People Have an Idea Why ‘Rudolph’s Shiny New Year’ Is So Weird

The oft-forgotten holiday special Rudolph’s Shiny New Year aired on ABC Tuesday night, and viewers had a chance to revel in the story’s weirdness.

For the uninitiated, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year tells the story of the titular character‘s journey to help Father Time find the latest “Baby New Year,” who has ran away to the “Archipelago of Last Years.”

The 1976 Rankin/Bass production features a bunch of weird characters, including an evil vulture, Benjamin Franklin, a caveman, a knight, Papa Bear, a camel with a clock as a hump and a whale named after Big Ben.

As you would imagine, a story that features all these characters gets weird fast. ABC viewers had their own idea as to how this special was thought up in the first place: drugs.

“Ok whoever made the Christmas claymation movies is a genius…. except the guy who made Rudolph’s Shiny New Year,” viewer Jessica Bailey wrote. “I’m sorry, but what in God’s name were you on while making this movie?”

Another viewer added, “Whoever wrote this ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer finding Baby New Year’ [story] had to be that type 1 high.”

See some of the reactions to the strange special below.