Although the animation is nothing to write home about, the writing is excellent. The characters let their actions speak for them, never obviously peddling their themes of goodness, sacrifice, generosity, and kindness. Randy Travis' mellow narrative ills in the storyline and sets the stage for the coming scenes. The one underdeveloped story thread is Aunt Agnes's reasons for wanting Billy to live with her. She is way too self-serving to act out of concern for Billy or his grandfather, and yet why she would simply want to spread unhappiness is unclear.