''The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You'' is a French Canadian children's animated short film directed by
Gerald Potterton
Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a British–Canadian director, writer, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic '' Heavy Metal'' and his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''.
Potterton wa ...
as part of ''The Real Story of...'' / ''Favorite Songs'' animated anthology series. The short was produced by
Cinar and
France Animation in association with Crayon Animation and
Western Publishing and was released in January 1992 in the United States. It also features the voices of
Ed Asner and
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
.
Plot
The story involves neglected child Olivia, whose only friends are Charlie the Horse and Barnaby the Stablehand. Olivia wants her own special birthday song, but her evil caretaker tries to keep her from hearing it.
IMDB plot summary
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Cast
* Ed Asner as Charlie
* Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
as Barnaby
* Sonja Ball as Olivia
* A.J. Henderson
AJ, or variants, may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters
* A. J. (''The Fairly OddParents''), a fictional character
* A.J. Soprano, a fictional character in ''The Sopranos''
* Superspinner AJ, a fictional character in t ...
as Chef Henri
* Liz MacRae as Maid
* Judi Richards
Judi Richards (born 12 August 1949) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter.
Born in Toronto, Richards is the daughter of musician Bill Richards and actress Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore). She has sung numerous jingles for the Canadian B ...
as Maid
* Carlyle Miller as Gardener
* Dan Lebel as Gardener
* Tony Robinow as Lord O/Snitchgrovel
* Paula Harding Howe as Lady O
Production
The film was produced in 1991.
Czechoslovakian-born Canadian composer Milan Kymlicka provided the music for the film. He has also composed music for other Canadian TV series such as ''Babar
Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ...
'', ''Rupert
Rupert may refer to:
People
* Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert"
Places Canada
*Rupert, Quebec, a village
*Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay
*Rupert River, Quebec
*Rupert' ...
'', '' The Busy World of Richard Scarry'', ''The Legend of White Fang
''The Legend of White Fang'' is an animated television series based on the 1906 novel ''White Fang'' by Jack London. The show focuses on the main dog protagonist and a young human companion, 12-year-old female Wendy Scott, in the place of the nov ...
'', ''The Adventures of Paddington Bear'', Lassie (1997 TV series), the 1997 version of ''Lassie'', ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''Night Hood'' and ''The Neverending Story (TV series), The Neverending Story''.
Songs
* The Girlie Wants a Song
: Music by Milan Kymlicka, Lyrics by Gerald Potterton
Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a British–Canadian director, writer, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic '' Heavy Metal'' and his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''.
Potterton wa ...
* The Birthday Contest Medley
: Music by Milan Kymlicka, Lyrics by Gerald Potterton
Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a British–Canadian director, writer, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic '' Heavy Metal'' and his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''.
Potterton wa ...
* Happy Birthday to You
: Used by permission Warner Bros. Music, Written by Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill
Broadcast
The film was first broadcast on CTV Television Network and then on Family Channel (Canadian TV channel), Family Channel and Showcase (Canadian TV channel), Showcase in Canada and later on HBO in the USA. It has also been airing on Cartoon Network (UK & Ireland), Cartoon Network and the BBC in the UK, Radio Television Brunei, RTB in Brunei, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC TV in Australia, ATV World in Hong Kong, M-Net and SABC1 in South Africa, RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, Suria (TV channel), Prime 12, Central (TV channel), Premiere 12 and Channel 5 (Singaporean TV channel), Channel 5 in Singapore, TPI (Indonesia), TPI in Indonesia, TV1 (Malaysia), TV1 in Malaysia, British Forces Broadcasting Service, BFBS and Services Sound and Vision Corporation, SSVC Television in Germany, Arutz HaYeladim in Israel and TVNZ 2, Channel 2 in New Zealand. All twenty channels have aired it along with all the other animated short films in ''The Real Story of...'' / ''Favorite Songs'' series.
Home media
It was first released on video by Golden Book Video and later Sony Wonder in the USA and released again by ABC Video and Roadshow Entertainment. The Australian release also contained another short film ''Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, The Real Story of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'' which featured the voices of Vanna White and Martin Short.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Story of Happy Birthday to You, The
1992 short films
1992 films
Canadian animated short films
Films directed by Gerald Potterton
Films based on songs
1990s animated short films
1990s English-language films
1990s Canadian films