1968·Animation·25m
6.8
★
After being kidnapped and escaping, young drummer boy Aaron searches for his camel and finds him in the Nativity of the Baby Jesus. Aaron gives Baby Jesus the only gift he has, a song on his drum.
Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Takeo Nakamura
miracle
three kings
drum
stop motion
orphan
based on song, poem or rhyme
injured animal
christmas
jesus christ
gift
holiday special
hate
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Greer Garson
Narrator (voice)
Ted Eccles
Aaron (voice)
José Ferrer
Ben Haramed (voice)
Paul Frees
Aaron's Father / Magi / Samson / Joshua / Baba / Others (voice)
June Foray
Aaron's Mother (voice)
Crew
Jules Bass
Director
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Director
Romeo Muller
Writer
Maury Laws
Original Music Composer
Jules Bass
Producer
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Producer
Maury Laws
Songs
Jules Bass
Lyricist
Popular Reviews
99 reviews
kylie
10.0★ · 12/24/25
it's just a magical movie guys idk what to tell you
it's just a magical movie guys idk what to tell you
Estella Copas
6.0★ · 12/24/25
I watch this every Christmas Eve.
I watch this every Christmas Eve.
Trevor Wood
8.0★ · 12/20/25
Aaron reminds me of my husband sm and for that I give an extra star
Aaron reminds me of my husband sm and for that I give an extra star
Dylan S
6.0★ · 12/11/25
“Drummer boy, you may not believe me, but this is the luckiest day of your life.”
They didn’t just kidnap the animals—they also kidnapped the kid. This is a terrible circus show even for a free one. The characters in this short looked a bit goofy. The Little Drummer Boy’s animation wasn’t bad. The “Little Drummer Boy” main musical theme I found to be good.
They didn’t just kidnap the animals—they also kidnapped the kid. This is a terrible circus show even for a free one. The characters in this short looked a bit goofy. The Little Drummer Boy’s animation wasn’t bad. The “Little Drummer Boy” main musical theme I found to be good.
“Drummer boy, you may not believe me, but this is the luckiest day of your life.”
They didn’t just kidnap the animals—they also kidnapped the kid. This is a terrible circus show even for a free one. The characters in this short looked a bit goofy. The Little Drummer Boy’s animation wasn’t bad. The “Little Drummer Boy” main musical theme I found to be good.
They didn’t just kidnap the animals—they also kidnapped the kid. This is a terrible circus show even for a free one. The characters in this short looked a bit goofy. The Little Drummer Boy’s animation wasn’t bad. The “Little Drummer Boy” main musical theme I found to be good.
Heather
4.0★ · 12/25/24
definitely the lesser of the rankin bass specials. of course the biblical content makes it a more difficult pitch for wider audiences to enjoy, but even then it’s just not a super well put together film. the songs have NO DRUMS IN THEM even though that’s KIND OF THE MAIN POINT and also the ending really pissed me off as a christian bc it fucks with theology a bit— the drummer boy’s lamb is dying, so he plays his drum for baby jesus as a gift to baby jesus, and because of that his lamb is healed completely??? and one of the wise men says “your gift was the best one!” or something along those lines, thus implying that christianity is about getting the best worship or gift to God so that you can get what you want. ALSO MARY IN THIS IS BLONDE. DONT DO THAT TO MY VIRGIN MARY.
definitely the lesser of the rankin bass specials. of course the biblical content makes it a more difficult pitch for wider audiences to enjoy, but even then it’s just not a super well put together film. the songs have NO DRUMS IN THEM even though that’s KIND OF THE MAIN POINT and also the ending really pissed me off as a christian bc it fucks with theology a bit— the drummer boy’s lamb is dying, so he plays his drum for baby jesus as a gift to baby jesus, and because of that his lamb is healed completely??? and one of the wise men says “your gift was the best one!” or something along those lines, thus implying that christianity is about getting the best worship or gift to God so that you can get what you want. ALSO MARY IN THIS IS BLONDE. DONT DO THAT TO MY VIRGIN MARY.