Mickey's Christmas Carol

Mickey's Christmas Carol is not a full-length movie, which is to it's merit.

As with any adaption of a Christmas Carol, the less seen of annoying Tiny Tim, the better.

Carl Barks' Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer Scrooge as various other Disney Characters teach him to be kind and not miserly with the tried and true 3-celebrity ghosts formula.

The true entertainment isn't in the plot but in the nuances of the character behavior, for example, Scrooge's first encounter with the ghost of Jacob Marley.

Since it's a half-hour Christmas special, Mickey's Christmas Carol moves at a rather fast pace, free of songs or other distractions that may bore those with short attention spans.

All in all, I highly recommend this piece of work.

You've probably seen every incarnation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to come down the pike - Lord knows, if humanity stopped making a new version every season, we'd still have enough to watch one a year for the remainder of man's time on Earth.

But when they star Mickey Mouse, you can forgive just one more.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" tells the same tale yet again, only this time through the sensibilities of the mouse and his pals (Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, etc.). But how could you leave out the obvious casting of Scrooge McDuck. Want to guess which part HE plays?

As voiced by Disney stalwart Alan Young, Scrooge embodies greed, bitterness and eventual redemption all in one package, and even makes such expected lines as "Bah, HUMBUG" ring true.

If this cartoon has one flaw, it's that it doesn't have the same kind of irreverent spirit and sharp wit that so many of Disney's other movies and cartoon shorts have. Maybe it was a rush job?

Well, it still has the admitted high point of the Ghost of Christmas Present (best known as Willie the Giant from "Mickey and the Beanstalk") stomping through 19th century England and using lamp posts as flashlights and prying roofs off of houses to peek inside and expounding on "Pis-smashio" yogurt.

It still lets the meaning of the season shine through and gives you a warm glow in your heart...and isn't that what cartoons (especially Christmas cartoons) are supposed to do?

Eight stars for Mickey and company - and God bless us, everyone.

This is beautifully animated, and faithful to the much loved Dickens story. It is a bit short, but most of the Disney Christmas specials are barely over an hour, so I don't think it as an issue. Scrooge, great to hear Alan Young's voice again, is a miser who hates Christmas, much to the despair of his clerk Bob Cratchit, earnestly voiced by Wayne Allwine. He is visited by three spirits, after being warned by Jacob Marley, who convince him once and for all to change his ways! The animation is beautiful, as is the title song, an occurring motif in the mini-film. (It's only 25 minutes.)When Scrooge thinks Tiny Tim is dead, I had tears in my eyes, and that rarely happens. There are truly entertaining appearances from Jiminy Cricket, Goofy, Willy the Giant, Donald Duck and Toad from Wind in the Willows. Other than its length, I had no real quibble with the movie, so it is a 10/10. Bethany Cox

Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) is a miserly greedy duck. His clerk Bob Cratchit (Mickey Mouse) is overworked and underpaid. His nephew Fred (Donald Duck) invites him to Christmas dinner. He is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley (Goofy) who tells him about the approaching 3 spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket) shows him the past and the origins of his miserable ways when he foreclose on Isabelle (Daisy Duck) for being an hour late rather than marrying her. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) shows him the hardship faced by Bob Cratchit and his family. Then the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him the funeral of little Tiny Tim.

For such a short running time, this is a well made version of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. It is snappy and quick. It's the essential highlights. It doesn't add anything new but it's done with great sincerity. It's a nice distillation of the original material that the kids will be able to follow.

In this Disney short film adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, the role of Ebenezer Scrooge is played by none other than Scrooge McDuck. Makes sense, really. The film is only 26 minutes long, but yet it manages to pack in all the essentials elements of a Christmas Carol, as well as a lot of good humour, touching drama and excellent Christmas spirit. Frankly it amazes me that they manage to juggle all these differing elements so skilfully. The film can go from joyous joke cracking to an honestly scary moment and from there straight to plucking your heartstrings.

The voice acting and animation are both superb Disney quality. The film is colourful and has aged barely any at all. It's also rather interesting to see Scrooge and Mickey, playing the role of Bob Cratchit, sharing a screen together. All in all the film is called Mickey's Christmas Carol and the character cast leans more towards Mickey and his supporting characters. They probably went with Scrooge because, well, he's named after the original character. There's really no other possible choice.

When a film works, it just works. This film isn't very long, but what it lacks in runtime, it more than makes up in charm, heart and sheer quality. Easily recommended.