Over a quarter of a century before a motion-capture Jim Carey muttered "Bah Humbug" for the house that Walt built, Mickey and numerous classic characters from the Disney stable got dolled in their best Victorian attire for an adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Yuletide tale: "Mickey's Christmas Carol". A sort of cartoon costume drama, Mickey plays the underpaid Bob Cratchitt to Scrooge McDuck's Ebeneezer Scrooge (what clichéd yet inspired casting!). The usual chain of events follows, complete with a whole range of Disney characters from Donald Duck to Jiminy Cricket playing the roles.
This featurette is by all means a charming holiday piece that can appeal to young and old alike. The animation and art direction, although relatively unspectacular given its unambitious nature, are quite stellar considering the fact that the animators working on this special, the future creators of "The Little Mermaid" et al, were essentially newcomers.
That is not to say "Mickey's Christmas Carol" is without fault. One slight issue is that the film does not seem to always know whether it wants to be a fun piece of nostalgia or a genuinely involving and inspiring adaptation, and it does become a "Where's Waldo" of Disney characters at times. This can be charming, but equally, some of the castings do seem a bit off; I can't help but think Goofy ended up in the role of Jacob Marley simply due to the fact that they felt that he needed a part. Also, at only around 25 minutes, the story progression does seem a bit hurried. The concept may have been a bit stretched as a feature film, but between five and ten minutes extra on the running time would have fleshed some of the rushed flashback scenes out.
Still, this gets a recommendation, either as a fun Disney Christmas special or as an introduction to Dickens for children.
This featurette is by all means a charming holiday piece that can appeal to young and old alike. The animation and art direction, although relatively unspectacular given its unambitious nature, are quite stellar considering the fact that the animators working on this special, the future creators of "The Little Mermaid" et al, were essentially newcomers.
That is not to say "Mickey's Christmas Carol" is without fault. One slight issue is that the film does not seem to always know whether it wants to be a fun piece of nostalgia or a genuinely involving and inspiring adaptation, and it does become a "Where's Waldo" of Disney characters at times. This can be charming, but equally, some of the castings do seem a bit off; I can't help but think Goofy ended up in the role of Jacob Marley simply due to the fact that they felt that he needed a part. Also, at only around 25 minutes, the story progression does seem a bit hurried. The concept may have been a bit stretched as a feature film, but between five and ten minutes extra on the running time would have fleshed some of the rushed flashback scenes out.
Still, this gets a recommendation, either as a fun Disney Christmas special or as an introduction to Dickens for children.