The story is based on an actual Irish folk tale, though at first I wondered if it was really a traditional story because it was so violent and morally suspect. Then I realized that most folk tales really are violent and morally suspect but have been cleaned up over the years for modern sensibilities (such as the Goldilocks, who was eaten in the original tale). I checked up on the tale and found it at www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cft/cft09.htm but was surprised to see that the original tale was a lot worse!! Sure, there was killing and theft and the like, but the original tale's ending was even more awful! Because of this, it really isn't a great story for young kids but it is an important part of folklore and might be of interest to those who are into these sort of traditional tales.
IMDb lists this as an animated film sponsored by The National Film Board of Canada, but this isn't exactly true. While the film consists of drawings, there is no animation--it's really a slide show with excellent narration. The drawings are nice but I really can't give the tale a higher score because it just isn't much to speak of technically--though it is interesting.