Narrated by Buddy Ebsen...two amazing songs by Roberta Flack...three original songs by Johnny Marks...and a great Christmas tale...need I say anymore. From 1975 this is truly a treasure.
4 Reviews
Christmas Treasure
northernpine17 December 2020
Tis the Season.
ExplorerDS67891 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I just discovered this little special a week ago and decided to give it a look. Definitely a nice little cartoon to cleanse the palate after watching The Star Wars Holiday Special... eesh. So this heartwarming little tale of friendship and love begins in the home of Squire Badger, a kindly old man who was decorating his home nice and pretty for Christmas, when two young rabbits come by and ask Squire Badger to tell them a story. He sets it up as a Christmas story without toys and without Santa Claus. This one dates back many years ago to a field near an old farmhouse in which a special pine tree grew. It was shorter than the others and whispered to communicate... also, it has a face. Today was a very important day for all the little critters in the meadow, as it was Groundhog Day. You know the routine: if he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. Though on this day, the Groundhog didn't see his shadow, which means Bill Murray will have to repeat this day for all eternity. But for everyone else, it meant spring was right around the corner. The change in season also brought a new family to the vacant farmhouse, so all the animals: Groundhog, Mole, Turtle, the birds, a raccoon, Field Mouse and the rest head over to see their new neighbors, as they hear tell of a little girl who's confined to a wheelchair. Sure enough, when they get there, they see the beautiful little girl named... Little Girl. Yeah, they never say her name. In fact, the only character to have a name in this cartoon is the vegetarian hawk, Horace. Noticing how sad she looked stuck in that wheelchair, as according to Groundhog, she had been in some sort of accident and will take time to recover, however we don't see a cast on her legs or feet or anything, so it's left to the imagination for what possibly could have happened. The very strong birds manage to wheel her over to meet the others, all gathered under the tiny tree, and when she saw that tree, it was love at first sight and she literally becomes a treehugger. Also, she can speak to the animals, though I'm not sure if it's just her who can or if this is the type of world where humans and animals can communicate.
Eventually spring became summer, and the summer became fall, and this was around the time some lumberjacks would come to the woods and rid it of its taller trees. Thank goodness the tiny tree would be spared, as the animals overheard the woodsmen saying all it would be good for is a Christmas tree (this piece of information will be important later). Oh, no siree, that would tree would never, EVER be a Christmas tree. Never. But now we find ourselves in winter again, right on Christmas Eve. The little girl's father had set out to the village to pick up her presents and a special Christmas tree with a silver stop on top. A fierce blizzard had closed the roads and made travel nearly impossible, but the father set out on foot anyway... makes me wonder how he's going to carry all that stuff back by himself. He should have rented a sleigh. But as bad the humans' problems were, the animals were facing a food crisis, as you all know fruits and veggies freeze to death in the subzero temperatures, however the Mole stumbles upon a small berry bush in the snow, and when ol' Horace Hawk got wind, he initially was only going to ask for one, but his gluttonous nature set in and he ended up stealing all of his berries, not to mention he started seeing the Mole himself as one big berry. The other animals witness this and the Lady Bird goes for help. She flies to the farmhouse to get the little girl to come help... now what is she is going to do that you all can't? Just tell the bumbling hawk that the mole isn't a berry. Surely you all can manage that, you don't need to drag an invalid child out into the cold to break up the confusion. Oh, of course they do, and she successfully manages to stop Horace from breaking his vegetarian lifestyle. But sadly, in the process, the poor child fell off her wheelchair and landed face first in the snow. They lift her back into her chair and take her home... so they can lift a 60 pound child back into a chair, but they can't stop a hawk from eating a mole? Also, I like how the Mole says, "she sacrificed herself just for me." Would he still have said that if she died? Well, thank heavens the poor little girl was alright, but sadly, her daddy couldn't make it to town, so he just gave up and came home. I guess the village doesn't rent sleighs... or he was too lazy. We don't actually see this happen, but a little birdie tells us. The animals wonder what they could do to help, as they watch through the window at the little girl asleep in bed. Something I noticed during this scene is her wheelchair is sitting across the room from her bed. Since she needs it to get around, why would they leave it over there? What if she has to go potty in the middle of the night? Well, anyway, the Turtle suggests they give her a present, and the tiny tree remembers what the woodsmen said about him being a Christmas tree. Eureka! So the animals dig him up and replant him closer to the girl's window. Again, these are some very strong little critters. They can uproot and transplant a... 90 to 100 pound tree, but they can't... never mind. So once the tiny tree is settled into its new home, they fashion ornaments out of snowballs and holly and anything else they find. But oh no, there's no star for the top. Well, if ever they could use a Christmas miracle, it would be now. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened. The morning star shined down on top of the tree and reappeared in all of its sparkling glory. Not only that, but it magically healed the little girl's legs, so she could walk again! Entranced, she crept over to her bedroom window and stared in awe of the beautiful little tree, decorated and replanted just for her, as all her animal friends sing her a song. The child was moved to tears.
When I watched this special, it made me think of The Christmas Tree, another holiday cartoon centering around a tree. Though I'm happy to report that The Tiny Tree is NOTHING like that horrible abomination! While that cartoon was mean-spirited, sloppy, and downright ugly, this one is beautiful, touching, well made, and carries very good messages about love, friendship and the spirit of the holiday. The animation is very decent, and I especially love the job they did on that ending scene where the girl discovers she can walk again, her movement, and her expressions when looking out at the tree. It was all done so subtle and superb, obviously by truly gifted animators. It was made by DePatie-Freling who released many animated shorts and features in the '70s and '80s, like the later Looney Tunes specials and some Dr. Seuss toons. As far as voices, we have an all-star cast of familiar actors such as Paul Winchell, Allan Melvin, Frank Welker, Janet Waldo, and our narrator is good ol' Jed Clampett himself, Buddy Ebsen. The music and songs were written by Johnny Marks, which explains why they were so good, and Roberta Flack delivers beautiful vocal performances. So I highly recommend The Tiny Tree. It may be a simple special, no real conflicts, nothing to worry about, no villain, and some things are told to us rather than be shown, but those are things that are easy to overlook. I'm not sure why this special was never released to DVD or even reaired on television. That is something that should be looked into.
Eventually spring became summer, and the summer became fall, and this was around the time some lumberjacks would come to the woods and rid it of its taller trees. Thank goodness the tiny tree would be spared, as the animals overheard the woodsmen saying all it would be good for is a Christmas tree (this piece of information will be important later). Oh, no siree, that would tree would never, EVER be a Christmas tree. Never. But now we find ourselves in winter again, right on Christmas Eve. The little girl's father had set out to the village to pick up her presents and a special Christmas tree with a silver stop on top. A fierce blizzard had closed the roads and made travel nearly impossible, but the father set out on foot anyway... makes me wonder how he's going to carry all that stuff back by himself. He should have rented a sleigh. But as bad the humans' problems were, the animals were facing a food crisis, as you all know fruits and veggies freeze to death in the subzero temperatures, however the Mole stumbles upon a small berry bush in the snow, and when ol' Horace Hawk got wind, he initially was only going to ask for one, but his gluttonous nature set in and he ended up stealing all of his berries, not to mention he started seeing the Mole himself as one big berry. The other animals witness this and the Lady Bird goes for help. She flies to the farmhouse to get the little girl to come help... now what is she is going to do that you all can't? Just tell the bumbling hawk that the mole isn't a berry. Surely you all can manage that, you don't need to drag an invalid child out into the cold to break up the confusion. Oh, of course they do, and she successfully manages to stop Horace from breaking his vegetarian lifestyle. But sadly, in the process, the poor child fell off her wheelchair and landed face first in the snow. They lift her back into her chair and take her home... so they can lift a 60 pound child back into a chair, but they can't stop a hawk from eating a mole? Also, I like how the Mole says, "she sacrificed herself just for me." Would he still have said that if she died? Well, thank heavens the poor little girl was alright, but sadly, her daddy couldn't make it to town, so he just gave up and came home. I guess the village doesn't rent sleighs... or he was too lazy. We don't actually see this happen, but a little birdie tells us. The animals wonder what they could do to help, as they watch through the window at the little girl asleep in bed. Something I noticed during this scene is her wheelchair is sitting across the room from her bed. Since she needs it to get around, why would they leave it over there? What if she has to go potty in the middle of the night? Well, anyway, the Turtle suggests they give her a present, and the tiny tree remembers what the woodsmen said about him being a Christmas tree. Eureka! So the animals dig him up and replant him closer to the girl's window. Again, these are some very strong little critters. They can uproot and transplant a... 90 to 100 pound tree, but they can't... never mind. So once the tiny tree is settled into its new home, they fashion ornaments out of snowballs and holly and anything else they find. But oh no, there's no star for the top. Well, if ever they could use a Christmas miracle, it would be now. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened. The morning star shined down on top of the tree and reappeared in all of its sparkling glory. Not only that, but it magically healed the little girl's legs, so she could walk again! Entranced, she crept over to her bedroom window and stared in awe of the beautiful little tree, decorated and replanted just for her, as all her animal friends sing her a song. The child was moved to tears.
When I watched this special, it made me think of The Christmas Tree, another holiday cartoon centering around a tree. Though I'm happy to report that The Tiny Tree is NOTHING like that horrible abomination! While that cartoon was mean-spirited, sloppy, and downright ugly, this one is beautiful, touching, well made, and carries very good messages about love, friendship and the spirit of the holiday. The animation is very decent, and I especially love the job they did on that ending scene where the girl discovers she can walk again, her movement, and her expressions when looking out at the tree. It was all done so subtle and superb, obviously by truly gifted animators. It was made by DePatie-Freling who released many animated shorts and features in the '70s and '80s, like the later Looney Tunes specials and some Dr. Seuss toons. As far as voices, we have an all-star cast of familiar actors such as Paul Winchell, Allan Melvin, Frank Welker, Janet Waldo, and our narrator is good ol' Jed Clampett himself, Buddy Ebsen. The music and songs were written by Johnny Marks, which explains why they were so good, and Roberta Flack delivers beautiful vocal performances. So I highly recommend The Tiny Tree. It may be a simple special, no real conflicts, nothing to worry about, no villain, and some things are told to us rather than be shown, but those are things that are easy to overlook. I'm not sure why this special was never released to DVD or even reaired on television. That is something that should be looked into.
The Tiny Tree, a SUPERB Christmas Story
pelletsmom12 December 2014
This was a FABULOUS Christmas Story, it's a shame that it's not on yearly, thanks to the internet, I have found a copy. I look every year to see if it's going to be on TV that year, now I can show it to my grands...this particular Christmas Story has stayed with me since I was a very young girl. It was a sweet story about a little girl who was injured and was confined to her wheelchair. The animals decorated a tree for her so she could enjoy the true spirit of Christmas and I have never forgotten this story and never will. The girls are going to LOVE it. I have spoken of this story many times and everyone says "I never saw that", well, ha, I found it online and I am so posting about it on my social media site.
A Christmas special about love and sharing
ja_kitty_713 December 2022
I have been on the lookout for Christmas specials to watch and enjoy. I found this sweet, heartwarming animated special by the animation team that did the "Pink Panther" cartoons on YouTube (through my smart TV), and I love it.
It's about a little girl who had been in an accident and had to be in a wheelchair. She and her parents had moved to the countryside, and there the girl made friends with the animals that live in the meadow and a tiny, whispering pine tree. On the day before Christmas, the girl's father went to the village to get his daughter's presents and a Christmas tree. But the snow was falling hard, and would he be back? You will have to watch for yourself.
I love that Roberta Flack sang songs for this special. And I love that it shows that Christmas is about love and sharing, something I don't mind at all. Anyway, I love this wonderful Christmas special and wish it was on DVD, so I could share it with my young nephew.
It's about a little girl who had been in an accident and had to be in a wheelchair. She and her parents had moved to the countryside, and there the girl made friends with the animals that live in the meadow and a tiny, whispering pine tree. On the day before Christmas, the girl's father went to the village to get his daughter's presents and a Christmas tree. But the snow was falling hard, and would he be back? You will have to watch for yourself.
I love that Roberta Flack sang songs for this special. And I love that it shows that Christmas is about love and sharing, something I don't mind at all. Anyway, I love this wonderful Christmas special and wish it was on DVD, so I could share it with my young nephew.
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