I saw this movie once when I was a small child (4 or 5),this was obviously very shortly after production. I am now 49 and I have thought often about the emotional impact that it had on me at such a young age. I was inconsolable the evening after watching this and the whole next day. I'm assuming this was because I was a very sensitive child and I was so young when I watched it. Back then children weren't so desensitized to raw emotion as they are today. Even still, I don't think that I would show this movie to a child as young and sensitive as I was. Just thinking about it, this movie is still a very memorable and emotional movie to think about. It just shows very well the lengths that a parent will go to to make their dying child happy when they don't know what else to do. It shows the assumptions that people will jump to without knowing the facts, It also shows the loving bond between a child and his pets. If you enjoy tearjerkers, then this one will do the job. I do still think of it most years around Christmas, and I'd really love to see it again. Just writing this review of a movie I saw 44 years ago brought tears to my eyes. A Wonderful depiction of love, humanity and sacrifice.