Simple Gifts
A collection of animated Christmas shorts: An original Maurice Sendak piece about a boy with nothing to give for Christmas -- An excerpt from the early part of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" set in a time of extreme cold in Tudor England -- A short based on the Toonerville Trolley -- A bittersweet excerpt from Moss Hart's autobiography "Act One" narrated by Jose Ferrer -- A reading from the Christmas day entry from the diary of 11-year-old Teddy Roosevelt -- A reading of a letter by Captain Edward James Hulse describing the surprising Christmas Truce of 1914 -- An animated version by R.O. Blechman of his own book "Tutto Esaurito" (No Vacancy) about the travels of Mary and Joseph.
Director: Phillip Schopper, R.O. Blechman
Writers: Maurice Sendak, R.O. Blechman, Virginia Woolf
Where to watch
Not available on streaming in your region.
Top cast
Colleen Dewhurst
Self - Host
Hermione Gingold
Narrator (segment "The Great Frost") (voice)
José Ferrer
Narrator (segment "A Memory of Christmas") (voice)
Dean Wareham
Narrator (segment "My Christmas") (voice)
David Jones
Narrator (segment "December 25, 1914") (voice)
Paul Dooley
(segment "Lost & Found") (voice)
Claudette Sutherland
(segment "Lost & Found") (voice)
