Film Synopsis:

“A story of some bells that rang an old year out and a new year in.” Written By Charles Dickens.

This classic clay-animated program is the newest release from the Billy Budd Collection. It’s New Year’s Eve. Toby Veck, a poor messenger, huddles in a church doorway waiting for work. The chimes in the tower ring out, but rather than finding comfort in their beauty, he wonders why he was even born. His cherished daughter Meg arrives with the news that she and her fiancé, a blacksmith, will marry the next day. Later, Toby saves a homeless man and his little niece from being jailed for trespassing. He shelters them in his own home. Toby falls asleep in front of the fire and dreams that his beloved Chimes summon him to their belfry. They take him to task for losing heart and show him how grim life would be without hope or love. He wakes up. It is New Year’s Day and time to celebrate his daughter’s wedding with a renewed spirit and faith in the future.