How “The Small One” Became a Very Big Problem for Disney (Ep. 338)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

With Drew Taylor sidelined by a nasty case of the Christmas crud, Jim Hill flies solo for this end-of-year edition of Fine Tooning. After a bit of seasonal vamping, Jim dives into animation news before kicking off the first half of a deep-dive holiday history lesson. This week’s episode sets the stage for a story that begins with a modest Disney featurette and ends up triggering one of the biggest upheavals in the history of Walt Disney Feature Animation. NEWS • Avatar: Fire & Ash dominates the global box office with a massive $345 million opening weekend. • Angel Studios’ David surprises with a strong $22 million domestic debut, outperforming several major animated releases. • Zootopia 2 continues its historic run, crossing $1.27 billion worldwide and exceeding the original film by more than $200 million. • The Academy reveals its Best Animated Short shortlist, with notable inclusions and at least one eyebrow-raising omission. • Adult Swim renews Haha, You Clowns for two additional seasons after an initially underestimated debut. FEATURE • The origins of Disney’s 1978 animated featurette The Small One and why the studio once believed it would become a perennial holiday classic. • How Charles Tazewell’s mid-20th-century holiday stories caught Disney’s attention and lingered in development for nearly 15 years. • Behind-the-scenes tensions at Walt Disney Feature Animation in the late 1970s, including the controversial decision to hand directing duties to Don Bluth. • Why this seemingly small production planted the seeds for a massive creative and personnel shakeup soon to come. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Drew Taylor - IG: @DrewTailored | X: @DrewTailored | Website: drewtaylor.work FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Unlocked Magic helps you save on Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando tickets, sometimes up to 12 percent off. Plan ahead for your 2026 Central Florida trip by picking your dates, grabbing your tickets, and letting the savings add up at UnlockedMagic.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to fine-tuning with Drew Taylor, your one-stop shop when it comes to animation news and commentary.
0:06.3	I'm entertainer writer Jim Hill and Mr. Taylor, whose writings in the industry you can regularly read or run the rap,
0:12.9	and whose amusings on the Mission Impossible movies, you can still listen to on Light the Fuse,
0:18.6	the official Mission Impossible podcast.
0:22.4	Unfortunately, Drew, who let me say right up front here, with no disrespect,
0:27.2	all you James Brown fans out there, is actually the hardest working man in show business,
0:32.2	or should I say that Mr. Taylor is the hardest working man covering show business these days.
0:38.0	Anyway, Drew worked so hard this past week that he made himself sick.
0:44.0	Sick as a dog.
0:45.0	Not a cute little dog like Nova, mind you, but a big, ugly, shaggy dog kind of of being sick.
0:53.3	Which is why I'm recording this show solo on Sunday,
0:57.4	December 21st, which is a lot of you folks already know, because the fine-tuning audience
1:02.5	are very smart, very well-educated. You know, you know already. This is the shortest day of the
1:08.4	year. Now, what I didn't know until I just Googled it is that
1:13.4	the official start of the astronomical winter, the winter solstice, was actually at 10.03 a.m. Eastern
1:20.9	standard time today, which is just about the time I was making Nancy or her avocado toast. I'm not sure if this is an appropriate food to serve, as this particular time of year is getting
1:33.0	underway.
1:33.5	But my ex-wife, the lovely Michelle Viodolid, she sent a Harry and David fruit basket thing for Christmas.
1:40.2	And you know the drill when you receive one of those things, right?
1:48.5	I mean, you suddenly got this ticking clock on your kitchen counter,
1:53.1	all of this delicious fruit and fresh produce that you got to eat before it goes bad.
1:56.3	But here's the thing about Harry and David.
	...

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