"Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" Christmas Special Review

Hi, I'm the Amateur Critic. I review just about anything.

You can say that I'm doing a review on another adaptation of the Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol. Now, this adaptation is unique... uniquely depressing! It's Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

I found this Christmas special with The Original Christmas Classics (2-Disc) DVD set from Rankin/Bass that one of my relatives brought home last month. I remember my grandma playing this special on Thanksgiving, and boy, did most of us regret it. Just think of this adaptation as a depressing version of the original Charles Dickens story. It tries to convey emotions, but does it in the most tragic way possible.
Alright. Let's get this tear-jerker over with. This is Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

Opening Scene:
We see the credits rolling, trying to be as fun and fancy free as it could possibly be, seeing that the Charles Dickens story is supposed to be serious when it comes time to retell the story.
-Boring.
Then we see that Jim Backus is the voice for Mr. Magoo.
-By the way, who's Jim Backus? (researching) Okay, some of you may know him from The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), The Brady Bunch (1971), Miracle on 34th Street (1973), and from Pete's Dragon (1977). (Like I'm entirely familiar with this guy...)
Mr. Magoo: (singing) "It's great to be back, back, back, back..."
-Oh great! Who wrote these lyrics? That phrase was so annoying!
Bob Merrill
Yeah, the musical genius that brought you "(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?" sung by Patti Page... (Great...)
As we move on, we get a strange opening.

-I mean, what are we even looking at? It's like the laws of physics and shapes didn't matter at all in this production.
We then see our main character Mr. Magoo, who's already up to his comedic antics, by driving the wrong way on a one-way street, as he rushes to get to a Broadway studio.

And, surviving a car crash without a scratch...

-Hi, how the hell is that possible?
... he continues to the studio. He has trouble doing so at first, but makes it in time for the show to start.

Start of Story:

As the stage production finally starts, we see Mr. Magoo assume the role as Ebenezer Scrooge.

-So far so good for an adaptation of the Charles Dickens story: he refuses to give any donations to two donation-collectors, he's already being a jerky and neglectful boss to his assistant Bob Cratchit.

-So what's next? A boring song to go with the mix?
(Mr. Magoo sings a song about money: "Ringle, Ringle.") Oh, right on cue. And while we're at it... let's add Bob Cratchit in this song, singing that "It's cold." (By the way, Cratchit is voiced by Jack Cassidy- who guest-starred in shows like Gunsmoke and Bewitched, and played the killer in that Clint Eastwood movie The Eiger Sanction.)
What makes this Scrooge more insulting is that he blows off some caroling children.
-Now, to be fair, Mr. Magoo's interpretation of Scrooge is far different from the Scrooge from Mickey's Christmas Carol. Mickey's Scrooge can be grouchy, but most of the time, he has a contained temper with him. But with Mr. Magoo's Scrooge, it's like anything can set him off in a rage, whether it's people visiting him, or somebody just looking at him with innocence.
-By the way, where's Scrooge's nephew in this version? Will he appear later on in the show?

Going Home:
So Magoo the Scrooge closes shop and walks home being as grouchy as hell.
-Dude, lighten up. I know you want to take Charles Dickens' story serious, but do it with a cool head!
So Magoo finally makes it home, only to find that this door knocker turns into his deceased business partner Marley.

Magoo is confused by this, but goes inside anyways.
Mr. Magoo: "Could I need spectacles?"
-Uh, no. What you should be asking is: "Did I get into the Vycodin again?"

That Night:
Scrooge is getting ready for bed, until the ghost of Marley comes into his room.
Mr. Magoo: "Don't you believe in knocking?"
-Gee, no pressure on this guy. In fact, it's like he's seen ghosts before and isn't afraid to meet one. I mean, wake up!
The ghost tries telling Scrooge who he is, but Scrooge doesn't believe in him. This causes Marley to yell in agony, and this finally gets Magoo on his knees begging for mercy.
Marley shows Magoo the chains that he has to carry around eternally. And then he magically opens a window, so that Scrooge can see the wandering ghosts that are outside.
-I'll admit that this follows well with the original story, because in the original, ghosts were accompanying Marley's ghost.
Anyway, Marley tells Scrooge to expect three more ghosts visiting. And obviously, Scrooge wants an easy way out of all this. Marley's ghost flies away, leaving Magoo to say: "Humbug!"
-Again, no pressure on this guy.

One O'clock in the Morning:
Scrooge's alarm clock strikes one, and just as Marley predicted, The Ghost of Christmas Past comes to visit Scrooge... I mean, the Ghost of Christmas Present.

-Okay, so obviously, this adaptation is being told out of order.
-And I gotta say that this version of the Ghost of Christmas Present looks more promising than the Mickey version.
Anyway, this ghost comes to take Magoo to Cratchit's house to see what the Cratchit family are like. The ghost explains that the family has something that Scrooge doesn't have: love.
We see that Cratchit has a loving wife and obedient children, including Tiny Tim who, like in the original, bears a crutch. The children are wishing for more to eat and for a much better Christmas, considering that they've been obedient; but their father informs them that they'll be happy as long as they were together as a family. This is all emphasized in the song "The Lord's Bright Blessing."
-The first time I heard this song, I was touched. The lyrics are so passionate, that you can't help but sympathize with this family.
Anyway, Magoo asks what's wrong with Tiny Tim, who says the famous line: "God bless us, every one."
-Uh, kid? You're supposed to say that towards the end of the story. But hey. This adaptation is already told out of order.
The ghost says that Tiny Tim will die if not given the proper care that he needs, due to troubling finances. This makes Scrooge think back on what his refusal to donate to the poor.
And then we get... I guess, an intermission, because the stage curtains close.
-Wow, the first time I saw this special, I was so into the story that I forgot that this was a stage production.

After Intermission:
After a brief intermission, the story continues.
We then see Scrooge get a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past.

-Yeah, it's obvious about the order of the events here...
Scrooge reluctantly goes. The ghost flies him to a place where he once lived as a boy.

They visit Scrooge's old schoolhouse and see a young Ebenezer Scrooge sitting by himself, and wishing for a family in his song, "Alone In The World."
-In the original story, Scrooge had a devotion towards his sister Fanny, and wanted so much to be with her. Here, it's never emphasized. They just show young Ebenezer wanting a family.
This makes Scrooge rediscover his innocent side.

-How much more do we need to sympathize with Scrooge? They've already got us holding back tears!
Anyway, the spirit shows Scrooge to his first boss Fezziwig, of whom he was an apprentice to as a young man.

Fezziwig prepares a Christmas party for the town, where Scrooge meets his love interest Belle and dances with her.
-By the way, that's Jane Kean doing the voice of Belle. (You may know this woman from The Honeymooners.)
Magoo sees that his younger self and Belle had hit it off well, until one day, where he chooses money over her. Belle is upset by this.

She sings her song "Winter Was Warm," emphasizing lost and yearning love.
-Aw, come on! Some of us are still recovering from the little boy's song about being alone in the world! Give us a break!
So Belle dumps young Scrooge, and the real Scrooge feels bad for choosing money over her. The spirit takes Scrooge to a dismal place, leaving him to be with the third ghost: the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

-That's right. Another Grim Reaper figure to emphasize the third ghost.
Anyway, the third ghost shows Scrooge to a group of business men who are talking about a deceased person that's going to get a cheap funeral, because he didn't leave a will saying who will get his money.
Then the ghost takes Scrooge to an old shack, where a charwoman, a laundress, and an undertaker take Scrooge's stolen goods to a professional pickpocket named Old Joe.
-Most obnoxious song in 3... 2... 1...
(singing "We're Despicable (Plunderer's March))
Chorus: "We're... des-picable..."

You know what? I'm just gonna fast-forward to the next scene. I'm not gonna bother with this song. I mean, the song itself is "despicable"!

(Fast-forwarding)

The third ghost takes Magoo to Cratchit's house, only to learn that Tiny Tim died from his illness.

Scrooge feels bad about not doing anything to save Tiny Tim. But the ghost shows that it has no time for sympathy, because it finally leads Scrooge to a graveyard where Scrooge's tombstone is waiting.
Magoo begs the spirit to undo the future, pledging that he'll change and be a better man to the world.

The spirit leaves him there, which brings Magoo to sing the reprise of "Alone In The World"...

-Man, this just gets sadder and sadder. Why must we be invested if this special is nothing but a crying fest?!
And then there's another intermission...
-How many intermissions are there?

After (Another) Intermission:
After another intermission, Scrooge wakes up back in his bed. Scrooge is grateful to have woken up and given a second chance in life.

-Since this is all following the original story, I'm just gonna wrap this up.
Scrooge buys a prized turkey and sends it to Cratchit. Scrooge gives some money to the donation-collectors.

Then he goes to the Cratchit house to give them money and a Christmas that they truly deserve, giving them a Christmas tree and pledging that he'll assist them in paying for the family's well-being.
Tiny Tim: "God bless us, every one."

-There you go! You said it at the right time!

Ending:

The audience gives the cast and crew a round of applause. Magoo stays behind to bow to... the backstage props and set, when he should be doing that to the audience.
-Turn around! The audience is behind you!
Magoo brings the director onto the stage to get some needed applauding; but Magoo's antics give the director the axe...
-Yeah, it's tough to be a director...
Mr. Magoo: "I've brought down the house!"
You sure did! (In a bad way...)

And that's Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, which I'd like to call... a waste of time.
Just because it followed most of the Charles Dickens story (even though some of it was told out of order), it still blows! The characters are annoying; most of the songs will make you cry; and... about the crying... this adaptation likes to shove in so much emotional drama in the story that it offers nothing to the audience in return.
I don't know. I just find this adaptation of the Charles Dickens story so diabolical! Why should we be invested in an adaptation that only wants to make us lose ourselves in many emotions, but never questioning its own technique of delivery?
Thank God I'm done reviewing this special! I'd rather review something else now!

Amateur Critic
Source: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

All rights go to Classic Media... or is it DreamWorks Animation? (I tried looking this up on Wikipedia.)