The Small One (1978)

I know Christmas is over, but part of why this hasn't been reviewed already, is because I finally saw it for the first time on Christmas Day, and naturally, I was focused on my presents among other gifts since then. But I don't have a lot to do now, so I'm going to finally review Don Bluth's animated Disney short; The Small One.

Plot: Set around the time Jesus is about to be born, a young boy has to sell his best friend, an old and weak donkey named Small One. So with his father's permission, he goes to the city where he tries to sell Small One to anyone who will give him a new home, despite no one wanting to buy him apart from the tanner.

This film can be summed up in one word that my sister, Jenny kept using as we watched it; sad. Even a little before The Boy's father tells him that Small One has to be sold, we both thought that this movie was sad. Almost instantly, you care about Small One and The Boy and how deep of a bond they have, making it depressing, knowing that something sad is going to happen to them. And it gets worse when they go through the majority of the film trying to give Small One a new home, when people either intent to kill him or will hurl insults at how old and weak he is. It does have its lighter moments, like when we are first introduced to the characters, and when we are given this song that these three merchants sing that is rather catchy. But for the most part, all we are seeing is this struggle that The Boy and Small One go through just to find a new home for the donkey. The ending may seem a little easy to figure out, but even if you do, it's still very touching.

And that's my short review for The Small One. If you dislike this kind of film because of how sad it is, like Jenny does, I definitely understand. But it is otherwise a great, emotional animated short from one of the animation legends that is worth checking out next Christmas if you haven't seen it already.

Rating: 100%