The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You
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| The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gerald Potterton |
| Written by | Don Arioli Gerald Potterton William Litwack |
| Produced by | William Litwack Ronald A. Weinberg |
| Starring | Ed Asner Roger Daltrey Sonja Ball A.J. Henderson Liz MacRae Judi Richards Carlyle Miller Dan Lebel Tony Robinow Paula Harding Howe |
| Edited by | Nathalie Rossin |
| Music by | Milan Kymlicka |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | HBO Western Publishing |
Release date | January 4, 1992 |
Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You is a Canadian children's animated short film directed by Gerald Potterton 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.
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.[1]
Songs
- The Girlie Wants a Song
- Music by Milan Kymlicka, Lyrics by Gerald Potterton
- The Birthday Contest Medley
- Music by Milan Kymlicka, Lyrics by Gerald Potterton
- Happy Birthday to You
- Used by permission Warner Bros. Music, Written by Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill
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, Rupert, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Legend of White Fang, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, the 1997 version of Lassie, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Hood and The Neverending Story.
Broadcast history
The film was first broadcast on CTV Television Network in Canada and later on HBO in the USA. It has also been airing on Cartoon Network and the BBC in the UK, ABC TV in Australia, M-Net in South Africa, RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, Prime 12 and Channel 5 in Singapore, TV1 in Malaysia and Arutz HaYeladim in Israel. All eleven channels have aired it along with all the other animated short films in The Real Story of... / Favorite Songs series.
Video releases
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 which featured the voices of Vanna White and Martin Short.
Voices
- Charlie - Ed Asner
- Barnaby - Roger Daltrey
- Olivia - Sonja Ball
- Chef Henri - A.J. Henderson
- Maids - Liz MacRae, Judi Richards
- Gardeners - Carlyle Miller, Dan Lebel
- Lord O / Snitchgrovel - Tony Robinow
- Lady O - Paula Harding Howe