Ordered by his father to sell his old, small donkey, named Small One, a boy in ancient Palestine takes the donkey to the Nazareth market. Finding no buyers there, the boy is about to give up... Read allOrdered by his father to sell his old, small donkey, named Small One, a boy in ancient Palestine takes the donkey to the Nazareth market. Finding no buyers there, the boy is about to give up when he meets a kind man named Joseph.Ordered by his father to sell his old, small donkey, named Small One, a boy in ancient Palestine takes the donkey to the Nazareth market. Finding no buyers there, the boy is about to give up when he meets a kind man named Joseph.
- Boy
- (voice)
- Tanner
- (voice)
- Father
- (voice)
- (as Olan Soulé)
- Auctioneer
- (voice)
- Guard
- (voice)
- Joseph
- (voice)
- Small One
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Potter
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Baker
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Tanner: You have a donkey to sell?
Boy: [nervously] His-his name is Small One.
Tanner: [inspecting Small One's hide] One piece of silver.
Boy: Will you take good care of him?
Tanner: [sneers] I only want his hide, boy. I'm a tanner.
Boy: [gasps] The tanner?
Boy: [turns his head to realize he and Small One have landed in a sweatshop] You wanna make leather out of him?
Tanner: One piece of silver.
Boy: No, I won't sell him! I won't! No, no!
[the boy and Small One flee the shop in terror]
- Alternate versions"The Merchant's Song" lyrics have been altered. The original lyrics were "We simply cheat a little if we must". In the recent versions it was changed to "We work a little harder if we must". This is because the original lyrics are perceived to have Jewish stereotypes. These original lyrics are no longer present on the DVD versions of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Disney Dimanche: Episode #2.1 (1979)
We all grew up loving all the Rankin-Bass Christmas Cartoons. Every year I still love to watch "Rudolf" "Santa Claus in Coming to Town", "Frosty the Snowman" as well "The Grinch". Well here is a lesser known Animated Christmas Cartoon that in reality is a true "Christmas Story"
In this special Outside of the city of Nazareth, a young boy and his father own four donkeys. Three of these donkeys are young and strong. The fourth donkey, Small One, is old and weak, but the boy loves him anyway. Every day, the boy and the donkey play together before they go to work, helping the boy's father to collect wood.
The boy and his father take the donkeys to work one morning, as they always do. Many times, the boy loads Small One with small sticks, since Small One can't carry heavy loads any more. Small One even has trouble carrying stacks of small sticks and the boy helps to carry them for him.
That evening, the boy's father tells the boy that he has to sell Small One. Devastated, but understanding, the boy asks if he can be the one to sell his best friend. The father agrees and tells him that he has to sell him for one piece of silver. That night, the boy comforts Small One and promises to find him a gentle and loving master.
The next morning, the boy takes Small One to the market in Nazareth. Unfortunately, nobody wants an old weak donkey but the tanner, and he only wants to kill Small One to make leather out of his hide. After failing to find another buyer, the boy and his donkey return to the tanner's shop. The boy weeps, and Small One, accepting his fate under the tanner's knife, tenderly consoles the boy.
Don't worry there is a very happy ending. This should be seen by everyone. The makers of this should be proud. There is not a false note in this.
- Christmas-Reviewer
- Apr 15, 2017
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Don Bluth's the Small One
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime26 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1