The Small One

Did You Know?

• Charles Solomon's Los Angeles Times review noted the human characters, except for the boy, were less interesting than the animals.
• The three songs are 'The Small One,' 'A Friendly Face,' and 'The Market Song.'

Plot

In the Galilean countryside near Nazareth, a young boy and his father own four donkeys. Small One, the oldest and weakest, can no longer carry the wood his father collects. The boy loads Small One with the smallest sticks and helps him. One evening, the father says Small One must be sold because he cannot earn his keep.

Devastated, the boy volunteers to take the donkey to market to find him a caring master. The father agrees, asking for one piece of silver. The next morning, a Roman guard tricks them into visiting a tanner, who only wants the donkey's hide. They flee in terror.

Wandering the streets, they encounter townspeople and merchants who refuse to buy. The boy leads Small One onto a horse auction stage. The auctioneer mocks the scrawny donkey, but when he shoves the boy and tries to sit on Small One, the donkey bucks him off, collapsing the stage. They run away and weep at a street corner.

A compassionate man approaches, needing a gentle donkey to carry his wife to Bethlehem. He offers one piece of silver, promising good care. The boy accepts, says goodbye, and watches the couple and Small One depart as a bright star appears.

Characters

Small One is a gentle donkey past his prime, weakened by years of hard work. Though he eats as much as the other donkeys, he cannot handle the same loads. His right ear never stays straight up, giving him a cute appearance. He has strong feelings for the Boy and would give his life to help him.

The Boy, about nine years old, favors Small One above the other donkeys. Though devastated by his father's order to sell him, he accepts it and seeks a gentle master. The Father appears little; he sends the boy to sell Small One because they cannot afford a donkey that cannot carry large loads, and he owes money to the Three Merchants. The Three Merchants—one tall and skinny, one medium and skinny, one short and round—collect money in the marketplace and direct the boy to the auctioneer.

The Auctioneer initially mocks Small One but becomes intrigued when the boy says the donkey is good enough for a king's stable; he tries to ride Small One, is bucked off, and chases them away. The Tanner is a minor antagonist who kills animals for their hides. The three donkeys are Small One's barn mates, jealous of the boy's attention. Joseph, though unnamed, buys Small One to carry his wife Mary to Bethlehem.

Production

In the early 1970s, Disney's senior animators had died or retired, but the studio's recent successes convinced executives that the animation department needed new talent. Ron Husband became Disney's first African-American animator while working on this project. Young developed initial storyboards and pitched them to Ron Miller, who called the story heartfelt. Vance Gerry helped polish the boards.

Larson assumed he would direct and brought Burny Mattinson and Cliff Nordberg to assist, but studio management selected Don Bluth as director. Betsy Baytos recalled Larson shaking his head, feeling unappreciated. Bluth stated he directed the film to keep the crew busy until Pete's Dragon. He heavily revised the storyline, frustrating Young, who left to work on The Fox and the Hound.

Bluth composed two songs; assistant director Richard Rich composed a third. Animation of the Laughing Men from The Sword in the Stone and Mowgli from The Jungle Book was recycled.

Home media

The short is edited in two places: the star at the end has more lines to look less like a cross, and the merchants' song lyric 'We never, never fail when we go to make a sale, we simply cheat a little if we must' was changed to 'we work a little harder if we must'. The reason may relate to Arab stereotypes.