The Little Drummer Boy (TV special)

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The Little Drummer Boy
Official logo
GenreChristmas
Based on"The Little Drummer Boy" Katherine Davis
Jack Halloran
Written byRomeo Muller
Directed by
Starring
Narrated byGreer Garson
Theme music composerMaury Laws
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Japan
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
CinematographyTakeo Nakamura (uncredited)
Running time25 minutes
Production company
The Little Drummer Boy, Book II

The Little Drummer Boy is a

Rankin/Bass Productions, based on the song of the same name. It was first televised in Canada on December 19, 1968, on the CTV Television Network, followed four days later by its American nationwide release on NBC. A sequel was broadcast in 1976.[1]

Plot

A

Jewish boy named Aaron lives a peaceful life on a farm with his parents and three animals – a donkey named Samson, a lamb named Baba, and a camel named Joshua. Aaron is given a drum on his birthdays, which makes the animals dance with joy when he plays it. One night, bandits attack the farm and kill Aaron's parents. Aaron survives, but is left emotionally scarred and vows to hate all mankind. Aaron's drumming abilities catch the attention of Ben Haramed, who kidnaps him and makes him join the caravan with rather inept performers against his will. When performing in Jerusalem
, Aaron becomes infuriated by the townspeople's amusement and lashes out at the townspeople, accusing them of being thieves and knaves.

Some time later, the troupe comes upon the

the baby can help. Having no gift to give to the baby, Aaron decides that his "gift" to Him and His parents will be his playing his drum for them. As a sign of gratitude, Baba is healed and rushes into Aaron's arms, filling Aaron's heart with joy at last.[2]

Voice cast

  • Greer Garson as "Our Storyteller"
  • Teddy Eccles as Aaron
  • Jose Ferrer
    as Ben Haramad
  • Paul Frees as Ali, Aaron's father, Three Kings (Melchior, Casper, and Balthazar), Samson, Baba, Joshua, Guards, Male townspeople, Driver, and Tumblers
  • June Foray as Aaron's mother and Female townspeople
  • The Vienna Boys' Choir singing the title song.

Reception

An original release advertisement.

The Little Drummer Boy received an approval rating of 75% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on thirteen reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Little Drummer Boy is a mature addition to the Rankin-Bass catalogue, with a powerful conclusion that compensates for the special's dour storytelling and unpolished animation."[3]

Restoration problems

In 1998, a restoration of The Little Drummer Boy by the company Classic Media was hindered because the film's original 35mm negative went missing, according to Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt. A 16mm print was located, as well as an unreleased stereo soundtrack. However, the latter was missing several sound effects, most notably a piece of narration in the final scene, which instead used a scratch track by Paul Frees.[4]

1976 sequel

In 1976, Rankin/Bass produced a sequel, titled The Little Drummer Boy, Book II, again sponsored by the American Gas Association. It premiered on December 13, 1976, on NBC, and like its predecessor, has also aired on Freeform and separately on AMC as of 2018.[5] Warner Bros. is the show's current distributor through their ownership of the post–September 1974 Rankin/Bass Productions library via Telepictures.[6] In this sequel, written by Jules Bass (under the pseudonym Julian P. Gardner), Aaron and his animal friends team up with Melchior, one of the Magi, to protect silver bells, made to ring for Christ's arrival, from a band of greedy Roman soldiers.[7] Warner Archive released The Little Drummer Boy Book II, in a collection called Rankin/Bass TV Holiday Favorites Collection.

Voice cast

See also

References

External links