| Genre: | Children's special Religious |
| Based On: | [1] |
| Teleplay: | Jeffrey Scott Jeanne Betancourt |
| Director: | Animation: Bernard Deyriès Live action: Colin Chilvers |
| Starring: | Christopher Fitzgerald Jenna von Oÿ Andrew Cassese Scott Menville Sandi Patti Paul Winchell Phil Proctor |
| Theme Music Composer: | Joe Raposo |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Animation: Jean Chalopin Andy Heyward Tetsuo Katayama |
| Editor: | Live-action segments: Stan Wernow |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes[2] |
| Company: | ABC Productions DIC Animation City Diane Kerew Productions |
| Budget: | US$1.5 million[3] |
| Network: | ABC |
| Released: | [4] |
| Related: | The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten (1990) |
The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure (onscreen title: Kingdom Chums)[1] is a 1986 animated television special, inspired by the Biblical tale of David and Goliath, and originally broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. In the special, three schoolchildren from the real world are transported into the world of the Bible, with the help of three magical stuffed animals. One of them, a raccoon named David, becomes his Biblical namesake and faces off against a giant bull named Goliath.
Little David's Adventure was created (and originally written) by Squire Rushnell, head of the children's programming department at ABC. The special, featuring live-action and animated segments, was produced by the network and DIC Animation City. It premiered on ABC on November 28, 1986 to low ratings and subsequent mixed reviews. Out of several attempts to continue the franchise, a video sequel called The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten debuted in 1990, and aired as an ABC Weekend Special two years later.
A boy named Peter, his sister Mary Ann, and his Jewish classmate Sauli are students of the All Nations School. One day at the school, bullies pick on Sauli and throw his yarmulke away. While trying to get it, Sauli accidentally knocks over a box that Mary Ann is keeping her pet bird in. Thinking he has killed it, he feels worried when the children reach home.
A strange, bright constellation suddenly appears in the sky outside their window. Peter consults his computer for the formation, but finds out it does not exist. After Mary Ann takes a look for herself, she uses a pen to reveal the word "LOVE" on the screen. Eventually, the lights swarm inside and bring her stuffed toys to life - Little David, the Raccoon of Courage; Christopher, the Lion of Love; and Magical Mose, the Tiger of Joy.[5] No sooner do the creatures appear inside the computer than the children are zapped into it.
Peter, Mary Ann and Sauli end up being animated characters, and the animals introduce themselves as the Kingdom Chums. Following a magical beam called the "Love Light", the children travel to ancient Israel with David, one of the Chums. The raccoon enacts his Biblical namesake, gets into battle with his fellow Israelites, and is granted a challenge from King Saul (who is portrayed as a lion) to fight against the giant warthog,[6] Goliath.
David prepares his slingshot with some stones, and faces the tall Philistine foe. He throws one of the stones upon Goliath's forehead, and the giant crushes down to the ground. Peter, Sauli and Mary Ann are about to cheer for David's victory, but then his brothers suddenly chase after them. A rainbow carries the group back to Christopher and Mose, who return them back to where they started.
The children realize that only one minute has passed in the real world since their adventure began. Thanks to her faith (and her toys), Mary Ann is delighted to see her bird alive. As Sauli heads to his apartment for dinner, he manages to face his bullies with his own faith and overcome them.
| Name | Character | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Live action scenes | ||
| Mary Ann | ||
| Peter | ||
| Sauli | ||
| Animated scenes | ||
| Little David | ||
| Little David (singing voice) | ||
| Magical Mose | ||
| Billy Bowles | Christopher / Cat Soldier | |
| Goliath / Fox Soldier #3 | ||
| Elias / Fox Soldier #2 | ||
| King Saul | ||
| Rat Soldier / Frog Servant / Fox Soldier #1 | ||
Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure was conceived by Squire Rushnell, who was the vice-president of the ABC network's children's programming department.[5] In the early 1980s, Rushnell wrote a book version of the special,[5] [7] which took him at least six years to develop;[8]
During development, Rushnell was influenced by Disney animated films such as 1973's Robin Hood, and modeled the All Nations School after New York City's United Nations International School. He based two of the animal characters on Bible characters - Christopher after Jesus, and Magical Mose on Moses. He also toned down the climax of the original David and Goliath story, in which David cuts the Goliath's head.[10] Along with bookending live-action segments, the special also featured animation work from DIC Animation City. The animation unit's director, Bernard Deyriès, was previously among the major crew of 1985's Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer.[11] The songs, composed by Sesame Streets Joe Raposo, included "Greatest Stories of All", "Child of God" and "Your Love Makes Me Strong".
The Kingdom Chums special premiered on ABC on November 28, 1986, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, pre-empting Webster and Mr. Belvedere.[12] In the Nielsen ratings, it was among the lowest-ranked programs during the week of November 24 - 30[13] (out of 70 tracked), along with another family special, Disney's Fluppy Dogs.[14] Little David's Adventure came in at 66th place with an 8.6 rating.
Reporting on the special in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Noel Holston gave a negative response:
Alan Bunce of The Christian Science Monitor gave a mixed review: "Creatively, the program easily qualifies as high-quality children's entertainment. But reaction to the message will also depend on a viewer's individual tolerance of the show's free-wheeling treatment of religious themes, and its use of fantasy, magic, and symbolism in delivering Judeo-Christian messages. These flow through the dialogue and the show's bouncy musical numbers."[15] Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Press was concerned over the depiction of Bible characters as animals, and their merchandising potential thereof. On the character of David, he wrote, "... I suppose [he] has suffered greater indignities than being turned into a religious Care Bear." The Hollywood magazine Variety (in its December 10, 1986 issue) thought it was ill-suited as a network show for children, and remarked that the "plodding story has too little action or humor or plot to keep many kids entertained". In 1989, Texe Marrs referred to Little David's Adventure as "sacrilegious and New Age to the hilt".[16] The special received a positive review from Dale and Karen Mason, the authors of 1996's How to Get the Best Out of TV Before It Gets the Best Out of You.[17]
From the time of Kingdom Chums initial broadcast, ABC planned several follow-up specials along with a regular series.[18] One of the planned specials involved a bear named Princess Essie, in an adaptation of the story of Esther; another was to be based on the New Testament. By late 1987, the network looked into partnering with The Walt Disney Company on a series of hour-long episodes.[19] Instead, Little David's Adventure was followed by a 1990 video sequel, The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten. A new animation team, headed by Rick Reinert, worked on the production; this time, there were no live-action segments. One character, Osborne, replaces the previous protagonist Sauli here, and some character names were altered as well. It also aired in April 1992,[20] and again in April 1993, as part of the ABC Weekend Specials anthology.
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