The Little Drummer Boy (1968)

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Little Drummer Boy, The (1968) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Greer Garson narrates this Bass-Rankin stop-motion production telling the story of a troubled boy who follows three wise men to Bethlehem where his life is changed forever. Watching this film in 2011 it's quite obvious that something like this would never get made today, which is rather sad when you sit back and think about it. The one objectable thing is the way Arabs are shown but outside of this there's a terrific story being told here and there's no doubt that the message will shine loud and clear. With that said, thankfully the film never becomes too preachy to where you really don't care what the message is. The story itself is such a strong one and Bass and Rankin tell it in such a way that you'd have to be made of stone if you weren't touched at the end. The stop-motion effects are extremely effective here and especially the stuff towards the end when the little boy is asked to play the drums. The song is played throughout the film and it's so effective each time it comes up. Garson does a very good job reading the story and we get strong vocal work from Paul Frees, June Foray and Jose Ferrer.

Originally aired as a half-hour special,in full color for NBC-TV on December 19,1968,the holiday special "The Little Drummer Boy" was an example of the "Animagic" that was timelessly captured by Rankin-Bass through the use of its brilliant storytelling along with its miniature settings and artistic direction under the supervision and guidance of its producers Arthur Rankin,Jr. and Jules Bass. Narrated by the great Greer Garson,"The Little Drummer Boy" was an exceptional tale,set in ancient times(the story takes place in Isreal),the half-hour special tells the story of a little boy named Aaron,a six-year-old orphaned drummer boy,along with his drum,and his three animal friends-a lamb, a camel,and a donkey-learned the lesson of love and the true meaning of the holy season by journeying with the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem to witness the birth of the Christ child. In 1968,the "Teachers Guide to Television" listed this holiday special as a "speciality selected program of educational value" prior to its network premiere for NBC. Through the uses of "Animagic",with the backing of the Vienna Boys Choir with musical direction by Rankin-Bass favorite Maury Laws,this was one of the best of the holiday specials that was produced by the studio. Featuring the voice talents of Jose Ferrer, Teddy Eccles, along with the talents of Paul Frees,this was one of the joyous specials that was both entertaining and educational. However,NBC rebroadcast this special presentation several times from December 18, 1969 until December 23, 1980 on a annual basis. It has been showed on cable for the FOX Family Channel(aka The ABC Family Channel,aka The Family Channel and the former Christian Broadcasting Network),and other networks.

This holiday classic is still refreshing to see even after almost 40 years. The story line is of course about the little drummer boy who ends up coming to grips with his hatred of people. In the end he has to play his drum for the baby Jesus and even though he is certainly no Buddy Rich it does come from the heart which, as we know from years of watching these type of films is what really counts and in the end the little drummer boy receives a change of heart.It's pretty much the same holiday format that for some reason one can never grow tired of no matter how many times we watch it or different forms it comes in...Certainly a great one to bring the kids up on.

Hey, Lets say we have a roving band of dangerous nomads roaming the desert, brutally murdering people, stealing all of their possessions and leaving their young son to fend for himself in a cruel world. Perfect recipe for a Christmas Special. This one didn't stay as a network staple very long as it was not the happy nice nice special that Rudolph and Charlie Brown were .To Be honest I have liked this since I was a kid. It wasn't as good as the other Rankin/Bass specials but it was the only one of them that really has anything to do with the Jesus. Lot of emotion at the end. You end up glad that you watched it.