In the early 90s, four of the Rankin/Bass-produced Christmas specials were re-released on home video and promoted as classics: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Frosty the Snowman (1969), and Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town (1970). These four “crown jewels” of Rankin/Bass were always shown several times on T.V. during the holiday season. But as time marched on, one of these disappeared from television and fell out of favor with Christmas-movie fans: The Little Drummer Boy.
This year, the film aired on Freeform three times on two different days: 11/29/22 at 9:00am. 12/03/22 at 1:30am and 7:00am. Not exactly primetime showings, unlike Frosty and Rudolph, each getting primetime 8:00pm on CBS. In fairness, CBS doesn’t own the rights to Drummer Boy. But there are likely additional factors at play, reducing the film’s popularity.
Unlike the easy to love Rudolph, Frosty, and Kris Kringle, Aaron the Drummer Boy, is a far darker and mature character that younger audiences might find off-putting or even disturbing. The Little Drummer Boy is one of the rare Christmas movies to feature an honest-to-goodness murder. Aaron’s parents are killed by bandits, who then burn Aaron’s home. Traumatized by his parent's death, Aaron eschews dressing up like a giant bat to protect the people of Gotham City. Instead, he vows to hate all human beings forever. Accompanied by three animal pals (a donkey, a lamb, and a camel), Aaron wanders the desert alone, banging his drum. The instrument creates an almost magical effect on the animals, causing them to dance.
This catches the eye of Ben Haramad (voiced by Jose Ferrer, George Clooney’s uncle), a crooked desert showman. Haramad kidnaps Aaron and forces the angry little tyke to play for the crowds in Jerusalem. Then Haramad sells Aaron’s camel to one of Three Kings, who are shlepping across the desert and following some really bright star. After escaping from Haramad, Aaron sets off to rescue his camel by following the same star, which leads him to a manger in Bethlehem. Well, if you plan on going to Heaven, you know the rest of that story.
Aaron’s tragic backstory provides little to soften him. He remains colorless and one note for much of the film, and it’s a note children are unlikely to respond to. A bullied reindeer or a funny snowman are more endearing characters than a whiny little brat with a drum. Revisiting The Little Drummer Boy as an adult, I appreciated Aaron’s darker characterization and was genuinely moved by his eventual rejection of hatred. As a kid, I had zero in interest in this special.
The Little Drummer Boy has another point against it: the movie doesn’t feel very “Christmasy”. It lacks a bright color palette. No greens, reds, or pristine whites. This world is painted with muted colors, greys and beiges. No fields of snow, only sand dunes. No chestnuts roasting on an open fire, only Aaron’s parents roasting to death in their burning farmhouse. This isn’t a white Christmas; this is a sandy one.
The film print, used for DVDs and television broadcasts, exasperates the problem. It looks dank, cloudy, and cruddy. Unlike the most popular titles in Rankin/Bass’s library, The Little Drummer Boy never received a worthwhile restoration or digital clean-up, leaving the film with that off-putting murky dimness. There just hasn’t been enough interest from the public to warrant the money to spruce it up.
But I think the most likely reasons for The Little Drummer Boy’s retreat from sight are socio-political and religious ones. The story transpires in the Middle East, a place of innumerable conflicts before and certainly after the short aired in 1968. Most obviously, the film depicts people of the Middle East in stereotypical and exaggerated modes. Back in December 1991 (the first Christmas I was alive for), the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee protested the show and wanted VHSes pulled from video stores. They felt The Little Drummer Boy portrayed people of the Middle East as “money-grubbing, fat, ugly, hooked-nosed kidnappers.”
That was 31 years ago. Today, many audiences are even more sensitive to inauthentic cultural depictions. Those with their mitts on The Little Drummer Boy rights are likely very aware of a potential dust-up with offended audiences. As a result, they no doubt limit it’s exposure and limit their own risk to controversy. In addition, The Little Drummer Boy marches across sacred ground. This is inescapably a religious story. You don’t need me to point out that the separation of religion and television is a hot button issue. Perhaps that’s why Freeform airs the short at odd times when less people are likely to watch it (and be potentially offended or angered), while still broadcasting it for those interested.
Then what is real reason for The Little Drummer Boy falling out of popularity and the reduction in annual showings? It is because Aaron serves as an unappealing protagonist for children? Is it because the short is bereft of commercial Christmas imagery? Or it is because networks and rights holders want to sidestep cultural, political, and/or religious controversies? I have no idea, but my guess is the true reason(s) are a combination of all.
But is The Little Drummer Boy worth a watch? Ok, the film looks greying and cloudy. Yes, it moves at a stodgy pace. The characters feel mostly dour and humorless. The voice actors are good, but many modern audiences will chafe at their lack of cultural authenticity. Greer Garson, seven times Academy Award nominated actress and one-time winner, provides a regal narration, though she lacks any light touches. The music remains mostly forgettable and lacks toe-tappers. The exception of course being the title song, which is beautifully performed by the Vienna Boys Choir.
Racist caricatures aside, The Little Drummer Boy represents one of several high points for Rankin/Bass puppet designs. In Rudolph, most of the puppets were of animals or non-humans. Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Yukon Cornelius were sculpted with rudimentary faces, dots-for-eyes, and were capable of minimal expressions. The Little Drummer Boy inverses this with more focus on human puppets than animal ones. These puppets are individual and exceptionally detailed, down to their eye shapes, facial hair, and certainly their clothing. The last five-minutes of the film, where Aaron arrives at the manager and experiences a spiritual awakening, is one of the most emotionally redolent sequences in any animated holiday film. The ending is most certainly worth the previous sour 20 or so minutes.
It remains unlikely that The Little Drummer Boy will ever become as mainstream again as Rudolph or Frosty. And though it doesn’t sparkle and glitter like the other Rankin/Bass movies, it deserves the status of a Christmas classic (even if it’s a former Christmas classic).
-T.Z.
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