The Little Drummer Boy is one of Rankin/Bass' best, and my contender for the most poignant of their specials. So this sequel had a lot to live up to, and while it is not as great it is still pretty good. Much better than Cricket on the Hearth(by far their worst) and The Leprechauns Christmas Gold. The high point is definitely the visuals, which not only look beautiful but are even more accomplished than the original's. The voice acting is also great, Paul Frees is missed but Greer Garson still brings sincerity and warmth to her narration part and Zero Mostel sounds as though he is having a ball as Brutus, who is even more of a villain than Ben. The characters are engaging, and the score is whimsical and fitting with the mood. The writing has heart while not feeling mawkish or over-simplistic. The message is a good one and is affecting. I wouldn't go as far to say actually that there is anything disastrously wrong apart from the pacing being a little on the slow side sometimes, but there were a couple of areas that gave me a mixed reception. A couple of the songs are memorable and well-meaning, but others especially Money, Money, Money don't really do all that much to move the story forward. The actual Little Drummer story is great, and the basics of the story here are fine. It's some of the subplots that don't always seem very focused or entirely related to one another. In conclusion, pretty good, lacking compared to The Little Drummer Boy but a long way from Rankin/Bass' worst. 7/10 Bethany Cox
11 Reviews
fine sequel
SnoopyStyle1 December 2019
After playing for the new born King, little drummer boy Aaron seeks to do more. One of the wise men suggests a new quest. The villagers ignore Simeon who is preaching the word of God. In order to truly spread the news, he has created giant silver bells. Roman soldiers break in and seize the bells. Drummer boy Aaron comes up with a plan to retrieve the bells from the tax collector camp. This is a fine sequel to the Christmas classic. It has the religious and holiday feels. It is sincere and nice.
Good, but not as good as the original
rebeljenn16 January 2006
The sequel to 'The Little Drummer Boy' follows Aaron (the drummer boy) with the wise men on a quest to rejoice the birth of Jesus. This time, they are against Roman thieves who make their lives difficult and who end up capturing Aaron and his animals. Although it is a pretty good follow-up to 'The Little Drummer Boy', it lacks the same originality and lessons that the original film has. (This one follows the origins of the song 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day'.) I would rate this as a 5/10 as it does go a little bit slow in places, and it seems to lose the plot, but it is still quite good. Catch this on television next Christmas.
A very cute underrated sequel to The Little Drummer Boy
meisterburger238 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Interesting sequel but the original is a bit better in my opinion.
No offensive but the only song worth watching in this special is Money Money Money, It's very catchy and cute. It's a different version of the story of the Little Drummer Boy and I personally like it.
Aaron returns in this sequel with one of the three kings Gasper to help a bell maker Simeon retrieve some bells from some evil Romans and their leader Brutus. The good guys get the bells back and Simeon plays his bells for all to hear.
Since this is a sequel it is good and cute, I recommend it if you are a fan of the original
7/10
No offensive but the only song worth watching in this special is Money Money Money, It's very catchy and cute. It's a different version of the story of the Little Drummer Boy and I personally like it.
Aaron returns in this sequel with one of the three kings Gasper to help a bell maker Simeon retrieve some bells from some evil Romans and their leader Brutus. The good guys get the bells back and Simeon plays his bells for all to hear.
Since this is a sequel it is good and cute, I recommend it if you are a fan of the original
7/10
Not as Good as the first but then again it is a sequel
Christmas-Reviewer1 September 2017
I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.
BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW Christmas MOVIES AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!
The Little Drummer Boy, Book II is a Christmas television special produced in stop-motion animation by Rankin/Bass. As the title suggests, it is a sequel to the 1968 special The Little Drummer Boy. Originally broadcast on NBC on December 13, 1976, it is notably the only Rankin/Bass special to receive an Emmy nomination; it was nominated for the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.
This special however is not based on the song "The Little Drummer Boy" but it is an original story all on its own! However the story doesn't work all that well.
The special also borrows lyrics from two other Christmas Carols one of them being "Do You Hear What I Hear". That history of that song is actually more interesting that "The Little Drummer Boy Book 2". The song "Do You Hear What I Hear" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of the Christmas holiday. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists
Now the special in general is worth watching but I highly doubt most people will go out of their way to see it again upon their initial first viewing.
It is however a great tool to use to help introduce children to the events after the birth of Jesus,
BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW Christmas MOVIES AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!
The Little Drummer Boy, Book II is a Christmas television special produced in stop-motion animation by Rankin/Bass. As the title suggests, it is a sequel to the 1968 special The Little Drummer Boy. Originally broadcast on NBC on December 13, 1976, it is notably the only Rankin/Bass special to receive an Emmy nomination; it was nominated for the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.
This special however is not based on the song "The Little Drummer Boy" but it is an original story all on its own! However the story doesn't work all that well.
The special also borrows lyrics from two other Christmas Carols one of them being "Do You Hear What I Hear". That history of that song is actually more interesting that "The Little Drummer Boy Book 2". The song "Do You Hear What I Hear" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of the Christmas holiday. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists
Now the special in general is worth watching but I highly doubt most people will go out of their way to see it again upon their initial first viewing.
It is however a great tool to use to help introduce children to the events after the birth of Jesus,
The continuing story of Erin, the drummer boy.
Mark-AA8427 December 2022
If you've enjoyed the original Drummer Boy holiday special, you should check this one out. If you recall in the first story, the hatred in Aaron's heart went away when the baby Jesus smiled at him after playing his drum. In this story, Aaron helps a bellmaker keep his fortune safe from Roman soldiers. When Aaron offers to entertain with his animals for the soldiers, his drum gets destroyed. Just think how distraught Aaron was at the sight of his prized possession going up in flames, but things turn out well in the end.
Unlike the original special, this one mentions Christmas. And if you enjoy the Drummer Boy holiday titles, you should also watch Rudolph, Frosty, and other great holiday favorites from Rankin-Bass.
Unlike the original special, this one mentions Christmas. And if you enjoy the Drummer Boy holiday titles, you should also watch Rudolph, Frosty, and other great holiday favorites from Rankin-Bass.
Nice sequel
utgard1422 December 2015
Rankin/Bass sequel to their 1968 classic The Little Drummer Boy. Greer Garson returns to narrate the story, which has the little drummer boy tasked with rescuing some important silver bells from greedy Roman soldiers. As is usually the case with Rankin/Bass, the stop-motion animation is the best part. It's a lovely-looking special. The voice work and music are also very good. The songs are nice, including "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "The Little Drummer Boy," which plays throughout in the background. There's also a catchy song about money that has the Roman soldiers singing and dancing. Greer Garson recites "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." It's a decent sequel. Not as powerful or moving as the original, but pleasant and enjoyable for what it is.
Inferior sequel
Horst_In_Translation17 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The title already gives away that this 22-minute Christmas movie is the sequel to the original "Little Drummer Boy" from almost 10 years earlier. And while that one did not receive any awards recognition, this one here was nominated for an Emmy. Still, it is not as good as the original and not even close in terms of Christmas donkey Nestor, who was released slightly as the 3rd entry to the franchise. I am generally not too big on the animation style of Rankin/Bass and this may be one of the main reasons why I did not enjoy this one here that much, despite Academy Award winner Greer Garson who does a solid job with the narration. It is not a failure, but I did not find it (the film and most of the music) particularly moving, sweet or memorable compared to the other entries. Thumbs down unfortunately, hoped I would like this more and the Roman soldiers certainly did not help.
Good Sequel
Michael_Elliott24 December 2011
Little Drummer Boy Book II, The (1976)
*** (out of 4)
Eight years after the previous film, Bass and Rankin came back with this sequel, which is once again narrated by Greer Garson. This time out the drummer boy Aaron is rejoicing the birth of Jesus but soon he must try and protect some Silver Bells from falling into the hands of the Romans. While this film doesn't reach the levels of the original, it remains an entertaining film but I do think that less would have been more. I think the biggest problem with the film are a few of the musical numbers, which just don't come off too well. 'Money, Money, Money' is one of the songs performed that just doesn't take off and it really takes away from the actual story being told as well. I would also say that some of the vocal work in the film isn't nearly as impressive as in the first film but the one exception would be Zero Mostel doing the voice of Brutus. Once again the animation is certainly the high point as it looks even better and I was impressed by the way Bass and Rankin were able to make the film look as if it was filmed at the same time as the original. The story itself is a pretty good one with the obvious messages thrown in for kids.
*** (out of 4)
Eight years after the previous film, Bass and Rankin came back with this sequel, which is once again narrated by Greer Garson. This time out the drummer boy Aaron is rejoicing the birth of Jesus but soon he must try and protect some Silver Bells from falling into the hands of the Romans. While this film doesn't reach the levels of the original, it remains an entertaining film but I do think that less would have been more. I think the biggest problem with the film are a few of the musical numbers, which just don't come off too well. 'Money, Money, Money' is one of the songs performed that just doesn't take off and it really takes away from the actual story being told as well. I would also say that some of the vocal work in the film isn't nearly as impressive as in the first film but the one exception would be Zero Mostel doing the voice of Brutus. Once again the animation is certainly the high point as it looks even better and I was impressed by the way Bass and Rankin were able to make the film look as if it was filmed at the same time as the original. The story itself is a pretty good one with the obvious messages thrown in for kids.
The sequel
raysond2 December 2010
The sequel to 1968's "The Little Drummer Boy",picks up where the first one left off. In this exciting continuation of the story,set in ancient times,six-year-old Aaron returns to undertake an incredible journey with one of the wise men,Melchoir-to find a man named Simeon who has constructed a set of Silver Bells to be rung to herald to birth of Christ as Aaron struggles to protect the bellmaker's Silver Bells from being seized by Brutus and his Roman Soldiers,who makes their lives difficult and who ends up capturing Aaron and his animal friends in the process. However,it is up to the Aaron and his friends along with one of the wise old man,to save the Silver Bells from the evil Brutus and to help ring in the birth of Christ before its too late.
This half-hour animated special originally aired on NBC-TV as a network special presentation on December 13,1976. This "Animagic" special was produced by Arthur Rankin,Jr. for Rankin-Bass Productions,who were also behind the creation of such perennial holiday favorites as "Rudolph,The Red Nosed Reindeer","Frosty The Snowman",and so forth. Featuring the voices of Broadway actor Zero Mostel,along with the talents of Allan Swift,Ray Owens,and Robert McFadden. Again,Greer Garson narrates the story.
This half-hour animated special originally aired on NBC-TV as a network special presentation on December 13,1976. This "Animagic" special was produced by Arthur Rankin,Jr. for Rankin-Bass Productions,who were also behind the creation of such perennial holiday favorites as "Rudolph,The Red Nosed Reindeer","Frosty The Snowman",and so forth. Featuring the voices of Broadway actor Zero Mostel,along with the talents of Allan Swift,Ray Owens,and Robert McFadden. Again,Greer Garson narrates the story.
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