Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

Director:

Burny Mattinson

Writers:

Burny Mattinson (story) &
Tony Marino (story) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Short | Animation

Tagline:

He's back! Mickey Mouse - in his first new motion picture in 30 years...

Plot:

The classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Spirit | Scrooge McDuck | Giant | Family Relationships

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Alan Young	...	Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) (voice)
Wayne Allwine	...	Bob Cratchit - Mickey Mouse / Weasel Gravedigger / Begger Dog (voice)
Hal Smith	...	Jacob Marley's Ghost (Goofy) / Collector for the Poor #1 (voice)
Will Ryan	...	Collector for the Poor #2 / The Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) / Ghost of Christmas Future (Pete) (voice)
Eddie Carroll	...	Ghost of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket) (voice) (as Eddy Carroll)
Patricia Parris	...	Belle (Daisy Duck) (voice)
Dick Billingsley	...	Tiny Tim (voice)
Clarence Nash	...	Nephew Fred / Donald Duck (voice)

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:F (Ontario) | USA:G | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec)

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Of all the songs on the original album, only "Oh What A Merry Christmas Day" made it to the animated cartoon. The rest of them - including one sung by Ebenezer Scrooge that was called "How Christmas Ought To Be" - were all dropped for some reason, and the lyrics were rendered into normal dialog.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Jacob Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by 3 spirits, he holds up 2 fingers instead of 3.

Quotes:

Cratchit: Ha-ha. That Fred, always so full of kindness.
Scrooge: Aye, he always was a little peculiar
[the doorbell rings again]
Scrooge: AND stubborn!

Movie Connections:

References Robin Hood (1973)

Soundtrack:

Oh, What a Merry Christmas Day

Charming Disney featurette

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 in Victorian attire in 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 (who else?). The usual plot ensues, complete with numerous cameos from a whole range of Disney characters from Donald Duck to Jiminy Cricket.

This featurette is by all means a charming holiday piece worthy of viewing by people of all ages. 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, who eventually came to make pure gold like "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast", 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 nostalgia-invoking piece of fun or a genuinely involving and inspiring adaptation, and it does become a "Where's Waldo" of Disney characters. This can be charming, but equally, some of the castings do seem a bit off; I can't help but think Goofy ended up as Jacob Marley simply due to the fact that they needed to give him a part. Also, at only around 25 minutes, the film does seem a bit rushed. It perhaps wouldn't have worked as a feature film, but between 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.