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The Tiny Tree

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The Tiny Tree
GenreChristmas special
Created byChuck Couch
Written byChuck Couch
Bob Ogle
Lewis Marshall
Directed byChuck Couch
Voices ofBuddy Ebsen
Paul Winchell
Frank Welker
Allan Melvin
Cherilyn Parsons
Hettie Lynne Hurtes
Stephen Manley
Lucille Bliss
Janet Waldo
Narrated byBuddy Ebsen
ComposersDean Elliott
Johnny Marks
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersChuck Couch
David H. DePatie
Friz Freleng
EditorsRoger Donley
Ron Fedele
Robert T. Gillis
Joe Siracusa
Rick Steward
Running time30 minutes
Production companyDePatie–Freleng Enterprises
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 14, 1975 (1975-12-14)

The Tiny Tree is a 1975 American animated Christmas television special produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. Created, produced and directed by Chuck Couch, the special was first broadcast at 7:30 PM on NBC on December 14, 1975, airing as part of the Bell System Family Theater, sponsored by Bell Telephone.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It received a Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Any Area of Creative Technical Crafts" in 1976, and was rerun into the 1980s.[5][6]

Plot

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Squire Badger narrates the story to two young rabbits. When a family with a little disabled girl in a wheelchair moves into a long-empty farmhouse, the local animals introduce the girl to a tiny whispering pine tree in the meadow, and the two bond together, enjoying each other's company through the year. That winter, a blizzard buries the land and endangers the animals with starvation. When Horace Hawk the vegetarian visualizes Mole as a berry and tries to eat him, the girl hurries outside to stop him but falls from her chair and remains in bed on Christmas Eve. Learning that the girl's father couldn't obtain her presents and a Christmas tree from town, the whispering pine volunteers to be her Christmas tree, so the animals transplant him outside her window and decorate him with natural items, except for a star tree topper. The Morning Star, the first light of Christmas Day, provides this final touch that also heals the little girl as she and all the animals rejoice.[6][7]

Voice cast

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Production

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In 1958-1962, Warner Bros. Pictures produced four specials for The Bell Laboratory Science Series; Gateways to the Mind, The Alphabet Conspiracy, Thread of Life, and About Time. The specials each had animated segments, directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson and Phil Monroe.[9] Animator and writer Chuck Couch produced and directed three films for Bell around this time; Talking of Tomorrow, Mr. Digit and the Battle of Bubbling Brook, and TASI, The Time Machine.[10][11][12] In the 1970s, while working at Hanna-Barbera, Couch wrote a story for a special called The Tiny Tree, and pitched it to the Bell Family Theater.[5] DePatie–Freleng Enterprises was hired to produce the special.[7] The characters were designed by Disney and MGM animator Louis Schmitt,[5] and voiced by Buddy Ebsen, Paul Winchell, Frank Welker, Allan Melvin, Cherilyn Parsons, Hettie Lynne Hurtes, Stephen Manley, Lucille Bliss and Janet Waldo.[6][7] The music was composed by Dean Elliott and Johnny Marks; Marks wrote and composed seven songs for the special, and also included "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", performed by Ebsen. Two of the songs, "To Love and Be Loved" and "When Autumn Comes", were produced and arranged by Leon Pendarvis and sung by Roberta Flack.[13][14][5] Marks stated that the former song "captures the whole meaning of Christmas", with the special itself "built on" it.[13]

References

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  1. ^ StarBanner, Ocala (December 19, 1975). "'The Tiny Tree' Is A Christmas Musical". Ocala StarBanner. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Ledger, Lakeland (December 12, 1976). "FEATURES: 'Tiny Tree' Is Story Of Love And Respect". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  3. ^ The Annual Obituary. St. Martin's. 1985. ISBN 978-0-912289-82-3.
  4. ^ a b "What WAS the Cartoon with THAT scene?". Cartoon Research. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "DePatie-Freleng's "The Tiny Tree" (1975)". Cartoon Research. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m William D. Crump (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated!: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland. p. 316. ISBN 9781476672939.
  7. ^ a b c d e Pilato, Herbie J (October 15, 2024). Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781493079711. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "The Tiny Tree (1975)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  9. ^ Gilbert, James Burkhart (1997). Redeeming culture: American religion in an age of science. University of Chicago Press. p. 222. ISBN 9780226293219. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  10. ^ "Ethel and Albert, Hank Saperstein, and the Phone Company". Cartoon Research. January 14, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  11. ^ "Chatting with Chuck Couch and Bob Bentley". Cartoon Research. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  12. ^ Educational Films. University of Michigan Media Resources Center. 1973. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Holsopple, Barbara (December 11, 1975). "'Rudolph' Creator Offers More Holiday Joy In 'Tiny Tree'". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  14. ^ "Bell System Family Theatre: The Tiny Tree (TV)". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
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