Aaron is an orphan who hates all humans because of some bandits killing his parents, stealing his family's sheep and burning his farm down to the ground. Aaron gets kidnapped by a greedy man named Ben Haramad and his sidekick Ali who take him to Jerusalem to perform for a crowd. Aron snaps and lashes at the crowd of people accusing them of being thieves and bandits. They flee and end up in the desert, they meet the three kings and Ben Haramad sells Aaron's camel to the kings after theirs collapses of exhaustion. Aaron dumps Ben and Ali and follows the three kings to Bethlehem. They are reunited with his camel but his pet lamb Baba Is run over by a chariot and Aaron is distraught. Desperate to get his friend back he plays his drum to baby Jesus and Baba is fine and alive again. Aaron learns hating humans is wrong, and the movie ends with the narrator saying a quoteNo seriously, I'm surprised this still airs on Freeform (ABC Family) this is probably one of the most tragic yet great specials. There are some dark scenes on here such as Aaron's parents being murdered, and their farm being burned (It's off-screen but one of the bandits tosses a knife and the dad falls down) There is also the kidnapping of a child, a lamb being run over.It's a heartwarming special and I watch it every year. I recommend this though younger children should not watch this without an adult present. Some scenes might traumatize them

I am in my mid-twenties and was recently talking with two co-workers of around the same age about this song. I mentioned that it was only recently that I was able to appreciate it, as the Christmas special I watched every year as a child terrified me so much and rather traumatized me. My co-workers both emphatically agreed. It reignited my curiosity, as I haven't seen it since I was about ten or so, and I watched it this afternoon. As soon as I hit play, I remembered exactly why it had scared me so much -- parents being killed, a little boy being kidnapped by an evil man, a lamb almost dying... I read on some boards here some people rather belittling the opinion that the special can be disturbing for kids, so I just wanted to counterbalance it and say, yes, it can be disturbing, enough so that 15 years later I'm still transported back to being a child and being terrified of it. This isn't to say it's not a wonderful story, and that it does show the meaning of Christmas and adds a story to a beautiful song...but I definitely don't think it's appropriate for all children.

Hey, Lets say we have a roving band of dangerous nomads roaming the desert, brutally murdering people, stealing all of their possessions and leaving their young son to fend for himself in a cruel world. Perfect recipe for a Christmas Special. This one didn't stay as a network staple very long as it was not the happy nice nice special that Rudolph and Charlie Brown were .To Be honest I have liked this since I was a kid. It wasn't as good as the other Rankin/Bass specials but it was the only one of them that really has anything to do with the Jesus. Lot of emotion at the end. You end up glad that you watched it.

'The Little Drummer Boy' is the 1968 classic claymation about a little boy who travels with his pet lamb, donkey and camel. His greatest gift is his drum, which was given to him by his parents before they were murdered, and the little boy has a lot of anger that he has to learn to conquer, and he witnesses a magical event. This is a classic and touching Christmas story that I like to watch every Christmas. It's narrated well, and although the technique is a little bit dated, I still think this film stands the test of time. It's got a nice little, moral story, and it is true to life: bad things happen to good people, but we must smile and get through life the best we can and learn to forgive. Don't forget to watch this next Christmas.