The Small One

The Small One (also known as A Christmas Miracle in the UK) is a 1978 American animated featurette produced by Walt Disney Productions and released theatrically by Buena Vista Distribution on December 16, 1978 with a re-issue of "Pinocchio" (1940). The story is based on a 1947 children's book of the same name by Charles Tazewell and was a project for the new generation of Disney animators including Don Bluth, Jerry Rees, Henry Selick, Gary Goldman, and John Pomeroy.
The story tells of a young boy, outside Nazareth, who must part with his best friend, an old donkey named Small One. He brings it to market, but no one is in need of a "scrawny donkey", except for a tanner.
Plot.
In the Galilean countryside near the city of Nazareth, a young boy and his father own four donkeys. One of the donkeys, Small One, is old and weak, and can no longer adequately do his job of carrying the wood collected by the boy's father. The boy loads Small One with the smallest sticks, and helps him to carry them. One evening, the boy's father says that he has to sell Small One because he can no longer do enough work to cover the cost of his care. The boy, devastated by the news, volunteers to take the donkey to be sold so that he can try to find him a kind master. The father agrees and tells him that he has to sell him for one piece of silver. 
The next morning, the boy takes Small One to the market. They are at first tricked into visiting the local tanner by a guard at the city gates. Terrified, they run out of the shop when they discover he only wants the donkey's hide. As they wander the streets looking for a buyer, they encounter several townspeople, shop owners, and merchants, none of whom want to buy. At last, the boy leads Small One onto the stage at a horse auction. The auctioneer has no interest in selling a "scrawny donkey," which causes the boy to insist that Small One is "good enough to be in a king's stable." This prompts the auctioneer and the crowd to laugh and poke fun. When the auctioneer attempts to sit on Small One, shoving the boy out of the way, Small One rouses the strength to buck and kick the auctioneer off him, sending him crashing into the stage and knocking it over.
The boy and Small One run away, and sit at a street corner hopelessly weeping. At this moment, a kind man comes up to the boy and asks if Small One is for sale. He needs a gentle donkey to carry his wife to Bethlehem, insists he will take good care of him, and offers one piece of silver. The boy accepts, says goodbye to Small One, and watches as the couple and Small One leave on their journey as a bright star appears in the sky.
Production.
By the early 1970s, several of Disney's senior animators had either died or retired, but the continuous success of their animated features convinced studio executives that the animation department was still lucrative but in desperate need for new talent. Veteran animator Eric Larson was selected to head the training program, in which he selected and trained graduates from colleges and art schools across the United States. Eventually, twenty-five new artists were hired from 1970 to 1977.
The idea for "The Small One" originated from story trainee Pete Young who found the book among optioned properties at the studio library. He developed the initial storyboards at home, and pitched it to Ron Miller who claimed it to be a story with "heart". To help polish the storyboards, Miller brought on veteran storyboard artist Vance Gerry to collaborate with Young. Larson had assumed he would be directing the film and brought Burny Mattinson to help re-board the story, as well as veteran animator Cliff Nordberg to help assist on the animation. According to Mattinson, the team left on Friday for the weekend, and returned on Monday to have their work tossed out because studio management had decided to give the project to Don Bluth to direct. Then-animator Betsy Baytos claimed Larson, in reaction to the news, "just shook his head and knew that he wasn't being appreciated. He felt the old days were gone." In retrospect, Bluth stated, ""Small One" was something I directed to get the crew busy until "Pete's Dragon"...[Larson] might have [been involved] in the storyboard area. [But he] didn't get to direction. I think he elected to [teach]." Given the allotted production budget, Bluth composed two songs himself with a third song composed by assistant director Richard Rich, and recycled animation of Mowgli from "The Jungle Book" (1967).
Release.
"The Small One" was released on December 16, 1978, accompanying a reissue of the Disney's animated feature "Pinocchio". That same year, on December 23, the film had its television premiere on HBO.
Home media.
On September 27, 2005, Disney released "The Small One" for the first time on Region 1 DVD as part of "". This DVD also featured "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) and "Pluto's Christmas Tree" (1952). The short is edited in two places:
This short is also featured on the DVD "Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films: Volume 7: Mickey's Christmas Carol" released on September 29, 2009.
It was also released on Region 2 on the DVD "Walt Disney Presents Countdown to Christmas".
The title was also made available for streaming and download in the digital format.