The Selfish Giant

I too like many others who have posted here, watched this every holiday season here in Canada along with "The Happy Prince" and the Richard Chamberlain-narrated "The Little Mermaid" - all were produced by Potterton Productions with Reader's Digest Canada.

I have met Gerald Potterton and asked him about these animated shorts and it doesn't look like they will ever be coming out on DVD anytime soon. Because of legal issues when Reader's Digest film division closed down, the rights to these shorts have become forever lost.

It's a crying shame, the testament to the beauty of this animated feature is that even after not having watched it in over 25 years, I was still able to remember the story, the songs and the wonderful characters. Certain scenes stayed with me for years. At one point, I wasn't sure if it had all been real or not but after talking to friends here, I was glad to see that many others here had also watched it during the holidays.

As a child, the religious symbolism was lost on me but not the moral of the tale, the story of selflessness as ultimately being a good. It's a much needed reminder for children today and unfortunate that today's animated features shy away from such topics and fail to meet the quality of this charming little feature. Do yourself a favour and try finding a VHS copy either through ebay or Amazon, you won't regret it and nor will members of your family. This one is a keeper.

A well known story. seductive animation. and the perfect clothes for a noble message. short, ideal adaptation for "The Selfish Giant". in few scenes almost better than the original tale. for the sweetness of drawing, for the delicacy of details, for the atmosphere, for gentle manner to translate in lovely - convincing images a seductive universe. a film who you fell. scene by scene. more than a good animation. as a lovely memory. defining yourself.

This little animated movie is very true to the story by Oscar Wilde and does a nice job of capturing the spirit and sensitivity of his writing. The music is fabulous, a sort of choral modern Celtic, that adds a lot to the overall experience. The animation is equally wonderful. It is a shame that it is not more well known. The religious slant of the story should not put viewers off in that it is first and foremost an extremely positive story simply stating that selfishness is wrong, something I think that anyone could understand and appreciate. That Wilde accomplishes this ethical depiction through the Christian example is particularly touching if one is aware of Wilde's own life experiences. Whether one is knows of Wilde's writings and biography or not this little movie is an immensely worthwhile experience. It left a tear and smile when I was a kid and it still does. If you enjoy bittersweet animated shorts like "The Snowman" then this is a movie for you (and the kids)

As a child every year in school we were shown The Selfish Giant and The Happy Prince at Christmas time. I loved both of them and looked forward to the annual viewing. Well as time goes by you stop watching such wonderful films in school but these two movies stuck with me in my memory. Unfortunately I could never remember the titles of the films in order to look for them. I asked a lot of people if they knew the films but no one recognized them from my descriptions. What a shame that more people haven't seen these two hidden gems. Other people have already described the stories on their respective pages so let me just say to parents everywhere, if you can find these movies, buy them and watch them with your children these films have the ability to create a special bond between everyone. The films do have religious undertones but I am not a religious person and enjoy them immensely, even more so for their messages. Do yourself a favour and hunt them down.

This is amazing.... This animation and story has stayed with me for almost 30 years!!!!!

Can't get hold of it in the UK, would love to. This is by the best animation of this great story. I love the images, of the frost, snow and the hail, dancing on the roof of the castle. I watched a new animation this week 26/12/03, and it was awful, changed completely, even the words to the story. Some things should never change, they are perfect and should remain that way...Like The Selfish Giant