"Mickey's Christmas Carol" Christmas Special Review

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

It's the month of Christmas, and what could be better than gathering around the TV to see all the Christmas specials. From Rankin/Bass to the brand new Christmas movies always premiering every weekend on Hallmark Channel. Even Disney knows how to be a shoe-in in the Christmas season when it comes to movies and specials. Case in point: Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Now before we go any further, it's time for a backstory:
Once upon a time in 1843, Charles Dickens wrote a novella called A Christmas Carol, which was divided into five chapters known as "staves." This allowed readers to learn about the story's conflict, how and why the main character Ebenezer Scrooge acted the way he did in the begin, and... all that makes Scrooge a complex character, because part of him is consumed by greed, but then there's a side of him that wants to truly be happy- to be loved and cared for. Ever since the publication of this book, the story has become a widespread tradition, resulting in transitioning into theatrical plays and multiple movie adaptations.
Now, for the movie/TV show adaptations, some of them follow most of the original story; others tell the story out of order; others leave out stuff from the original; and others are combinations of the three categories mentioned. This Disney special tends to follow most of the original story, but left out of things.
So does this special fair up with the original Dickens story or what? Well, let's check it out.

Opening Scene:
The special starts with our main character Ebenezer Scrooge walking to his counting house... and is already being a jerk-off towards some homeless people.

-I gotta say: Scrooge McDuck plays a really good Scrooge for this adaptation.
Anyway, he stops in front of his counting house and remembers his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, who was known for swindling the poor and doing bad things out of greed.
-And Scrooge looks up to his guy? Well, looks like somebody needs to take some logic classes.

Counting House scene:

Scrooge walks inside, and we see Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit. We see that Cratchit is overworked but is underpaid, but he still puts up with Scrooge's moody demeanor.

And (get a load of this), Scrooge has Cratchit wash his laundry!
-(mimicking Scrooge) Oh, and while you're at it, work around the clock and spend less time with your family as possible... It's not like I'm giving you hell on purpose... No pressure.
And what does Scrooge do while Mickey is slaving away at his desk?

Writing about money... Touching money... and even hugging money.
-What a prick!
Then his nephew Fred (played by Donald Duck) comes in and invites Scrooge to dinner.

But Scrooge politely (sarcasm) refuses by... throwing Fred out of his counting house.

-Seriously, who throws people out of buildings? I mean, that's just rude. Well, the Scrooge from A Muppet Christmas Carol did the same thing to one of his workforce... so (sarcasm) yay!
We next see two more people come into the counting house.
-Now tell me if these look familiar.

That's right. They're the guys from the Disney video The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. (I remember seeing that video when I was a kid.)
Anyway, the two guys are asking Scrooge for donations for the poor, but Scrooge refuses...
-Okay, wait. Everyone has apparently picked a bad day to ask Scrooge for anything, because he's kicking people out a few too many times. He should've installed a revolving door if he's gonna be doing all that kicking people out stuff!
-And plus, is it fair to say that during this scene, all I'm thinking about is the "Talk Is Cheap" sign on the wall?

Scrooge: "What is this world coming to, Cratchit?"
-I'd like to ask the same thing about people like you, Scrooge.
So as the day ends, Cratchit finishes his shift and goes home, leaving Scrooge to his greed and moodiness.

Outside:
Scrooge closes the counting house and walks home. When he arrives, he's greeted by his door knocker.

-No kidding. He's greeted by his door knocker.
Now fearful, Scrooge hurries to his bedroom, locking himself in tight. But that doesn't stop the supernatural intruder from coming in and... slipping on Scrooge's dropped cane.
It turns out that Jacob Marley is played by Goofy.
-Neat.
Marley intimidates Scrooge by telling him change his ways, lest he wants to suffer the same fate, which is roaming the earth, baring heavy chains and boxes...

-I really want to take this scene seriously, but all I'm thinking about is how part of the chains try to choke Scrooge like a noose. (sarcasm) Great way to emphasize the theme of death in a Disney video.
Marley tells Scrooge to look out for three spirits that'll visit him.

Bedtime scene:
As soon as Marley leaves, Scrooge goes to bed.
-Wow, it's like he never saw a ghost that happened to spook him at the door and then come into his house to scare him...
-In the original story, Marley leaves, and many other ghosts appear before Scrooge and wish that they could help him but can't because they lack the power to do so. Here, it's like: there's a ghost... good-bye! And don't forget to turn out the lights! It's that brief in this version!
And then we see the first of the three ghosts: it turns out that Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio is the Ghost of Christmas Past; and already, Scrooge isn't taking him seriously...

-...just like I'm not taking this special seriously. It's the best of both worlds.
So Jiminy takes Scrooge to a place called Fezziwig's. Outside the window, Scrooge sees a party going out with people dancing and Fezziwig himself playing the violin.

-Okay, in the original version, Fezziwig was Scrooge's first boss from his youth. Here, he's the proud owner of a dance hall and playing a violin.
-And by the way, that's Mr. Toad from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Okay, wait a minute... the guys from earlier...

Mr. Toad...

and some of the other characters in the dance hall...

It's like we've walked into a Disney universe... or is this a Disney Classics reunion? I don't know which. What, are we gonna run into Bambi and his animal friends next?
Okay, despite all the cameos, we see that the young Scrooge had a love interest named Isabelle, played by Daisy Duck.

-Another reference to the original: the love interest's real name was Belle. Here, her name is Isabelle. (Just thought I point that out).
Jiminy then shows Scrooge how the young Scrooge (cutting to ten years later) chose money over Isabelle.

Scrooge sees this mistake and begs the ghost to take him back home. Jiminy agrees, but warns that Scrooge was the one that brought this on himself.
-I agree.

Bedroom scene 2:
Scrooge is returned to his bedroom, where he's greeted by our next ghost...
-Oh, God. Don't tell me the Ghost of Christmas Present is played by Willie the Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk!

So Willie takes Scrooge to Cratchit's home to watch Cratchit and his family have dinner.

We then see Cratchit's youngest son Tiny Tim and, just like in the original, the boy is ill and needs special care from his family.

-However, in the original, Tiny Tim's illness is specified; but here, it's never explained- they just show him with a crutch and that's it.
Cratchit and his family show that no matter the situation that they're in when it comes to finances, they're still happy that they have each other.

Scrooge starts to feel sorry for Mickey and his family, but finds himself by his lonesome after knowing the truth about Tiny Tim.
Just then, our final ghost comes to Scrooge, sending our main character to a gravesite.

-Now, this is totally disrespectful to the original version, because one: who even knows that Grim-Reaper-figures have lungs to damage? And two: in the original, the third ghost did NOT smoke. If you want to add effects to make this scene intense, fine. But why have this ghost smoke?
Scrooge asks for Tiny Tim. It is revealed that Tiny Tim died from his illness, leaving Mickey to leave his crutch on his tombstone.

-Here, it's obvious that this special is trying to convey actual human emotion. It just makes the story much more honest and relatable in real-life.

And then Scrooge comes across two gravediggers saying that the grave that they're digging for has no mourners or anybody that cares for the deceased person.
-In the original version, the third ghost showed Scrooge Tiny Tim's family grieve Tiny Tim's death, and then show him how the business associates, as well as a charwoman, a laundress, and a funeral director steal and sell Scrooge's stuff to a professional pickpocket. In this version, they skip all that, but throw in two characters that get only less than 30 seconds of camera time.
Scrooge sees the empty grave and then realizes that on the tombstone has his name on it.

It turns out that the third ghost is none other than Pete the Cat, as he throws Scrooge into the grave, which is literally spitting out fire.

-I guess the special wanted to emphasis Hell in the most convenient way possible.
So Scrooge begs to be let out, saying that he'll change.

Bedroom Scene 3:

Scrooge wakes up from his... dream. He sees that it's Christmas morning, and he is happy to be alive. So he dresses as fast as he could, not having second thoughts about his choice of wardrobe and heads out to share his happiness with the world.

Outside Scene 2:
Outside, he meets the two guys from the beginning and throws his money at them (in a happy way)...
-Okay, what's with people throwing things and characters in this movie?! Aren't there any respectful people in this movie?
Anyway, Scrooge gives a big donation to the gentlemen, and then goes on his merry way. He then runs into his nephew Fred, wanting to go to the Christmas dinner. Then, he goes to the toy shop to buy stuff for the Cratchit family.

Cratchit House:
Scrooge arrives at Cratchit's house. He pretends to have his usual moody demeanor on him and barges into the home...
-Yeah, this must really be a slow week for Scrooge.
Anyway, Scrooge presents the family with a bag of toys and a large turkey.

He also gives Cratchit a raise and makes him his new business partner. Mickey is grateful of Scrooge's generosity and for the promotion.

-That would be so cool to get a promotion on Christmas in one's lifetime. But this is obviously a work of fiction. So dream on.
Scrooge is happy for the family; and the special ends with Tiny Tim saying the famous line from the original story: "God bless us, every one!" and Scrooge sitting with Mickey's kids with kindness and compassion in his heart.

And that was Mickey's Christmas Carol. Since this was an adaptation to the Charles Dickens classic, does it hold up?
Well, some of the elements from the book worked in this adaptation, and other elements were left out for either the sake of the kid audience or for some other reason. But of all the adaptations for this story, this one was the one that I grew most familiar with, because (obviously) it's Disney- I grew up watching Disney, and usually Disney is creative in the writing and animation.
As far as how tolerable it is, I'd say that it's tolerable to some extent. I didn't show you half of the comedy relief that was forced in this special. In the long-run, some of the actions that the characters make in this special is just plain rude, especially for a Christmas special. I mean, what are we teaching kids, that it's okay to throw people out of buildings if they piss you off or to be just plain rude at Christmas time? I don't know.
But I will give the special credit for taking risks. The colors, the shadows, and the lighting were okay story-wise and animation-wise. If it wanted to emphasize things from the original story, then they did. But they did make some changes to the story a little, but the changes were tolerable.
All I can say is that I enjoy watching this special around Christmas time. Oh, by the way: since this is still the month of Christmas, be on the look-out for another special that I'll review soon.

Amateur Critic
Source: Mickey's Christmas Carol

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