Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Little Drummer Boy

Play trailer Poster for The Little Drummer Boy 1968 30m Fantasy Animation Kids & Family Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
75% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
An orphaned boy who hates humanity encounters the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Music by the Vienna Boys Choir.
The Little Drummer Boy

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Little Drummer Boy is a mature addition to the Rankin-Bass catalogue, with a powerful conclusion that compensates for the special's dour storytelling and unpolished animation.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
AV Club Staff AV Club 12/06/2018
It's a lot like How The Grinch Stole Christmas, in other words, only with a Biblical foundation and not so much rhyming. The special is effective as all get-out, too. Go to Full Review Michael Booth Denver Post 12/04/2018
I thought "Rudolph" was the worst animation I had seen, until seeing Drummer Boy again. Aaron the misanthropic drummer, formerly with Metallica, and his animal friends skitter across the Sinai like cockroaches on Red Bull. Go to Full Review Andrew Ryan Globe and Mail 12/04/2018
A Christmas children's special that actually depicts events from the Bible? What a concept! Go to Full Review Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net 04/18/2019
7/10
I think it was all handled beautifully. Go to Full Review Ryan Voyles Paste Magazine 12/04/2018
Certainly lives up to its reputation as the bleakest of the Rankin/Bass collection. But the 20 minutes of wallowing in misery is worthwhile for the company's best finale ever. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Evan C @zestyitalian27 2d It's a really wholesome story that's cute and fun, but the animation is like really crunchy and the story is hard to follow but it's still good. See more Colton D. @Pizza149 Nov 24 The movie was surprisingly dark. I don’t know why they had to make a kids movie this dark but I actually loved it other than how dark it was. It was a pretty good movie actually, I love to see baby Jesus on the big screen See more Bryant C 12/07/2024 One of my favorite movies as a child, thank god for my mother's Christian ways lol See more Russell H 12/20/2023 I enjoy these old animated ones. I hadn't seen a lot of this one as a kid but worth a watch. See more Savannah W 07/01/2023 One Of Greatest Animated Christmas Movies I Had Ever Seen Growing Up And Still This Movie Does Not Disappoint The Songs Are Great And The Voice Acting Was Great This Is Just A Classic See more Jack's A 04/17/2023 People seem to go a little too hard on this one in my opinion, sure it is fairly dark and depressing, but that ultimately makes it all the more enjoyable and makes it's climax all the more appealing See more Read all reviews
The Little Drummer Boy

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Jules Bass

Director

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Director

Greer Garson

Our Story Teller

José Ferrer

Ben Haramed

Paul Frees

Aaron's Father

June Foray

Aaron's Mother
View All

The Little Drummer Boy

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An orphaned boy who hates humanity encounters the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Music by the Vienna Boys Choir.
Director
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Screenwriter
Romeo Muller
Genre
Fantasy, Animation, Kids & Family, Musical
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 19, 1968, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2013
Runtime
30m