Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22218 in DVD
• Published on: 2004
• Released on: 2004-09-14
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 30 minutes

Amazon.com
The model animation techniques in this 1968 Rankin and Bass TV chestnut are primitive by today's standards, and picky kids may reject them out of hand. The story, however, which elaborates on the popular Christmas song about a shepherd boy who plays his drum for the baby Jesus and makes the animals dance, is a little more tough-minded than you might expect. The kid begins the story as what we'd now call a neglected child, a surly urchin who says he hates all people. He's pulled back from the brink, first by learning to make music, and then by his encounter with the Christ child. The underlying message alone--that everybody has something worth contributing--qualifies the show for holiday-perennial status. The big-name voice performers, Jose Ferrer and Greer Garson (who narrates), may be a little too ponderous for the occasion, but the familiar cartoony tones of Paul Frees (aka Boris Badenov) and June Forey (aka Rocket J. Squirrel) help liven up the proceedings. It's only 23 minutes long, so it's worth a shot for younger children. --David Chute

Customer Reviews

The Little Drummer Boy DVD
Probably the only true spiritual Christmas movie. Excellent story line and thought provking meaning of Christmas. Hope that it is some day remastered.

very sweet movie
The movie is as good as I remember from my childhood but unfortunately the quality of the reproduction is very poor. My mother-in-law happens to have a copy of it on VHS that must have been made before the producers lost the 35mm original, because her VHS reproduction is much clearer than what's on my DVD. It's a real pity the 35mm was lost because it makes a big difference to watch it with the original quality. I imagine if someone redid the story from scratch it would be saccharine and puerile just like all the christmas movies made these days.

Anyway, as far as I can tell from searching for this item on other sites, this DVD is as good a copy as anyone is going to be able to find.

Better than Any Sunday Sermon.
This is a fairly short Christmas special but it was made in the old days when a half hour on TV contained only four minutes of commercials. The best part about The Little Drummer Boy is its wholesome simplicity. The fact that it is so unabashedly religious is its strongest point in my opinion. Chasing the hate out of your heart and replacing it with love is a valuable lesson for all children, so I agree with another reviewer about its being a timeless family classic. It begins rather slowly but the last five minutes are absolutely outstanding and worth scanning back to watch a second time. The quotations from scripture give it its oomph but this also means that it would never be televised today on any of the big three networks. This might be a good DVD to buy because you probably won't catch it for free.