The film is about a Judean boy (Sean Marshall) who,
after his father (Olan Soule) tells him that his favorite donkey is too old to
work for them any longer, takes the donkey to the town to find the right person
for him. When he fails, Joseph, played by Gordon Jump, appears to take the donkey
and his wife to Bethlehem. The ending shows the film as a traditional holiday
favorite that for once uses on the Christian nativity story properly without
any forced outcome or moralistic.
Simbasible said in his review, “I absolutely loved
this film. I found it to be incredibly emotional, especially in that gorgeous,
truly inspired ending. The animation is terrific with excellent background work
and good character designs, though the boy obviously has a rehashed Mowgli design.
I did also like the score, and the soundtrack. Yes, the film is somewhat of a
musical, and it actually succeeds in all of its songs, especially in that first
very endearing one. I also liked how the father was firm, but still
understanding. The only problem here is the pacing as the structure in the
middle act was troublesome and too episodic, but still most of those scenes
worked, and the attention to detail and realism are to be appreciated.”
“The Small One” is a Don Bluth/Disney classic that works
from gorgeous animation, a great soundtrack, charming characters and such a heartwarming
ending. It’s a timeless classic with a lot of heart.
As I stated yesterday, I first heard about this short
from Nostalgia Critic when he was listing the best Christmas specials. When I
checked this out some time ago, I really loved this a lot. I cannot believe
that I had never seen it before, but now that I have, I can safely say that
this short should be a tradition to watch every holiday season. Check it out on
Disney+ and see what you have been missing.
Tomorrow I will be looking another strange film in “Disney
Month 2024.”
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