Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a 1983 animated short picture directed by Burny Mattinson (The Great Mouse Detective, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty), and stars Alan Young, Wayne Allwine and Hal Smith. The film follows classic Disney animated characters who play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece novel.
UNDER THE LENS: ADAPTATION AND CHARACTERS
Adaptation: Charles Dickens seminal work A Christmas Carol, is at once very short and very dense. Its a work of fiction, but also a story brimming with social justice, religion and a critique of capitalism. Mickey’s Christmas Carol had a daunting task to adapt such a work, however for the most part it really succeeds in doing so. Tasked with adapting the whole novel into a runtime of 26 minutes including credits seems nigh impossible, however I was shocked to find the animated short managed to retain not only all the heart of the novel, but also its many themes and lessons. It moves at a brisk pace and does trim out much from the original novel, but does keep the overall themes of the story intact.
Disney Characters: Now of course the main draw of this short film is not the original story but seeing the many Disney characters play roles within the world of A Christmas Carol. Mickey’s Christmas Carol manages to deliver on this in spades, as we see characters such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, J. Thaddeus Toad and Jiminy Cricket. It truly is a celebration of Disney’s long history as they all come together to play a part in the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge. The beauty of this though is how it is done, while we all want to see the cameos the story is not reliant on them. One could watch it with no knowledge of Disney animation history and still come away with a well told story.
HIGHLIGHTS
The opening credits are beautifully rendered
The theme song “Oh What a Merry Christmas Day” is wonderfully used.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
Scrooge: What’s this world coming to, Cratchit? You work all your life to get money… then people want you to give it away.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
When was the first time you saw Mickey’s Christmas Carol? Is it a part of your yearly rotation of Christmas pictures to watch?
CONCLUSION
Overall Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a charming bit of Disney nostalgia, with a catchy theme song, lovable characters and a slick script, it manages to retain all that was good about Dickens masterpiece while also adding its own Disney spin. I revisited this for this review after many years and was very pleased to see it held up very well. I first was introduced to this picture as a child and watched it countless times as I grew up, when I re-watched it I was filled with a sweet nostalgia for better times, when the world was not quite so insane. If you have not see Mickey’s Christmas Carol, it is streaming on Disney Plus and is very much worth the watch, if you are a fan of A Christmas Carol or Disney’s animated catalog.