Le Noël de Mickey

Scrooge Mcduck ( voiced by Alan Young) is the most rotten richman in town, he's as sour as a grapefruit but has no feeling about others. He is haunted by his former partner Jacob Marley ( played by Goofy) and 3 spirits ( Jimminy Cricket, Willy The Giant from " Fun and Fancy Free" and Pete) show him about his past, present and future so he can change his ways.

A highly entertaining, well done and nicely drawn animated short. It's quite a memorable short, it's also shown on the made-for-video christmas movie " House of Mouse: It snowed at the House of Mouse".

10/10.

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.

One of the Christmas programs that I always used to watch as a child at that time of year was Disney and Mickey Mouse's version of Dicken's classic, 'A Christmas Carol'. Disney characters are cast into the parts of the characters in this famous story. Goofy plays the ghost, Mickey plays the under-payed business partner, Scrooge McDuck plays Scrooge, Daisy Duck plays the love interest, among the cast of other characters. Think of this short (probably 30-minute) cartoon as the ultimate children's story of 'A Christmas Carol'. I have very fond memories of watching this, and it made me feel all Christmasy and anxious for Christmas. I wish that they would continue to show this and other Christmas programmes on the television nowdays. :( I remember the fear of seeing Scrooge almost cast into the never-ending grave, and the happiness when he learns the real spirit of Christmas. It really is a special Christmas film.

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.

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.