O Conto de Natal de Mr. Magoo

Right now I am trying to figure out what to do this Christmas, since the family tradition is a-tremor. The thought of being alone on Christmas deeply saddens me, and I think it goes back to seeing little Ebenezar Scrooge left behind in boarding school while all the other kids had families to go home to for Christmas.

I cried just like Mr. Magoo's older Scrooge did when he saw himself as a kid singing:

When you're alone, alone in the world When you're alone in the world Blown-away leaves get blown in the world Swirled-away leaves get swirled

A hand for each hand was planned for the world Why don't my fingers reach? Millions of grains of sand in the world Why's mine a lonely beach?

Where are the heels to click to my clack? Where is the voice to answer mine back? I'm all alone in the WOOOOORLD!!!

None of the other versions caught this scene the way this one does. Not Bugs Bunny, Bill Murray, Albert Finney, Mickey Mouse. Maybe Alistair Sim, sort of.

Simplistic, yes, but it's the scene that still sticks in my throat as I choke back an adult tear. It's the scene that makes this version, truly unique, all alone in the world.

Like others, I too had vivid memories of watching this as a child in the 60's. I could still remember the "razzleberry dressing" lines and the disembodied mouths singing the "Despicable" song some 30 years later when I finally saw it being broadcast again, and was able to record it off the air. Over the past ten years I've watched that tape repeatedly, and never cease to be amazed at the portrayal and the remarkable music and lyrics.

But it wasn't until I got the DVD version as a Christmas gift that I realized nearly ten minutes had been cut from that broadcast version. Imagine my delight to watch the DVD and "discover" three whole scenes (including two complete songs) that I'm sure I hadn't seen since the original prime time airings in the 60's. The DVD quality is excellent as well (in contrast to the annoying "speed change" glitches in the broadcast soundtrack).

If, as I do, you consider this a Christmas "classic", don't rely on broadcast showings -- get the DVD, and enjoy it in its entirety.

I just recently saw again this old beloved (for us baby boomer generation) Mr. Magoo cartoon version of "A Christmas Carol". The moment when Mr. Magoo sings "and on the tree a star of shining Christmas gold...", well I just felt this lump in my throat, and the tears well up....what a beautiful, beautiful version of this fable....improbable as it seems...it is the best version of "A Christmas Carol" ever made! The Alisdair Sim version is also great, dark and chilling, the early MGM version a treacly joyful delight--and this version combines the best elements of both--with the added bonus of one of the best original television scores ever written. There are even some acting and dramatic details that outshine the previous classic versions...This is the only Scrooge that in the beginning shows his rapturous love of money- -in the very catchy song celebrating the jingle/jangle of coins. Mr. Scrooge is still a miserable miser--but that glee is positively revelatory, positively addicting--and the viewer even has a little bit of affection for this Scrooge right away--and this doesn't show up in the other versions where Scrooge is simply a Scrooge until the end. So many others have commented on the poignancy of the heartbreaking song of loneliness sung by the young Scrooge left alone at the boarding school. The simple touch of the old Scrooge turning the song into a duet is simply masterful...showing Scrooge's turn-around simply, effectively and powerfully. "Winter was Warm" deserves to be a standard song (as other commentators have aptly described it!) It is quite simply, haunting. Used as an instrumental interlude--sometimes full and rich, as it appears during the opening titles, sometimes hauntingly mysterious as it appears between acts setting up the ghostly encounters on that mysterious Christmas Eve, it is always beautiful, always so very memorable. And that glorious song celebrating the joy of Christmas, sung by the Cratchit family at the beginning and end of the show--what a perfect song! It resonates long after the show has ended. This all adds up to an adaptation of the Dickens story that is joyful, heartbreaking and surprising real: the cartoon characters--including the simple/poignant depiction of the Cratchit family seems somehow more real and affecting than the other adaptations portrayed by Real people!!) In the versions with real people portraying these Dickens characters--they often come across as cartoonish, artificial and over-the-top. On the other hand, in this Mr. Magoo version, because they are already cartoon figures, they come across as almost more human, which makes their situations all the more poignant, all the more powerful. How cool is that? This film is one to treasure. If you have never seen it, you will immediately take it to your heart. If you have already seen it, I'm sure it has become a staple of your holiday viewing and will remain so forever!

This wonderful animated film is timeless. I had the special privilege of working with those talented individuals in this production. (I was the voice of young Ebenezer Scrooge.) Jim Backus, Royal Dano, Paul Frees, and all the rest were pure magic working together. You can imagine the antics that went on during rehearsals and taping. We were laughing almost as much of the time as we were performing our parts! The music (Walter Scharf, Bob Merrill, Jule Styne) had a style all its own which perfectly matched the characters and settings. It's no wonder this production has been so popular year after year. I'm sure it will continue to bring enjoyment to families for many years to come.

I join the many other writers who remember and treasure "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" with great fondness. Like others, I remember seeing it on its first night 40 years ago. Indeed, a time that seems simpler and nostalgic now. This week,I viewed a VHS tape copy I received and was really charmed and impressed by its quality. The animation is sweet, gentle and from an earlier time. The story adaptation from Dickens is excellent. The concept of Magoo on Broadway performing the "Carol" is really inventive and works well. What I strongly recommend to all is the outstanding and, at times, poignant music There is music and lyric here to equal and surpass much more famous shows. I hope that this wonderful treasure can be re-discovered and enjoyed by a new generation in the years to come. It deserves to be remembered and appreciated.