Real life father and daughter Danny Thomas and Marlo Thomas played father and daughter in this cartoon special.
Cricket on the Hearth (1967) is Rankin/Bass Productions' 2nd Christmas-themed and holiday-themed animated TV special, following Rudolph, le petit renne au nez rouge (1964). It is also the animation company's 2nd traditionally animated (i.e. hand-drawn) TV special, and its 5th overall animated TV special.
Charles Dickens wrote the novella "The Cricket on the Hearth," which is the basis for Cricket on the Hearth (1967), in 1845. It was Dickens' 3rd Christmas novella following "A Christmas Carol" (1843) and "The Chimes" (1844). Despite being a bestseller upon its initial publication, the story is not quite as popular or as well known to modern audiences as "A Christmas Carol". In fact, Danny Thomas, who hosted the special, provided the voice of Caleb, and served as one of the Executive Producers, did not know that Dickens wrote the original story before becoming involved in the production.
Cricket on the Hearth (1967) is Rankin/Bass Productions' first ever production based on a story written by Charles Dickens. The company would go on to produce A Christmas Tree (1972), based on Dickens' short story of the same name that was originally published in 1850, and The Stingiest Man in Town (1978), based on Dickens' 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol."
This was one of the first Rankin Bass specials to feature an updated Videocraft logo with the classic R/B music at the end of original airings.