Mickey y sus amigos: Dulce o truco

I usually cringe whenever my 2.5yo son wants to watch Mickey, but this is a fantastic Halloween special that I actually look forward to watching with him.

The songs are a lot of fun, and the characters that I usually find annoying are enjoyable. The stop motion is detailed and done very well. It isn't too scary and the plot is fun. Witch Hazel is a cool baddie who isn't over the top, and the side characters are interesting (shoutout to the mummy). The Donald frog design is also chef's kiss.

Overall, it's a holiday special that is meant for kids so I'm not expecting Citizen Kane or anything. For what it is, it's outstanding.

On Halloween, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy are trick-or-treating. Even after their treat sacks are filled, Donald decides to trick-or-treat at the spookiest house in town, one belonging to Witch Hazel, a witch who is not friendly and does not like people trick-or-treating at her house. After Donald pushes her buttons one too many times, Witch Hazels invites them inside her house, where she casts a spell to turn them into their own costumes, with Goofy becoming a ghost, Minnie a spider, and Mickey a three-eyed monster. Now, the five venture back into With Hazel's castle on a quest to undo the spell.

The second Mickey Mouse special to be done in stop motion, this is a neat Halloween treat. Not too scary for younger kids, but filled with enough charm and Halloween content, and even teaches a good moral. Plus, the original songs are great and put you into the Halloween spirit.

I have been looking for good Halloween specials. This Disney TV special piqued my interest after I saw a clip of it on YouTube. This is my first Halloween-themed Disney+ program this year. This is also the first stop-motion Disney TV special I've seen, but I think it turns out rather well. The story centers around Mickey and his pals' Halloween trick-or-treating experience, during which Donald noticed a strange-looking mansion. That house, however, is owned by the cruel and unfriendly Witch Hazel from the Donald Duck short "Trick or Treat." When Hazel heard Mickey and his friends knocking on her door as she was ready to retire, she used a spell to make them transform into their costumes in retribution: Mickey as a real monster and Minnie as a real spider. Goofy as a real ghost. Daisy is a real princess, and Donald is a frog in princely clothes. Now, the buddies have a midnight deadline to locate the components needed to lift their curse.

This Halloween special is a lot of fun to watch with the family, especially if you have young children like my five-year-old nephew. Furthermore, the stop-motion animation is excellent, as I mentioned earlier.

I just love that Mickey and his friends have been treated so well by the staff at the animation studio. They have done such a wonderful job crafting this Halloween special and as an adult in his 30's I felt it in every frame that they cared about Mickey as much as I do. Disney can't exist without Mickey and I hope he and his friends get many more shows and movies that will be enjoyed by all ages.

To get back to the actual story in the Halloween special, music was fantastic, detailed characters and world, I was so surprised by the time end credits came that I have no idea if there was any flaw. Just watch it and let Disney know that we all could use some more Mickey!

Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats is quite a surprise honestly, because when I saw this appear on Disney+ I had no idea it was even in production. It also surprises me because of the fact that Disney talked about retiring Mickey Mouse again after their copyright concern.

I went to see this stop-motion special on the streaming service and I admire how well done the visuals are. Everything looks very colorful, the lighting is great, the textures are fuzzy, and they move a bit more naturally than even the Christmas stop-motion special. I want to give props to Stoopid Buddy Stoodios for their talented work.

Although the same cannot be said for the writing. I know I'm going to get a few downvotes for this but I feel like the writing is too kid friendly. The whole plot and most of the script feels like a 20 minute Disney Junior special rather than a special for a broader audience. There's barely any jokes, intensity, and the characters barely emote outside of happy and frightened. A lot of the dialogue is just characters saying what's obviously easy to figure out onscreen. This premiered on Disney Channel (and even Disney XD) yet it feels like it's made for really young children.

I feel like outside of the recently concluded Paul Rudish series, Disney is struggling to keep the sensational six enjoyable to people of all ages. Right now Mickey and friends feel too much like their preschool counterparts. Hopefully future projects will improve on breaking this habit, because I do love Mickey Mouse and wish to see Disney bring back the Mickey we truly loved.