I too like many others who have posted here, watched this every holiday season here in Canada along with "The Happy Prince" and the Richard Chamberlain-narrated "The Little Mermaid" - all were produced by Potterton Productions with Reader's Digest Canada.
I have met Gerald Potterton and asked him about these animated shorts and it doesn't look like they will ever be coming out on DVD anytime soon. Because of legal issues when Reader's Digest film division closed down, the rights to these shorts have become forever lost.
It's a crying shame, the testament to the beauty of this animated feature is that even after not having watched it in over 25 years, I was still able to remember the story, the songs and the wonderful characters. Certain scenes stayed with me for years. At one point, I wasn't sure if it had all been real or not but after talking to friends here, I was glad to see that many others here had also watched it during the holidays.
As a child, the religious symbolism was lost on me but not the moral of the tale, the story of selflessness as ultimately being a good. It's a much needed reminder for children today and unfortunate that today's animated features shy away from such topics and fail to meet the quality of this charming little feature. Do yourself a favour and try finding a VHS copy either through ebay or Amazon, you won't regret it and nor will members of your family. This one is a keeper.
I have met Gerald Potterton and asked him about these animated shorts and it doesn't look like they will ever be coming out on DVD anytime soon. Because of legal issues when Reader's Digest film division closed down, the rights to these shorts have become forever lost.
It's a crying shame, the testament to the beauty of this animated feature is that even after not having watched it in over 25 years, I was still able to remember the story, the songs and the wonderful characters. Certain scenes stayed with me for years. At one point, I wasn't sure if it had all been real or not but after talking to friends here, I was glad to see that many others here had also watched it during the holidays.
As a child, the religious symbolism was lost on me but not the moral of the tale, the story of selflessness as ultimately being a good. It's a much needed reminder for children today and unfortunate that today's animated features shy away from such topics and fail to meet the quality of this charming little feature. Do yourself a favour and try finding a VHS copy either through ebay or Amazon, you won't regret it and nor will members of your family. This one is a keeper.