Written by Burny Mattinson And Tony L. Marino And Ed Gombert And Don Griffith And Alan Young And Alan Dinehart
Directed by Burny Mattinson
Marley: "Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits. Listen to 'em. Do what they say, or your chains will be heavier than mine. Farewell, Ebenezer. Farewell..."
I had to get in at least one more version of A Christmas Carol in before the big event next week and this popped up on my social media feeds due to it's anniversary this week. It's been forty two years.
Now we all know the story but let's have the Disney version. In this one we get Scrooge McDuck (Alan Young) as Ebenezer Scrooge and it's true to form. He's not particularly enthusiastic about Christmas and wasn't best thrilled that his long suffering employee Bob Cratchit (Wayne Allwine) aka Mickey Mouse wanted time off for Christmas Day.
On top of that, Scrooge also had a way of rationalising not giving money to the poor and being openly scornful of his cheery nephew, Fred (Clarence Nash) aka Donald Duck. The only person that Scrooge seemed to admire was his deceased partner, Jacob Marley (Hal Smith) aka Goofy. There's a lesson to be learned from the former Jacob Marley as Scrooge was about to find out.
The lesson came in the form of three Ghosts - Christmas Past/Jiminy Cricket (Eddie O'Carroll), Christmas Present/Willie the Giant (Will Ryan) and of course, Christmas Future/Pete (Will Ryan). This meant getting glimpses of Scrooge's past, including a lost love named Isabelle/Daisy Duck (Patricia Parris), the potential death of Tiny Tim (Dick Billingsley) and his own demise.
Of course it did end as these adaptations normally do. Scrooge had a change of heart, rewarded the poor while promoting Bob Cratchit and giving toys to Tiny Tim and his siblings. It's a very sweet ending to a rather brisk adaptation of the most popular Christmas story.
- Minnie Mouse appeared as Mrs Cratchit while the Weasels were gravediggers. Ratty and Moley collected for the poor.
- This was released with a reissue of The Rescuers (1977).
- Standout music: Oh, What A Merry Christmas Day used at the start and end of the film.
- Chronology: 1800s Christmas Eve and Day.
It's been a long while since I've seen Mickey's Christmas Carol but for a movie that's shorter than half an hour, it's a lot of fun. Great use of the characters, some funny lines and a heartwarming ending.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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