History WesternAnimation / TheSmallOne

* FaceDeathWithDignity: After the auctioneer incident, Small one realizes no one would buy him and leads the boy back to the tanner to end it all.[[spoiler: Fortunately, there was still one good man interested in buying and keeping him alive.]]

** The baker's wife, as he describes her as a "healthy size" is seen eating some donuts, with her husband being seen preparing many for her.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Mostly sweet, though. Small One gets sold and the boy will never see him again, but he doesn't go to the tanner, he's off to a great destiny, and Joseph is a gentle man who promises he'll be well cared for.]]

** The boy believes this is the case for the tanner after he admits he's only interested in Small one's skin and flees from the store.

** In their song, despite clearly mocking the boy, the merchants tell to the boy that no merchants (outside the tanner) are interested in Small One and point out that the best chance the boy has to sell him is to go to the jolly auctioneer.

'''''The Small One''''' was a 1978 Creator/{{Disney}} short (26 minutes) {{Animated Film|s}} directed by Creator/DonBluth. It was a theatrical film released during the Christmas season rather than a televised ChristmasSpecial, serving as the second feature with the 1978 re-release of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}''. It was Bluth's last full effort for Disney before he left to start his own company; the bulk of the film's animation is likewise provided by numerous people who would depart Disney alongside Bluth, including key animators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy. Besides directing, Bluth wrote two of the film's songs himself: "Small One" and "The Merchants' Song".

'''''The Small One''''' was a 1978 Creator/{{Disney}} short (26 minutes) {{Animated Film|s}} directed by Creator/DonBluth. It was a theatrical film released during the Christmas season rather than a televised ChristmasSpecial, serving as the second feature with the 1978 re-release of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}''. It was Bluth's last full effort for Disney before he left to start his own company. Besides directing, Bluth wrote two of the film's songs himself: "Small One" and "The Merchants' Song".

The film epitomizes the split that was running through the Disney studios at the time. Though nearly everyone felt that the studio was going through a troubled period, opinions differed as to how to correct the problems, Bluth and his adherents believing that there should be a conscious return to the style of the studio's glory days in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Forties and Fifties]], while others suggested a move toward more modern, experimental styles of animation. This dichotomy of styles affects the film itself, with the earlier part of the film harking back to the style of the [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 Phil]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAristocats Harris]] [[WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973 era]] of animation, while the latter part of the film takes on the darker tones associated with parts of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}''.

The film epitomizes the split that was running through the Disney studios at the time. Though nearly everyone felt that the studio was going through a troubled period, opinions differed as to how to correct the problems, Bluth and his adherents believing that there should be a conscious return to the style of the studio's glory days in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Forties and Fifties]], while others suggested a move toward more modern, experimental styles of animation. This dichotomy of styles affects the film itself, with the earlier part of the film harking back to the style of the [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 Phil]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAristocats Harris]] [[WesternAnimation/RobinHood era]] of animation, while the latter part of the film takes on the darker tones associated with parts of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}''.