The Night the Animals Talked
Encyclopedia
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television on December 9, 1970. It was broadcast only four times on ABC, from 1970 through 1973.
Production notes
The Night the Animals Talked was produced by Gamma Films of Italy, and was directed by animation veteran Shamus CulhaneShamus Culhane
James "Shamus" Culhane was an American animator, film director, and film producer.Culhane worked for a number of American animation studios, including Fleischer Studios, the Ub Iwerks studio, Walt Disney Productions, and the Walter Lantz studio. He began his animation career in 1925 working for J.R...
. The story evolved from an MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
children's recording written by writer and voiceover artist Peter Fernandez
Peter Fernandez
Peter Fernandez was an American actor, voice actor, and director. Despite a career extending from the 1930s, he is probably best known for his uncredited roles in the 1967 anime Speed Racer. Fernandez co-wrote the scripts, was the voice director, and translated the English language version of the...
. Although the copyright status of this film is uncertain, bootleg copies are common.
Plot summary
The special focuses on an old Norwegian holiday legend regarding the birth of Jesus Christ. The plot focuses on a simple stable, which suddenly is showered with light from the star that guided travelers to the ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
child. The animals stir, and when they awaken they realize they can communicate with each other. At first, the animals use the ability to disparage each other and to establish superiority over each other, especially over the two hogs who are not allowed into the stable. An ox, the apparent leader of the animals, is angered by such behavior, as it reveals they are acting like humans. The animals realize the error of their ways, and attempt to make amends when word reaches them (through the mule carrying Mary) that an expectant couple desperately needs shelter.
At first, the animals refuse to allow the humans into the manger, as they look down on them and their behavior. But, the animals relent, and Mary and Joseph are allowed into the stable for the night. That night, as the Christ child is born, the animals are overwhelmed with love for each other—even the hogs are allowed into the stable for the first time to see the baby. Then, the animals come to the realization that they have been given the gift of speech to tell the world of the "miracle"--the birth of Christ. However, as they run through Bethlehem, each animal loses his gift, and they return to the stable in silence—but with newfound respect and love for each other. The ox, the last to lose his speech, is left to wonder if humanity will ever understand the miracle it has been given.
Themes
The special is known for approaching a variety of themes, such as segregationRacial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and vanity
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
. The interactions of the animals spells out the problems of mankind, but they are seen through the vantage points of animals, in a manner similar to George Orwell's Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
.
Music
The program was remarkable in that it offered three songs from a duo of music legends—lyricist Sammy CahnSammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
and composer Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
. Their contributions ("A Parable", "It's Great to Communicate", "The Greatest Miracle of All") remain mostly unknown to their fans.
Its legacy
Unlike other holiday specials of the era, "The Night the Animals Talked" faded from the broadcast scene after relatively few showings. There are several reasons—first, the European studio animation was inferior to the other programs being offered, especially when compared to Rankin/BassRankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
offerings. Second, the program is very heavy with Christian content, and media outlets were leery of offending non-Christian audiences. The show was last broadcast on a national level on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
in the early 1990s, though it has been shown at various times on PBS stations.
The cartoon has seen a revival mostly through the manufacture and circulation of bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
copies of the program. "The Night the Animals Talked" was never officially released in any form on VHS or DVD. McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
released a 16mm film print for educational use in schools in 1975. The majority of the bootlegged copies reproduced are from the 1975 McGraw-Hill release. Distributors of these copies claim in their advertising that the show has since passed into public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, which, if true, would makes such sales legal.
A play by Patricia Barry Rumble sharing the same title focuses entirely on the Norwegian legend, and has no connection with the animated special.
External links
- The Night the Animals Talked at the Big Cartoon Database
- Toonarific.com
- The Norwegian Legend on which "The Night the Animals Talked" is based