In the tradition of such Rankin-Bass productions as
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and
The Little Drummer Boy, the TV holiday special The Ballad of Smokey the Bear was made in the stop-motion Animagic process (simplistically described in the TV Guide listings as "animated mechanical puppets"). The story is narrated, and occasionally sung, by no less than
James Cagney, here providing the voice of Big Bear. Eight brand new songs, written by
Johnny Marks of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" fame, are heard in this saga of Smokey Bear's rise from cub-hood to his emergence as mascot for the US Forest Service's fire-prevention campaign. Curiously, the "official" voice of Smokey, Jackson Weaver, is not heard, though Weaver recorded an LP that was released concurrently with this program. The Ballad of Smokey the Bear made its NBC debut on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide