| The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation Drama Family |
| Based on | The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop |
| Teleplay by | Maxine Fisher |
| Directed by | Michael Sporn |
| Starring | John Lithgow Crystal Gayle |
| Theme music composer | David Evans |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Michael Sporn |
| Running time | 25 min. |
| Production companies | Random House[1] HBO[2] |
| Budget | $265,000[3] |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | December 8, 1993 |
| Related | |
| The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale is an animated TV special produced and directed by Michael Sporn and written by Maxine Fisher, adapted by Tish Rabe. Produced by Michael Sporn Animation, Random House and HBO,[4] it aired on December 8, 1993 as part as the HBO Storybook Musicals series.[5] As the title implies, the story is an adaptation of the Aesop fable, where it was set around Christmastime. The special's two main characters, Emily and Alexander, were voiced respectively by Crystal Gayle and John Lithgow.
In 1994, Random House Children's Media published a children's book titled The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: Christmas Is Where the Heart Is, which was based on the animated special. The book was written by Maxine Fisher and illustrated by Jerry Smath.
The main characters would later appear in the second iteration of Cinar's animated series, The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures, which also aired on HBO.