The Tiny Tree
{{short description|1975 Christmas television special}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Christmas special
| creator = Chuck Couch
| based_on =
| writer = Chuck Couch
Bob Ogle
Lewis Marshall
| director = Chuck Couch
| voices = Buddy Ebsen
Paul Winchell
Frank Welker
Allan Melvin
Cherilyn Parsons
Hettie Lynne Hurtes
Stephen Manley
Lucille Bliss
Janet Waldo
| narrated = Buddy Ebsen
| composer = Dean Elliott
Johnny Marks
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_episodes =
| producer = Chuck Couch
David H. DePatie
Friz Freleng
| editor = Roger Donley
Ron Fedele
Robert T. Gillis
Joe Siracusa
Rick Steward
| runtime = 30 minutes
| company = DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
| network = NBC
| released = {{Start date|1975|12|14}}
| related =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| screenplay =
| story =
| budget =
}}
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.{{cite news|last1=StarBanner|first1=Ocala|title='The Tiny Tree' Is A Christmas Musical|date=December 19, 1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29QpAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA64|access-date=December 1, 2024|work=Ocala StarBanner}}{{cite news|last1=Ledger|first1=Lakeland|title=FEATURES: 'Tiny Tree' Is Story Of Love And Respect|date=December 12, 1976|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6suAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA105|access-date=December 1, 2024|work=Lakeland Ledger}}{{cite book|date=1985|title=The Annual Obituary|publisher=St. Martin's |isbn=978-0-912289-82-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70sYAAAAIAAJ&q=the+tiny+tree+1975}}{{cite web|title=What WAS the Cartoon with THAT scene?|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/what-was-the-cartoon-with-that-scene/|publisher=Cartoon Research|access-date=December 1, 2024}}{{cite web|title=DePatie-Freleng's "The Tiny Tree" (1975)|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/depatie-frelengs-the-tiny-tree-1975/|publisher=Cartoon Research|access-date=December 1, 2024}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7C6NDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA316|title=Happy Holidays—Animated!: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film|author=William D. Crump|publisher=McFarland|year=2019|page=316|isbn=9781476672939}}{{cite book|title=Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen|isbn=9781493079711|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kggVEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA272|access-date=December 2, 2024|last1=Pilato|first1=Herbie J|date=October 15, 2024|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers}} 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.
Plot
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.
Voice cast
- Buddy Ebsen as Squire Badger{{cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/The-Tiny-Tree/|title=The Tiny Tree (1975)|publisher=Behind the Voice Actors|access-date=December 1, 2024}}
- Paul Winchell as Turtle
- Frank Welker as Groundhog, Father Bird, Beaver and Mole
- Allan Melvin as Horace Hawk
- Cherilyn Parsons as Girl Bunny
- Hettie Lynne Hurtes as Girl Porcupine, Bird and Firefly
- Stephen Manley as Boy Bunny and Girl Raccoon
- Lucille Bliss as Field Mouse
- Janet Waldo as Lady Bird and Little Girl
Production
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.{{cite book|last1=Gilbert|first1=James Burkhart|title=Redeeming culture: American religion in an age of science|date=1997|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226293219|access-date=January 7, 2025|url=https://archive.org/details/redeemingculture00gilb/page/222|page=222}} 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.{{cite web|title=Ethel and Albert, Hank Saperstein, and the Phone Company|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/ethel-and-albert-hank-saperstein-and-the-phone-company/|date=January 14, 2011|publisher=Cartoon Research|access-date=January 7, 2025}}{{cite web|title=Chatting with Chuck Couch and Bob Bentley|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/chatting-with-chuck-couch-and-bob-bentley/|date=January 11, 2016|publisher=Cartoon Research|access-date=January 7, 2025}}{{cite book|date=1973|title=Educational Films|publisher=University of Michigan Media Resources Center|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9_jAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA475|access-date=February 2, 2025}} 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. DePatie–Freleng Enterprises was hired to produce the special. The characters were designed by Disney and MGM animator Louis Schmitt, and voiced by Buddy Ebsen, Paul Winchell, Frank Welker, Allan Melvin, Cherilyn Parsons, Hettie Lynne Hurtes, Stephen Manley, Lucille Bliss and Janet Waldo. 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.{{cite news|last1=Holsopple|first1=Barbara|title='Rudolph' Creator Offers More Holiday Joy In 'Tiny Tree'|date=December 11, 1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gb8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA77|access-date=January 7, 2025|work=The Pittsburgh Press}}{{cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=nbc&p=178&item=B:17761|title=Bell System Family Theatre: The Tiny Tree (TV)|website=The Paley Center for Media|access-date=February 24, 2025}} Marks stated that the former song "captures the whole meaning of Christmas", with the special itself "built on" it.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0378881|title=The Tiny Tree}}
- [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/479651/the-tiny-tree#overview The Tiny Tree on Turner Classic Movies]
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Category:1975 in American television
Category:1975 television specials
Category:1970s American television specials
Category:1970s animated television specials
Category:Music television specials
Category:NBC television specials
Category:Christmas television specials
Category:Films scored by Johnny Marks