Plot: The tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is one that has been told in countless forms. Even Mickey Mouse and his friends gave us a take on the timeless holiday story, as seen in Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Scrooge McDuck is given the role of Scrooge (obviously) and while everyone around him is in the holiday spirit, he sees no reason for all the cheer. He is driven by money and hard work, not warm feelings and time spent with friends & family. He even overworks his faithful assistant Bob Cratchit (played by Mickey Mouse), who despite Scrooge’s miserly ways, remains hopeful about his family’s holiday togetherness. Soon, Scrooge is visited by a series of ghosts who show him his past and even his future, in an effort to reveal life’s true riches. But can a cold heart like Scrooge’s be melted, even by these kind of grand visions?
Entertainment Value: The title kind of says it all here, as this Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol with Disney staples in all the roles, for a festive animated take on the timeless narrative. Some branded versions of these kind of classics come off as forced, as the characters feel shoehorned in, but that isn’t the case here. The Disney lot fit into most of the roles quite well, especially Mickey as the long suffering assistant and of course, Scrooge as well, Scrooge. At just under half an hour, Mickey’s Christmas Carol moves at a nice clip and hits most of the crucial plot points, while glossing over the darker side of the material, as you’d expect. The core of the story remains intact however, just shined up a little to be more kid friendly and such. So expect more about holiday cheer and good will than hard learned lessons, but overall Mickey’s Christmas Carol is more than solid and well worth a spin around the holidays.
This is a short, so the animation isn’t up to Disney’s theatrical feature levels, but it still has some great visual touches. The animation is smooth and detailed, with all the magic that hand drawn animation provides, though again, not quite as refined as the feature films possess. The Disney regulars all look as they should and while this might not be a big screen classic, it certainly looks better than some of the studio’s direct to video style releases. The voice cast the usual suspects, though this would be the final performance by Clarence Nash as Donald Duck, while Wayne Allwine would step in for the first time as Mickey Mouse, so there’s some Disney historical value there. The cast also has Hal Smith, Tasos Kostis, Alan Young, and Will Ryan.
Marc Fusion 