The Little Drummer Boy is a 1968 Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass, based on the famous Christmas song of that name. It was followed by a sequel in 1976.
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The 1968 television special is a stop motion animated film produced by Rankin/Bass. Originally sponsored by the American Gas Association, the film premiered on December 19, 1968 on NBC, where it aired annually for many Christmas seasons. NBC halted it in 1984. CBS aired it annually from 1985 to 1988, until ABC began to air it. ABC cut it from its Christmas schedule in 2006. It still continues to air in the U.S. on the ABC Family cable channel.[1]
The story, written by Romeo Muller, is based on the famous Christmas song of that name, but expands it to include events before the birth of Jesus. The title character, here given the name Aaron, is a misanthropic orphan who finds his life changed forever when he meets the Three Wise Men on their way to Bethlehem.
The film features the Vienna Boys' Choir singing the title song.
In 1976, Rankin/Bass produced a sequel, titled The Little Drummer Boy, Book II, again sponsored by the American Gas Association. It premiered on 13 December 1976 on NBC. Like its predecessor, it currently airs in the U.S. on the ABC Family cable channel.[2]
In this sequel, written by Julian P. Gardner, Aaron teams up with Melchior, one of the Three Wise Men, to regain a couple of silver bells made to ring for Christ's arrival from a band of greedy Roman soldiers.