“Respect old age, young man! Get down, and let the old man ride.” They had gone a little farther along the road, when three merchants passed by. The miller did not like to be laughed at, so he told his son to climb up and ride. The most stupid of the three is not the one you would expect it to be.” “The Miller, His Son, and Their Donkey,” illustrated by Milo Winter, from “The Aesop for Children,” 1919. “What foolishness,” cried one, “to walk when they might as well ride. ![]() As they walked along the highway, some travelers laughed loudly at them. They drove him very slowly, for they thought they would have a better chance to sell him if they kept him in good condition. This should definitely be on Top 250.One day, a long time ago, an old miller and his son were on their way to market with a donkey which they hoped to sell. Anytime I think there won't be more or that even more would be impossible, I keep getting surprised. The number of animated shorts, animated films and even live-action films made by Walt Disney Company doesn't stop to surprise me. It's really pitiful that such a trashy and gross movie like "Grease" has much more success, popularity and recognition than this nice little story (which came out in the same year of 1978). So, in conclusion, it's not an animated short without faults, but it's quite good and deserves more credit than it gets. I wonder what happened to him and where is he now. In "The Small One", he demonstrates again his acting skills (in this case, vocal) and sings very well either. If there's any doubt about that, he is very good as Pete in "Pete's Dragon" and he sings beautifully in that movie. Sean Marshall was not only a very talented young actor, but also a wonderful singer. The voice cast does a good job, including Sean Marshall as the boy (which is obvious, because his laughter is very Pete-like). The ending has a strong magical feeling because of its excellent artwork and especially because of that sparkling big star. The donkey is sold to Joseph, who needs a gentle donkey to carry his wife Mary to Bethlehem. They both live an awful day but the ending is happy. The story focus on the friendship between Small One and the boy, but also on the boy's attempt to sell the donkey for a piece of silver. Our story takes place in Israel, outside of Nazareth. But although I like Stromboli, I dislike the auctioneer. Curiously, the auctioneer almost looks like Stromboli from Disney's masterpiece "Pinocchio". ![]() About the characters I don't like, they are obviously the guard, the tanner, the 3 merchants and the auctioneer. The boy's father is a nice guy and Joseph (the donkey's buyer) is very kind. The donkey is precisely named Small One, which is ironic because he's such a large donkey. Curiously, some of the animation of the boy is identical to Mowgli's. Plus, this boy is kind and very humble, while Mowgli is stubborn and often challenging to deal with. As for the characters, the boy looks almost identical to Mowgli from Disney's "The Jungle Book", but he's much better drawn and not as slim as Mowgli. But, back to the artwork, for those who are familiar with Disney's "Aladdin", the artwork here and even the sceneries give a certain "déjà vu" feeling. The story is touching, the artwork is excellent, the animation is great and the whole thing runs on a perfect pace. This short is considered an experiment, reuniting the talents of Don Bluth and the artists from the Walt Disney Company, as much as it is a quality Christian propaganda mini-film. The cover line «A new animation featurette destined to become a Disney Holiday Classic» suits perfectly on this Christmas tale.
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