THE NIGHT THE ANIMALS TALKED

 

Publicity poster for The Night The Animals Talked (© Shamus Culthane/Zavala-Riss Productions/David Gerber Productions/Gamma Film/ABC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

One of my abiding, fondest memories of Christmas on TV as a youngster in the UK was a truly delightful American/Italian animated featurette entitled The Night The Animals Talked. Roughly 25 minutes long, and containing several specially-written songs by none other than that celebrated Hollywood songwriting duo Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, this TV movie was shown each Christmas on television here for several years during the 1970s, but then abruptly vanished from the schedules, never to be screened again.

Consequently, despite still remembering it in great detail, almost 50 years had passed since I had last actually viewed this thoroughly charming cartoon when only quite recently I unexpectedly came across it on – where else? – YouTube, and watched it enraptured all over again. I have also been able to obtain a first-generation DVD of it.

So today, Christmas Day, is the perfect time to reveal and review here on Shuker In MovieLand this tragically-overlooked hidden gem from my childhood. I often refer to such all-but-lost TV and movie treasures as forgotten, but judging from the numerous and invariably glowing comments and commendations that I have read about it on YouTube, IMDb, and elsewhere online, The Night The Animals Talked is anything but forgotten.

On the contrary: it may have long vanished from our TV screens, and not just in the UK but also in the USA, Australia, and everywhere else, sadly, it would seem, but as with me the cherished memories of this charming little production have clearly remained intact and still very much alive within the minds of countless viewers worldwide down through the decades. So here are mine, within my following review.

Directed by James G. 'Shamus' Culthane, with David Gerber as its executive producer, its teleplay by Jan Hartman and Sam Rosen (from a story by Peter Hernandez originally created as a script for an MGM children's record), and first screened on television by ABC in the USA on my 11^th birthday (9 December 1970) as it so happens, The Night The Animals Talked was originally inspired by a Norwegian festive folktale. In it, animals miraculously gain the power of human speech during the early hours of Christmas Morning, to honour the birth of Jesus, now more than two centuries ago.

In The Night The Animals Talked, this miracle occurs when the Star of Bethelehem shines down one winter's morning long ago upon a lowly stable in this small Middle Eastern town. It is home to an assortment of livestock including oxen, sheep, chickens, mules, a sheepdog, a goat, and a couple of pigs. However, the other animals cruelly discriminate against the pigs, refusing to allow them to stay inside the stable as they deem them to be inferior and therefore unworthy of shelter, so the poor pigs are forced to remain outside in their sty.

 

The animals are overjoyed that they can communicate with one another (© Shamus Culthane/Zavala-Riss Productions/David Gerber Productions/Gamma Film/ABC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

When the divine rays of the Star of Bethlehem bathe the animals in radiant light, however, they discover to their astonishment that they can speak, and are now able to communicate directly with each other (cue this featurette's catchiest song, 'It's Great To Communicate'), and even with humans, if any were around.

Yet initially, they waste their precious gift by squabbling heedlessly with each other, until the wise old ox (voiced by Joe Silver) reminds them that they are behaving no better than humans themselves do.

This sharp, shaming remonstration swiftly puts an end to their verbal sparring, until, that is, they are approached by a small donkey bearing a weary lady, Mary, who is very soon to give birth, and accompanied on foot by her husband, Joseph.

The donkey (Frank Porretta) informs the animals that the couple have been unable to find accommodation at any of the town's inns, and enquires whether they can take shelter and sanctuary in the stable where Mary can then have her baby in warmth and safety.

At first, this sparks conflict between the animals, not all of them being happy for the couple to stay, as their opinion of humans in general, based no doubt upon how they treat livestock, is not a favourable one. Once again, however, the kindly ox convinces all of them to show mercy and tolerance, instead of acting like people once again, but by now the donkey and the couple have already departed. Happily, they are soon tracked down and led back to the stable by a flock of friendly swallows, and the couple are duly welcomed inside by all of the animals there..

Not long afterwards, Mary gives birth, not shown on screen but watched humbly in awe and amazement by the animals, whose new-found benevolence has even extended to the pigs, now allowed to enter and be present alongside all of them, gazing in great joy upon the infant Jesus, the newly-born Christ Child, Saviour of the World, brightly illuminated by the glorious Light of God streaming d0wn from the Star of Bethlehem directly overhead in the sky. Accompanying this serene setting is a beautiful Cahn-Styne composition, 'The Greatest Miracle of All'. Interestingly, the Holy Family are never actually named nor even portrayed directly here, Joseph and Mary being represented only via their shadows, and Jesus by an incandescent glow of radiant light within the stable but emanating from the Star of Bethlehem above it.

 

The animals gaze in awe at the infant Jesus, bathed in holy light from the Star of Bethlehem (© Shamus Culthane/Zavala-Riss Productions/David Gerber Productions/Gamma Film/ABC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

The animals are so inspired and uplifted by what they have beheld that they race outside, eager to tell the humans everywhere what has occurred on this holy night, and that love itself is a miracle. But as they attempt to do so, their human speech transforms back into the respective sounds that these animals normally make – the sheep bleat, the mules bray, the dog barks, the chickens cluck and crow. The miracle is over, at least for them, but for humanity it has just begun.

Indeed, the last animal to retain speech, the wise ox, does so just long enough to wonder outloud if humanity will realize what an incredible miracle it has been given, before he too loses his vocal gift and, together with all of the other animals, returns silently to their stable. Yet although their speech is now gone, the lessons in love and kindness that it taught them will remain with them for all time.

It is clear that this skillfully-produced, poignant featurette presents a number of significant adult-themed concepts to its predominantly child-based audience – discrimination, racism, tolerance, segregation, co-operation, even vanity all feature within it – but in a very gentle, subtle manner, far removed from the decidedly unsubtle, sledgehammer approach all too frequently applied by contemporary movie-makers.

Whereas not up to the high standards achieved by Disney cartoons, for instance, during the 1970s, and far short of any produced today, the animation in The Night The Animals Talked is certainly more than serviceable, especially when augmented by the tuneful Cahn-Styne songs and a strong voice cast. Moreover, having watched this featurette all over again before writing this review, I can testify that its charm has neither been diluted by age nor exaggerated by rose-tinted memories.

Consequently, I feel certain that it would delight new generations of children in exactly the same way that it delighted previous generations, including mine, if, after being off-screen for far too long, this superb Christmas treat were finally rescreened on TV – which would be a veritable and much-welcomed Christmas miracle in itself.

There are currently several uploads of The Night The Animals Talked available to watch for free on YouTube, but of those, the one offering the best visual quality in my opinion can be accessed here. Happy viewing, and Happy Christmas!

Finally: to view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film/TV reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

The animals joyfully greeting the entry into their stable of Mary and Joseph (© Shamus Culthane/Zavala-Riss Productions/David Gerber Productions/Gamma Film/ABC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)