Western Animation / The Little Drummer Boy

"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God"

"Drummer boy, you may not believe me, but this... is the luckiest day... of your... life!'

— Ben Haramed (José Ferrer), The Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy was a Rankin/Bass Stop Motion puppet animated (called "Animagic") Christmas Special first aired in 1968.

The script is by Rankin-Bass's favorite writer, Romeo Muller; the music follows the favored R-B formula, starting with a classic Christmas tune and adding original songs by Maury Laws and co-producer Jules Bass. A touch of distinction is added by the choral work being performed by the Vienna Boys Choir.

A television sequel entitled The Little Drummer Boy: Book II was produced in 1976, also narrated by Greer Garson, but this time featuring Zero Mostel as the voice of Brutus.

This story has inspired several imitations and variations; for example one Puerto Rican TV Christmas Special was about a little boy who wanted to visit the Nativity to ask Baby Jesus to cure his dying father (in the apparent belief that the event repeats itself every year). A Christmas Miracle happens, of course. Similarly, the Spanish Christmas song Burrito Sabanero is about a boy riding a burro to reach the Nativity.

VeggieTales did a remake of this special in 2011.

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This Christmas Special provides examples of:

• Adaptation Expansion: The original song just has a poor boy visiting the baby Jesus, having no gift to give him, playing his drum for him instead, and the baby smiling at him. All the other details found in the special (the boy's name being Aaron, his parents' murder and his resulting misanthropy, the details of how he arrives at the manger, all the other characters' roles, etc.) are new.
• Anachronism Stew: Though set in first century Judaea, the kings wear costumes more suggestive of 15th century European paintings of the Adoration of the Magi.
  • With perhaps a bit of Misplaced Wildlife or Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp", it's pretty much impossible that a first century Israeli boy would have ever heard of an alligator, which only exist in the new world and China. A crocodile would have made more sense.
• Ass in a Lion Skin: During the song "Why Can't the Animals Smile?," Baba the lamb pretends to be a lion, a frog, and a hog; Joshua the camel pretends to be an alligator and an elephant; and Samson the donkey pretends to be a caribou.
• As the Good Book Says...: The show begins with Greer Garson reading from the beginning of the second chapter of Luke, with further readings from the infancy narratives throughout, ending with Matthew 5, 8.
  • Slightly subverted in the fact that the Bible itself contains no mention of anyone remotely resembling The Little Drummer Boy; It started as a song in 1949, based loosely off a French legend only two centuries older than that.
• Barefoot Poverty: Aaron is poor and is never seen with shoes.
• Better with Non-Human Company: Aaron's a misanthrope, but he gets along fine with animals.
• Call-Forward: It’s implied that Baby Jesus healed Baba as a sign of gratitude to Aaron for playing his drum. As an adult, he performs many healings as part of his ministry.
• Catchphrase: In Book II, the Roman tax collector Brutus constantly addresses his Beleaguered Assistant Plato as "Plato, you fool!" Even when he's about to compliment him.
• Christmas Special: One of many by Rankin Bass.
• Darker and Edgier: Easily one of Rankin Bass's darkest stop-motion animated specials. Aaron's parents get murdered by bandits, Aaron becomes bitter and full of hatred for other people, and the villains all get away scot free.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Aaron was once a happy farm boy, but bandits attacked his village, set it on fire and killed his parents, resulting in him escaping with three of the animals. From that day forth, he promised to hate all humans for what happened, and kept that promise since.
• Digital Destruction: The DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases feature an unreleased stereo soundtrack that was added during restoration of the special. Unlike the orginal mono mix, this mix leaves out a number of crucial sound effects, most notably Aaron's drumming sounds and the crowd commotion during Aaron's performance at Jerusalem. The restoration also leaves out a piece of narration by Greer Garson in the final scene, which was replaced by a scratch track from voice actor Paul Frees. Making matters worse is that Universal only has a 16mm B-roll of the film archived and are apathetic to finding a 35mm source at present.
• Disney Death: At the climax of the story, Aaron's pet lamb Baba is hit by a Roman soldier's chariot, which leaves him unconscious and close to death. Aaron approaches baby Jesus in the manger in desperate hope that his lamb will be healed, and in the end, he is.
• Everyone Has Standards: Ben Haramed may be a hopelessly inept showman, but he knows good acting when he sees it, and when Aaron can't keep up his façade to the human audience any longer and ends up causing a riot, Ben Haramed is rather irritated with him.
  • That is probably due less to irritation with Aaron's acting than with the fact that he rouses the crowd against the troupe, and they and Ben Haramed himself are chased off while being pelted with rubbish. On the other hand, he is completely aware of the ineptitude of his actual troupe, while able to appreciate Aaron's genuine talent in training his animals.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: The main character's father is shown being stabbed to death on screen, and the family's house is burnt down with his mother inside it.
• Freudian Excuse: The reason Aaron hates people is because bandits murdered his parents and destroyed their home.
• Friend to All Living Things: Aaron is friend to all living things — except humans.
• Gift of Song: When Aaron visits the newborn Jesus but has no gifts "fit to give a king". Instead, he decides to play his drum, pleasing the baby.
• Hard-to-Light Fire: In Book II, the tax collectors use Aaron's drum as kindling because they can't find any sticks that aren't wet. In a desert, mind you.
• Humans Are Bastards: What Aaron is convinced of, after his family is murdered by bandits.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain:
  • He may be greedy, but Ben Haramed considers himself in solidarity with the suffering populace, and part of his motivation is to distract them from their daily troubles. Notice how he addresses the audience at his show as "fellow taxpayers".
  • In Book II, Brutus is a blowhard and a jerk, especially when he burns Aaron's drum for firewood, but he's only following the emperor's orders by collecting money or anything else of equal value, and much to his frustration, he won't even be allowed to keep any of it.
• Karma Houdini: The two bandits who rob then murder Aaron's parents go unpunished for their crime.
  • Ben Haramed kidnaps a child, forces him to work against his will, sells a camel that doesn't belong to him... and ends up getting quite well paid for his efforts.
    • Although if you stop to think about it, his money is only going to last so long, and if he and Ali spend it all, it is highly unlikely that they're ever going to get any more money without Aaron around, what with Ben Haramed's entire show caravan being incompetent, rendering Ben Haramed exactly what he doesn't want to be: crowded and poor. No on-screen karma, but it's food for thought.
  • The tax collectors in the sequel are not punished for burning Aaron's drum.
• Kubrick Stare: Aaron gives one at the end of the flashback of losing his parents, as he vows to hate all humans after what happened.
• Large Ham: Zero Mostel in Book II, but then, what did you expect?
• Money Song: "Money, Money, Money" in Book Two.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • The Three Kings are not named in the biblical story, but are given their traditional names here: Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar.
  • Aaron himself. The drummer boy has No Name Given in the original song.
• Narrator: Miss Greer Garson was cast as Our Storyteller.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If Ben Haramed hadn't sold Joshua (Aaron's camel) to the Three Kings, even though it wasn't his camel to sell, the royal caravan would have never reached Bethlehem and presented their gifts to Baby Jesus. Aaron would have also remained misanthropic since he would have no reason to follow the star of Bethlehem.
• Non-Human Sidekick: Joshua the Camel, Samson the Donkey, and Baba the Lamb.
• The Power of Music: How Aaron taught his animals to dance since the drum has a magical quality.
• Race Lift:
  • The Three Kings' traditional races in art and literature are Caucasian (Melchior), Indian (Caspar) and African (Balthazar); here, Caspar is African, while Balthazar is East Asian.
  • Despite the Middle Eastern setting, The Virgin Mary is inexplicably pale-skinned and blonde.
• Restored My Faith in Humanity: Following the murder of his parents, Aaron gained a bitter hatred from all humans. After Baba was fatally injured, and then healed by Baby Jesus, his hatred melted away and he managed to smile again.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Ben Haramed calls himself "King of the Desert Showmen", but the members of his show caravan are totally inept.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Aaron's parents in the 2011 VeggieTales remake.
• Star of Bethlehem: How Aaron knows where to find Joshua.
• Stepford Smiler: Ben Haramed would rather Aaron be this than someone who doesn't smile, period.
  Ben Haramed: You stubborn little fool! Then wear a painted one.
• Suddenly Shouting: Brutus in Book II is prone to this.
• Surrounded by Idiots: The members of Ben Haramed's show caravan are all completely inept.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Aaron used to be happy and friendly until his parents were murdered by thieves, and he hates all people for what they did to them.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Ben Haramed calls an audience member a "Philistine" for dropping an apple-core in the hat he's passing around; not only is "Philistine" 19th-century slang for "someone who does not appreciate high culture," but Ben Haramed (presumably a 1st century Jew) would consider an actual Philistine among his nation's Biblical hereditary enemies, and thus a suitable insult.
• Villain Song: Ben Haramed has "When the Goose is Hanging High."
  • The previously listed Money Song also counts.
• Villainous BSoD: Ben Haramed is prone to this when denied the opportunity to perform before royalty, and doubly so when one of the Three Kings' men calls him a knave to his face.
  Ben Haramed: Ben Haramed... a knave!? Oh, I am crushed!

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