| Genre: | Christmas special |
| Creator: | Chuck Couch |
| 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 |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| 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 |
The Tiny Tree is a 1975 American animated Christmas television special produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. Created, produced and directed by Chuck Church, 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]
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]
Between 1956 and 1964, Bell produced a series of specials called The Bell System Science Series. The final four specials were produced at Warner Bros. Pictures and contained animated sequences done at their cartoon division. David H. DePatie, who at the time was running the commercial division, worked as a production executive on these films. Friz Freleng directed the animated sequence for The Alphabet Conspiracy, which aired in 1959. By the 1970s, Chuck Couch was mostly working on assembly-line shows at Hanna-Barbera, but he found time to pitch The Tiny Tree to the Bell System Family Theater. They bought the story, and in turn hired DePatie-Freleng Enterprises to make the special, with Couch himself as the director. Couch's only other credit at the company was as a writer on the 1968 Pink Panther short The Pink Package Plot. Freleng hardly paid attention to the special during production, even though he was known to give input on almost anything that was being done at the studio.[5] [6] [7]
Buddy Ebsen provided the voice of Squire Badger, narrating the story throughout; The Tiny Tree was Ebsen's first role in an animated film. Additional voice talents were done by Paul Winchell, Lucille Bliss, Frank Welker, Janet Waldo, Allan Melvin, Cherilyn Parsons, Hettie Lynne Hurtes, and Stephen Manley. Couch hired Louis Schmitt as the lead character designer for the special. Schmitt had spent his later years working as an illustrator for Hallmark Cards, creating greeting cards with cute yet fun animal critters. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer composer Johnny Marks was hired to write and compose music. Eight songs were featured altogether, with Roberta Flack singing two of them: "To Love and Be Loved" and "When Autumn Comes".[5] [6] [7]