Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Christmas-Reviewer An orphan drummer boy who hated humanity finds his life changed forever when he meets three wise men on route to Bethlehem.This film is very good but small children might be frightened of the death of the Aaron's parents. There is also the kidnapping scene of overwhelming images of violence (The parents are killed and the home is burned down to the ground) Aaron is also forced into labor and says several times that "He hates people". What I said above is just a parental warning but that doesn't mean this isn't a good in fact it is EXCELLENT.This a basically a crash course about the birth of Jesus and the power of forgiving and moving forward. Please watch it with your small children. They might need a little comforting.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) Rankin/Bass created this 25-minute animated short-film for the holiday season 45 years ago. It features the voices from two former Academy-Award winners Greer Garson and José Ferrer. Unfortunately, as good as an actress Garson may be, I didn't think her voice is particularly suited for narration, which is even a bigger pity as female narrators were an even rarer than these days. Ferrer, on the other hand did a great job in voicing Ben Haramed, easily the best performance from the film. The main character was voiced by Ted Eccles, which I felt didn't really fit the bell at all. His loud and often over-the-top voice-acting was downright annoying at times. It did not so much show the anger of his character than it hurt the soothing effect of this motion picture coming mainly from the animation style and the music. Also, I personally felt, it didn't work at all with the gentle, even if disappointed, way his animated character looked physically.What i did like a lot, however, was the animation. critics may say there was more defined animation 25 years earlier during the days of World War II already, but I believe it was just different. The style fits the tone of the film very well and I can't deny the way they made the donkey and sheep, I wanted to gently touch their fur from start to finish. I've never been too interested in the story of the little drummer boy and this short film surely did not cause a 180°-turn, but I believe, despite its flaws, it can still make for a decent watch, especially during the holiday season, mainly for Ferrer's excellent work and the music. The Vienna Boys Choir delivers a wonderful performance of the popular drummer boy song.

lilpernel44 I have watched this movie since childhood. I would really like to know if it is airing on TV in 2006. I also love the story it tells regarding the birth of Christ. My son is 26 years old and should be having children soon, I would love for them to be able to enjoy some of the classic holiday specials I enjoyed as a young child. My son is also an musical artist and some of the music in this particular special he could probably appreciate for his type of music. He is an hip hop artist that writes his own lyrics and is currently working on a Christmas demo, The Little Drummer Boy is has a classics song and he could probably incorporate some of that music on to his demo. Anyway, if it is airing on network television this year, would someone please let me know?

JR541 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.