The Small One was a 1978 Disney short (26 minutes) Animated Film directed by Don Bluth. It was a theatrical film released during the Christmas season rather than a televised Christmas Special, serving as the second feature with the 1978 re-release of Disney's Pinocchio. It was Bluth's last full effort for Disney before he left to start his own company; the bulk of the film's animation is likewise provided by numerous people who would depart Disney alongside Bluth, including key animators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy. Besides directing, Bluth wrote two of the film's songs himself: "Small One" and "The Merchants' Song".
Based on a 1947 book by Charles Tazewell, the film is about an unnamed boy and a donkey. The donkey, nicknamed Small One, is the oldest and weakest of the family's animals, and so the boy has been tasked to sell him in exchange for a silver coin. The boy takes Small One to the market, and fends off a slew of exploitative vendors and uninterested buyers. At the end of the film, a kind man in need of a donkey offers to buy Small One from the boy for one silver piece. As Small One embarks on this new chapter, a familiar star appears in the sky.
The film epitomizes the split that was running through the Disney studios at the time. Though nearly everyone felt that the studio was going through a troubled period, opinions differed as to how to correct the problems, Bluth and his adherents believing that there should be a conscious return to the style of the studio's glory days in the Forties and Fifties, while others suggested embracing and developing more modern, experimental styles of animation. This dichotomy of styles affects the film itself, with the earlier part of the film harking back to the style of the light-hearted films of the '60s and '70s, while the latter part of the film takes on the darker tones associated with parts of Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia.
Compare Rankin/Bass Productions' Animated Show Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey for a somewhat similar concept.
The Small One contains examples of:
- A Boy and His X: The two protagonists of the story are a farmer boy and his donkey finding a new home for the latter due to the boy's dad considering he's too old to be of service to the farm.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the original book, the boy's father forces him to sell Small One to the tanner, and then scolds him for crying about it. In the animated short, he explains more gently and apologetically that Small One must be sold, has intended to sell the donkey himself until the boy volunteers to sell him instead, and never mentions the tanner, who only enters the story later when the boy and donkey enter his store willingly before realizing who he was and what he wanted to do with Small One.
- Adapted Out: Pablo, Cupido, and Padre, three characters from the book who were only featured in the prologue and the epilogue to introduce the story with the premise of Padre explaining to his son Pablo the main reason why donkeys aren't stubborn, don't appear in the Disney short.
- The Alleged Steed: The donkey is too weak to work, and the only person interested in buying him is a tanner who plans to make him into leather. In the end, the boy sells the donkey to the biblical Joseph in exchange for a silver piece, with the latter using Small One to help carry pregnant Mary to Bethlehem.
- Bad People Abuse Animals:
- The boy believes this is the case for the tanner after he admits he's only interested in Small One's skin and flees from the store upon seeing that the tanner's few alive animals are in complete misery under his roof.
- Zig-Zagged with the auctioneer, as he's pretty respectful towards the horses he sells in his auction, but treats Small One awfully by strongly caressing Small One's pale skin, forcefully pulling his tail, and riding his fragile body with his overweight body, this mainly being out of spite of the little boy's insistence on selling him in his auction.
- Be Careful What You Say: The baker refuses to buy Small One by telling the boy that he would rather buy a horse to carry his fat wife. The merchants hear this and forcefully empty his pockets before giving him a horse.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Small One is the sweetest, most loving donkey... until the auctioneer pushes the boy to the ground.
- Big Eater: Played for Drama. The boy's father points to his son that Small One eats as much as the other donkeys despite being smaller and weaker. He can't pull a big enough load to warrant the cost of his food anymore and ultimately decides that the donkey must be sold, much to the boy and Small One's dismay.
- In contrast to Small One, the baker's wife is Played for Laughs, as he describes her as a "healthy size" and is seen eating some donuts, with her husband being seen preparing many for her.
- Bittersweet Ending: Mostly sweet, though. Small One gets sold for a silver coin and the boy will never see him again, but he doesn't go to the tanner to be sacrificed for his skin, he's off to a great destiny, and Joseph is a gentle man who promises he'll be well cared for.
- Bowdlerise: For the DVD and Disney+ release, a line in "The Merchant's Song" was altered to make it less offensive to Jews (the original version can be found here
and the song went "We slip and cheat a little if we must" to "We work a little harder if we must") and the final shot of the star's light was digitally altered to make it look less like a cross. (Although the lines that form the cross are still the most prominent.) - Brutal Honesty: When the boy asks the tanner if he will take good care of Small One, he sincerely tells the kid that he only wants to buy Small One for his hide.The Tanner: "I only want his hide, boy. I'm the tanner."
- Celestial Deadline: The father tells the boy that he has until nightfall to sell Small One to someone for a silver coin.
- Christmas Epilogue: The ending of the short involves Joseph buying Small One to the boy for one silver piece to travel to Bethlehem alongside his pregnant wife Mary, where the Star of Bethlehem will shine above the stable where they're resting and the very first Christmas will happen.
- Coming of Age Story: The boy has to learn to let go of his best friend while still finding him a good home.
- Cool Old Guy: Small One might be old and stiff, but he can still work up the energy to play with the boy and send the Jerkass auctioneer flying.
- Crazed Concentric Eyes: The auctioneer sometimes briefly appears with these eyes, in the middle of his passionate speech.
- Darkest Hour: Near the end, the boy is banned from the auctioneer, nobody besides the tanner seems interested in Small One, and nightfall starts covering the sky, with both protagonists waiting alone near the tanner's store resigned to reconsider the tanner's offer.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Tanner's place comes off as unsettling and he's rather intimidating when seen through the POV of a small boy, but he's not a cruel man and is only making a living the same as anyone else in the town. He leans more into
True Neutral territory. - Despair Event Horizon: Both the boy and Small One suffer one near the end where no one besides the tanner would want to buy Small One.
- Diligent Draft Animal: Small One himself may be an elderly donkey, but he does his best to work for the boy and his father even when he's feeling weak. He does his best to carry wood uphill, and even though he stumbles, he keeps trying. In the end, he is willing to carry Mary on their journey to Bethlehem.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Hey, it's Don Bluth, what did you expect? It's not quite as dark as some of his later output, but the Bittersweet Ending still fits this trope.
- Exact Words: The Roman guard tells the boy that one store's owner needs Small One and sends the boy there, omitting on purpose that said person is the tanner who wants to have Small One's skin, as he laughs at the child's naivety.
- Face Death with Dignity: After the auctioneer incident, Small One realizes no one would buy him and leads the boy back to the tanner to end it all. Fortunately, there was still one good man interested in buying and keeping him alive.
- Fat Bastard:
- The shortest member of the merchants is as greedy and mean as the rest of the leaner merchants.
- The auctioneer is a big fat one to both the boy and Small One as he humiliates the duo's attempt to sell the donkey by ridiculing the donkey's flaws, mounting Small One against the boy's will, kicking the latter when he tries to stop him, and banning them out of his auction when Small One kicks him in retaliation.
- The Fellowship Has Ended: The short ends with Small One being sold to Joseph, where they will travel to Bethlehem alongside a pregnant Mary who will eventually give birth to Jesus, while the boy returns to his farm to continue help his father, but not before sending his friend and his buyers a final farewell hand wave on his way home.
- Foregone Conclusion: It's about a donkey in Judea. Jesus is bound to show up in the story at some point.
- Foreshadowing:
- "He's good enough to be in a king's stable!"
- "Someone still needs you to brighten each day." It's not a stretch to imagine Small One being a loyal, loving friend to Him, just like he was to the boy.
- Get Out!:
- The potter tells this to the boy after he refuses his offer.
- A more aggressive variant occurs when the auctioneer throws a jar at the boy and bans him after Small One humiliates him.
- Good Is Not Soft: Small One may be old and frail, but he will not tolerate any harm toward the boy and sends the auctioneer flying with a kick
- Greedy Jew: The merchants fit the stereotype, as they sing about money and are always ready to make a deal, and are quite mean to the boy and Small One. If it helps any, with the exception of a single Roman guard, every character seen in the film is Jewish.
- Intellectual Animal: The animals don't talk, but Small One clearly understands everything the humans say, including the greater implications of being sold and that the auctioneer is mocking him and his master.
- Jerkass: The Roman guard who gives the boy directions to the tanner, then haughtily laughs.
- Also, the auctioneer sarcastically auctioneers Small One while poking fun at him in front of his sellers.
- Jerkass to One: The auctioneer is pretty amicable with most of his clients, except for the boy, who mistreats him and Small One, when the boy insists on selling him at his auction despite him not wanting to.
- Karma Houdini: While he may have been humiliated by Small One, the auctioneer ultimately gets the last laugh as he bans the boy and Small One from the auction and continues selling other horses like nothing happened when the duo is far away from his reach witnessing that the humiliation didn't last for long.
- The Load: Due to his old age, Small One can't carry heavy loads of wood like the other donkeys on the farm, struggling to carry meager smaller sticks, forcing the boy to help him carry part of his load when Small One collapses from the weight in the middle of the journey. This, alongside the fact that Small One eats as much as the other donkeys, becomes one of the reasons why the boy's father decides to sell him.
- Money Song: "The Merchant's Song".The Three Merchants: "Clink, clink, clank, clank.Get the money to the bank.Telling little stories you can trust."
- No Name Given: Small One is the only character whose name is given. Even St. Joseph's name is never spoken.
- Nothing Personal:
- There was no malice in the father's decision to sell Small One. He simply couldn't earn his keep and the father could no longer afford to keep him.
- Same could be said of the tanner; sure, if he'd purchased Small One, he would have died, but only because it was part of his job. He's not unkind to the boy, and is straightforward about his intentions for Small One.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Despite successfully defending his master's honor at the auction by throwing the auctioneer, the donkey loses the chance of being sold at the auction as the vendor bans the duo from it.
- Reused Character Design: The boy looks exactly like Mowgli with clothes on.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Small One is designed to look absolutely adorable despite being a little more worn and grizzled than most examples of this trope due to being old, complete with one ear that keeps flopping over.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Done twice in the short by the boy and Small One:
- They initially do it after the boy realizes they are in the tanner and refusing their silver coin.
- They do it near the end to flee the auctioneer, who angrily tells them to get out and throws a jar near them.
- Sincerity Mode: In their song, despite clearly mocking the boy, the merchants tell the boy that no merchants besides the tanner are interested in Small One and point out that the best chance the boy has to sell him without sending the donkey to his death is to go to the jolly auctioneer.The Three Merchants: "Come, come, little boy, take our advice, you will never ever find a buyer here."
- Star of Bethlehem: The star appears in the last scene of the short, above the stable where Joseph, Mary, Small One, and Jesus are staying.
- Stubborn Mule: Averted; Small One is gentle, patient, and self-sacrificing, and keeps trying to work even when he's too weak.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The baker and his wife, with the baker being shorter than the boy and his wife being enormous due to mostly eating her husband's sweet donuts.
- True Meaning of Christmas: "There's a place for each small one."
- The Un-Favorite: The other donkeys don't seem very happy with the boy's being especially good and sweet only with Small One.
- Would Hurt a Child: The auctioneer kicks the boy while humiliating him by riding Small one with his fat body, and throws a jar at the boy after banning them from the auction.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In the book, the father orders the boy to sell the donkey directly to the tanner and forces him to do the chore. Fortunately for the boy, the donkey manages to get a kinder buyer for the same price.