View source for The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You

{{more citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You
| image =
| caption =
| director = [[Gerald Potterton]]
| producer = William Litwack<br>Ronald A. Weinberg
| writer = [[Don Arioli]]<br>[[Gerald Potterton]]<br>William Litwack
| starring = [[Roger Daltrey]]<br>[[Ed Asner]]
| music = [[Milan Kymlicka]]
| cinematography =
| editing = Nathalie Rossin
| studio = [[Cinar]]<br>[[MoonScoop Group|France Animation S.A.]]
| distributor = [[CTV Television Network]]
| released = {{Film date|1992|1|4}}
| runtime = 30 minutes
| language = English
| country = Canada<br>France
| budget =
| gross  =
}}
'''''The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You''''' is a French 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 [[MoonScoop Group|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.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147212/plotsummary IMDB plot summary]</ref>
==Cast==
* [[Ed Asner]] as Charlie
* [[Roger Daltrey]] as Barnaby
* Sonja Ball as Olivia
* [[A.J. Henderson]] as Chef Henri
* Liz MacRae as Maid
* [[Judi Richards]] 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.
[[Czechs|Czech]]oslovakian-born Canadian composer [[Milan Kymlicka]] provided the music for the film. He has also composed music for other Canadian TV series such as ''[[Babar (TV series)|Babar]]'', ''[[Rupert (TV series)|Rupert]]'', ''[[The Busy World of Richard Scarry]]'', ''[[The Legend of White Fang]]'', ''[[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]]
* 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]]
==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==
{{reflist}}
{{Roger Daltrey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Story of Happy Birthday to You, The}}
[[Category:1992 animated short films]]
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:Canadian animated short films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gerald Potterton]]
[[Category:Animated films based on songs]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s Canadian animated films]]
[[Category:Animated films about birthdays]]
[[Category:Animated films set on farms]]
[[Category:Animated films about horses]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]