Credit: DisneyDisney and Walt Disney Animation Studios offer a lot of treats and treasures every holiday season, The Small One (1978) by former Disney animator Don Bluth should never go unwatched.
Disney+ offers a wide variety of Christmas features both old and new, and the studio clearly hasn’t skimped out on the newer material. Subscribers can binge the Santa Clauses TV series, a slew of Disney Channel and Disney Junior holiday episodes, and almost the entire catalog of short films featuring Mickey Mouse and all his friends.
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That said, many subscribers will likely rely on favorite Christmas Classics like Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), Home Alone (1990), or even The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) for their festive fix. However, Don Bluth’s The Small One is an absolute treasure that combines the Nativity story with the magic of Disney Animation.
The Small One: A Miracle from Disney Animation
The Small One was a featurette produced by Walt Disney Animation and headed by Don Bluth (a legend in the animated medium.) The short film concerns a young boy from Nazareth who must sell his beloved donkey at the market. However, the family who buys the titular Small One is on their way to Bethlehem with a very special passenger.
Don Bluth is known for his emotional and artful animated features such as An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988), and The Small One certainly fits in with the rest of his work. For something with such a short run time, the story is charming, the songs are memorable, and it mixes a biblical flavor with the wonder of Disney animation in a way that doesn’t spoil the narrative.
If you’ve kept up with the recent reports, the Walt Disney Company has truly been struggling with its image lately. Amidst the cries of “go woke, go broke,” many fans seem to have forgotten just how much magic the studio has brought to their lives. Enter Disney+ with its selection of holiday enchantments, and this delightful take on the Nativity with a different point of view.
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As much as audiences love to criticize Disney these days for straying from traditional values, Don Bluth’s short film from 1978 should serve not only as a reminder of what the season is truly about, but how Disney animation portrayed it in such a tasteful way. It adapts the story from the scriptures, but adds a wholesome Disney flavor that viewers of all ages will love.
Although the film originally premiered closer to the Disney Dark Age, it’s a light in a weary world created by an artist who truly understood the craft. While others might stream the newer offerings Disney+ has ready to binge, give The Small One a watch if the holiday rush has you feeling like a beast of burden.
Inside the Magic reached out to Don Bluth for further comment, but received no response at the time of publishing.
Have you seen The Small One? Tell Inside the Magic what you thought of it in the comments below!