When I was a kid, I watched "The Little Drummer Boy" and remember very little about this experience. All I know is that I have never particularly liked the song. So, when I found it on YouTube, I decided to give it a try. After all, Christmas is only two days away and I wanted a bit of holiday cheer.
When I started watching this film, I was quite surprised. The quality of the stop-motion characters was very poor compared to other Rankin-Bass Christmas specials such as "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" and "The Year Without a Santa Claus". The animation is much jerkier and cheaper looking...as are the characters. It looked as if the studio was trying to save money and cut some corners.
As for the story, it's really a matter of personal taste. The story, despite being set in the ancient Holy Land, it complete fiction....and some might be okay with this and some might be offended because the story includes the baby Jesus. I honestly don't know how I feel about this...but the story itself seemed pretty depressing. The story is about a boy whose parents were murdered and he was later taken into slavery by a greedy traveling showman. He later sees baby Jesus and plays a song for him on his drum...which is pretty much what you expect from the song.
The idea of a religious Christmas tale is very nice, as often this part of Christmas is de-emphasized or even forgotten. But the story about the drummer boy seemed unnecessary and I wish the film had been more about the birth of Jesus. I guess it's all a matter of taste...but it's not a film I particularly loved.
When I started watching this film, I was quite surprised. The quality of the stop-motion characters was very poor compared to other Rankin-Bass Christmas specials such as "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" and "The Year Without a Santa Claus". The animation is much jerkier and cheaper looking...as are the characters. It looked as if the studio was trying to save money and cut some corners.
As for the story, it's really a matter of personal taste. The story, despite being set in the ancient Holy Land, it complete fiction....and some might be okay with this and some might be offended because the story includes the baby Jesus. I honestly don't know how I feel about this...but the story itself seemed pretty depressing. The story is about a boy whose parents were murdered and he was later taken into slavery by a greedy traveling showman. He later sees baby Jesus and plays a song for him on his drum...which is pretty much what you expect from the song.
The idea of a religious Christmas tale is very nice, as often this part of Christmas is de-emphasized or even forgotten. But the story about the drummer boy seemed unnecessary and I wish the film had been more about the birth of Jesus. I guess it's all a matter of taste...but it's not a film I particularly loved.