Mickey's Christmas Carol (DVD)

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As a reviewer, I've never felt it's my job to tell anyone what to buy or what not to buy, but rather to present the "facts" as I see them so people can make their own decisions. But I'm tempted to break that informal rule with "Walt Disney Animation Collection Volume 7: Mickey's Christmas Carol." Not only do you get Disney's warm-hearted (and considerably more family-friendly) version of Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol, but you also get Disney's excellent adaptation of the Charles Tazewell book about an abused and undervalued little donkey who finds his place in life by carrying the pregnant wife of a certain kind man to Bethlehem. That's two wonderful Christmas 26-minute shorts in the same package, with two cartoon short-shorts ("Pluto's Christmas Tree" and "Santa's Workshop") thrown in, all for the suggested retail price of $14.95. At that price, and with this quality of transfer and presentation, it's hard not to recommend it.

The fun of watching "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) is two-fold. First, of course, there's the curiosity of seeing how Disney handles each scene of the famous Dickens' tale about Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser and miserable boss who's visited by the ghost of his crooked partner, then the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future--all of which are designed to help him reform before it's too late. But just as visitors to the Disney theme parks have fun looking for "hidden Mickeys" everywhere, families will get a kick out of looking for familiar characters in this lavishly drawn and peopled adaptation. Scrooge is played by, who else? Scrooge McDuck, while the ghost of Marley (that's Jacob, not Bob) is played by Goofy--no doubt so his silly antics can help children get past the fear factor of the haunting. Likewise, lovable Jiminy Cricket plays the ghost of Christmas past, the big-but-benign Willie the Giant plays the ghost of Christmas present, and Pete plays the ghost of Christmas future. Mickey is Bob Crachit, Scrooge's loyal employee, while Minnie is Mrs. Crachit and Ferdy and Morty Mouse play the Crachit children, including the crippled Tiny Tim. But street scenes yield up sightings of the Big Bad Wolf and Three Little Pigs, and characters ranging from Disney's tortoise and the hare to movie "stars" from "The Aristocats," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," "Robin Hood," and "Wind in the Willows" have cameos. Careful eyes also will spot Goofy not only as Marley's ghost, but as a street-corner Santa. Just about every major Disney character makes an appearance except Pluto, for reasons that no one has yet explained. But aside from that, it's a cast of thousands. Well, dozens, at least.

The story is so well-known that it hardly requires a summary, but Disney's version is so well-drawn and animated that it's a pleasure to watch. Traditional presentations of Dickens' tale can be quite frightening and grotesque, but the Disney version is softened so that even the youngest children can watch without being traumatized. How a wonderful Oscar-nominated cartoon short like this could lose to the claymation "Sundae in New York" is beyond me. Then again, I can see where familiarity may have worked against this title. Disney blazed no new ground with "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and everyone knows Dickens' tale. But Disney did a really fine job of it, and when you compare it to other animated versions (the Flintstones come to mind), it's like the difference between pre-ghost Scrooge and the reformed old skinflint. For Disneyphiles, the film has a few distinctions as well. It's the first film in which Wayne Allwine took over the voice of Mickey Mouse, and the first time that Alan Young voiced Scrooge. But it's the last film in which Clarence Nash gave voice to Donald Duck. It's also the first animate short starring Mickey Mouse in 30 years, so it was quite an event when it was released.