodness, you got to play the game right.

Fine friend you are.

Well, Happy didn't want to lose his friend

and he realized that when you play a game

you have to follow the rules.

So..

Goodness, look at that!

'Boy, I never seen nothing like that before.'

It was just like always.

Those bears didn't mean to be cruel

but they just couldn't stop laughing at those ears.

Hey, where are you going?

Come back. Come back. You's my friend.

It's dangerous out in the woods all alone.

Happy!

Happy! Where are you?

Come on, Happy! Don't hide!

Happy!

Happy!

Happy! Where are you?

Happy, don't hide!

We're here to help you!

He's got to be somewhere.

Whee!

Squawks

caw

Looky! Look up yonder!

Caw

Eon says not to worry.

I'll be your friend.

You'll like living with me.

No! Come on!

We can't let them out of our sight!

I hope Big Ben can swim fast.

Good old Big Ben he could swim

almost as fast as Eon could fly... almost.

They're getting away from us!

Ben, do something!

You bet your boots I will.

Watch out now. Watch your heads.

Splash

He fell off!

But suddenly, a vagrant wind blew him out of sight.

He's lost again.

And we only have two days left.

That old wind held the Baby New Year aloft

for more than a day, but then..

...just as suddenly as it blew up

it blew away again.

And Happy came down on still another island

the one belonging to..

Well, hello there, little fellow.

I'm 1776.

But my friends call me Sev.

Will you be my friend?

Don't know who you are

or where you come from

but you're welcome to join

our big 4th of July celebration.

I know you think it's December 30th

but not on this island.

No siree!

'On this island'

'every day is the 4th of July.'

bong bong

Come on!

You're just in time for the big parade.

Hey, little fella. Your hat.

Got to show respect for the flag.

The parade's over on that next block.

Gadzooks! I'm certain 'twas Happy we saw!

Those ears!

No!

We're too late!

It happened again.

I feel terrible.

We didn't mean to be cruel.

Those ears.. Those ears..

But you can count on me to help you look for him.

Odds bodkins!

- Methinks that sounds like... - Methinks, too.

Sounds like, looks like, smells like... it is!

Caw

There, there, there.

I'll take you home with me.

With me.

Eon's tricked him again.

Poor little Happy thinks

Eon is the only friend he has in the world.

We must pursue them!

Yes, we must after them!

To the ends of the Earth.

Till victory is ours!

For each dawn we die, we must after them!

But how? It's night.

We can't see a thing.

That's where I come in.

'Come on, men.'

We've got one day till New Year's.

This is our last chance.

And so Eon the Terrible flew off with Happy, the Baby New Year

taking him back to his dismal home

on the Island of No Name.

It was a terrible place

more like a haunted iceberg than an island.

Far from the Archipelago of Last Years.

Due north of the North Pole

where the sun never shines.

You'll never be found here.

And I will live forever!

Hooray!

Squawks

But Rudolph and his friends hadn't given up the search.

No siree, not by a long shot.

Big Ben knew the way to the Island of No Name

and Rudolph's red nose lit up that fog and rainy night

like a magic beacon, in an ocean of gloom and despair.

We'll rescue him in time, yes?

No? No.

It looks bad for Happy.

Aye, aye.

'Tis...'tis.

Hopeless!

Aw, come on.

Nothing is ever hopeless.

We'll find Happy.

But how can you be so sure?

Heck, I got you this far, didn't I?

Look. Look, it really is..

Well, by George, look up yonder!

Look what Rudolph's nose lit the way to!

'The Island of No Name!'

Wa-hoo!

Now, Rudy, so's old Eon don't see us coming

you better douse your nose.

'But keep that hope burning bright inside.'

Okay, Big Ben.

Bong

Hey, w-w-what's that for?

Look at my clock.

11:30. New Year's Eve.

Zounds, gadzooks, and odd bodkins!

We have but one half hour!

We've got to be quick, then.

Come on, men! Let's get Happy.

Inch by inch, they made their way up

to the tower of ice and snow

toward Eon's nest.

But suddenly..

Yeaow!

Shhh!

Snore

Hmph.

You!

Caw

squawk

And the awful sound he made, caused an avalanche

which tumbled down onto Rudolph and the others

turning them into helpless snowballs.

They're all buried alive!

Your last hope is gone

'and you'll live here with me as my slave'

And all time will stop

and I will never turn into ice and snow!

Safe, safe!

Safe at last!

Yawn

Eon was so comforted by his success

that he snuggled down into his nest

and drifted off into a contented sleep

certain that Happy was his forever

and, indeed, it did look as if everything was over

for Rudolph and his friends.

But no. Wait a moment.

It's Rudolph.

He's trying to melt the snow with his nose.

Come on, Rudolph, you can do it.

Make that nose really glow.

Make it really shine.

Now to find Happy.

Hi. My name is Rudolph.

Wait a minute. Don't be afraid.

I wanna be your friend.

'You think you can't have any friends.'

'Why not?'

Come on.

You can tell me.

Is it because of your ears?

Heck, they couldn't be that bad.

You wanna see something?

Look.

Go ahead. Laugh right out.

'It doesn't bother me anymore.'

But when I was little

it sure gave me one heck of a time.

You mean you never heard about me?

Well, Rudolph was too modest to tell his own story.

And so all the trees on the old mountain

and the snowflakes..

Why, they just helped him out.

You see, I stuck it out.

And when I grew older, I found that this nose

was the most wonderful thing in the whole world

because it was a different nose

from everybody else's.

And it was all mine.

It was really me.

And heck, you know, with those ears..

Why, you're going to be the-the happiest New Year ever!

Come on, Happy.

Let's see those old ears of yours.

Come on!

We're friends, aren't we?

Aw, now, don't get upset because I laughed.

I couldn't help myself.

Those ears made me feel so wonderful

that all the happiness inside me just..

...just had to pop out.

Same way with everybody else.

Those ears of yours..

Why, they... they make folks happy!

Ha-ha-happy!

Shh!

You..

I have an idea, Happy.

Take off your hat. Quick!

'Take it off for good.'

Those ears..

Those ears..

Those ears..

Those ears! Those ears!

Well, it's the first time

that monstrosity ever laughed in his life.

He laughed so hard

that he laughed himself right out of his nest.

He laughed right down the side of that mountain.

And then he laughed O.M., 1023, and Sev

free from their snowballs.

Well, to put it bluntly..

...he laughed himself silly.

Old Eon won't give us any trouble now.

He's cured for good.

Heck, nobody can turn to snow and ice

'when he's all warmed up inside with laughing.'

That's true!

That's true!

Midnight. Even though we found Happy we're too late.

Don't give up hope.

There must be some way to get back to

Father Time's castle before the 12th bong.

There sure is, Rudolph!

It's Santa Claus!

If I can travel all over the world in one night

I ought to be able to get you to Father Time

in a few bongs.

They traveled faster than joy itself

over the Sands of Time

right up to the gate of my castle

and we lost no time getting Happy inside.

We just made it ...without a bong to spare.

And outside... the New Year.

Nineteen wonderful had arrived.

Happy New Year!

And may it be shiny, too!