Hello & welcome back to the Christmas celebration as I once again take a look at a classic Christmas short. Join me as I review Mickey's Christmas Carol. Let's begin now, shall we.
The Plot
The plot of this short is one that most of use are familiar with because at one point most people's lives, they have come across a different adaption of A Christmas Carol. Now besides being an adaption of an LP titled Disney's Christmas Carol and there were some minor liberties taken from the LP such as in that version The Blue Fairy was The Ghost of Christmas Past and The Old Hag from Snow White was The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. While I have never heard the LP, I imagine that both it & the short are fairly similar. All the same, I feel that this short gets the message & theme across quite well. Though I'm curious as to why they recast Christmas Present and Yet To Come. Personally, I would love to have see how those two would've played out in their respective roles.
Opening Images
Before I start talking about the characters, there is something else that I wish to talk about. Which are the Opening Images.
Now normally, I wouldn't talk about something like this but I found this to be fascinating and something that caught my eye, while rewatching the short for this review.. All Mickey shorts usually start with this classic look of seeing Mickey's head but here they added a scarf and top hat to give it that Christmas feel. I believe that this is one of the few times that the Mickey open shot had some tweaks made to it and you know what? I like these changes as they add something more to the holiday feel of this short.
Now I also wanted to talk about this image because to me it is as ingrained in my mind as the rest of the short. This image is so beautiful and simple. I love the look of it but I have always loved the opening credits of this short because they have such a timeless feel to them as if they came out of a story book itself.
Characters
There's a lot of characters to get through with this short. So, I'll be breaking it down into Important & Supporting. Also seeing as these are characters portraying other characters, I'll put the name of the character used in parentheses.
Important Characters
Ebeneezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) voiced by Alan Young
The casting of Scrooge McDuck as Ebeneezer is perhaps one of the best casting choices in this entire short. They both love money and can be greedy. McDuck as Scrooge is just so wonderful and you can really feel that Alan Young had a blast playing this character. Now I may be incorrect but I believe that this was the first time that he voiced McDuck and it worked out well. This version of Ebeneezer is so much fun and while he doesn't have as much depth to him as say the Michael Caine portrayal , whom I consider one of the best Scrooge's, he is still a good choice and the delivery is done well here. Quick note here, this was Alan Young's first time playing Scrooge McDuck and he did a bang up job here.
Jacob Marley (Goofy) voiced by Hal Smith
The casting of Goofy as Marley is something that I consider a bit of an inspired choice because in the original story and many other adaptions, Marley's scene is quite frightful and can actually be pretty scary to a younger audience. I remember when I saw the musical version at Ford's Theater, the Marley scene was quite frightening and well done. Though I think Goofy was cast as Marley as to tone down some elements of the story and make it more child friendly. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but in my opinion after having watched many other versions and having read the book, makes this version seem weaker. Goofy as Marley is not bad and in this short, he is good and he does serve his purpose of informing Scrooge of the visit of the three ghosts to come. Also I believe and many other people seem to agree that they chose to cast Goofy as Marley to balance out the short because while the story does need some frightful moments, Marley's are important but the more impactful moments are with the three Ghosts and The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come needs to serve a somewhat frightening purpose.
Tiny Tim (Morty) voiced by Dick Billingsley
Now Tiny Tim in my eyes has always been one of the most crucial characters to this story andI can imagine when adapting this story to any medium that is one character that needs to be handled with caution. This short did a fine job with Tim but at the same time while he is a crucial character, looking back I do have some minor quibbles about the way he was persented. I just feel as though that we barely got to know the character and then bam, he's dead. Now I realize that this is a short and therefore they had less time for character development but I feel as though the audeince was not given enough time to actually build a relationship with Tiny Tim before he died. Nonetheless, I still consider him an important character. Sidenote people always assume since we share the same name that Tiny Tim is my favorite character but he's not. That title belongs to Marley.
That may not be accurate but that is the gist of the line and that one singular line and the way it was delivered have always stuck with me more than any other line from this film. I honestly believe that The Ghost of Christmas Past was given some of the best lines in this short. I think that is part of the reason why, Jiminy has always been my favorite version of The Ghost of Christmas Past.
The Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie The Giant) voiced by Will Ryan
Once again, here is another casting choice that could be considered an inspired choice. Now the two main reasons, I say this are because first, Willie in his original short was for all intents & purposes the villain. Though he was a likable villain Secondly, while The Ghost of Christmas Present does start out as sort of like an likable old man, he does take a dark turn and become brooding and scary in some instances but here again, that was cut down and we only focused on the nice guy side. Though I will say after having read that story, I'm a little sad that my favorite line of his was not used.
Though I will say that one thing that I did like that they did here is that they found a way to make Willie's trouble with words work here.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (Pete) also voiced by Will Ryan
Now there if is any casting choice that is in my opinion the ideal casting for this short, it would be Pete as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. He felt perfect in this role. He was menacing, scary & ruthless. Traditionally, this ghost does not speak but Pete as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come has one of the most haunting lines.
Just something about the way he says that line as lights up his cigarette, is chilling and perhaps the most frightful moment of this entire short.
That image alone is so well done and perhaps one of the things I remember the most about this version of this Ghost. This may be the Ghost that Scrooge has the least amount of interaction with out of the three but he still leaves an impact especially with how when lights up his cigarette it reveals Scrooge's name on the tombstone and really, it looks as though Scrooge is about to enter Hell.
Supporting Characters
Bob Crachit (Mickey) voiced by Wayne Allwine
Now if there is any casting choice that was obvious, it would be this one. As out of all the characters other than Scrooge, Mickey and Crachit probably have the most similarities. They are both kind hearted people and caring. Mickey just feels right as Crachit and I wouldn't want any other way. Just as this short was Young's first time playing Scrooge, this was Allwine's first time playing Mickey in an actual short because before this he had only voiced Mickey in 70's Mickey Mouse Club revival. (The less said about that, the better).
Fred (Donald Duck) voiced by Clarence "Ducky" Nash"
Now I'm not even going to beat around the bush here. While I said some of the other casting choices were inspired, this one looking back now is a bit odd. Fred, is a kind and caring cheerful soul who I guess you could say is suppose to be the exact opposite of his Uncle Scrooge. Whereas Donald, is short tempered and crabby. Now I know that they probably cast Donald as Fred because Scrooge is his uncle but even still, this is one of the odder choices. Also, it's sad to say but this would be the last time that Ducky would ever voice Donald.
Belle (Daisy Duck) voiced by Patricia Parris
Daisy as Belle had to be one of the sweetest things that I have ever seen in any Disney short. She was so compassionate and caring. Sure, we barely saw her but I still believe this is one of the best portrayals of Belle. However, if you want to see to a truly raw and emotional Belle, click here. Sorry, I'll stop bringing up The Muppets. However if you want to see a truly heartbreaking moment with this Belle look at this...
This is right after Scrooge tells Belle that he has decided to foreclose on her cottage. It wasn't even the cottage she was upset about she knew that Scrooge no longer loved her and that she had lost him to gold and would never get him back. This simple pose and that one scene can speak volumes for this character.
Music
O What a Merry Christmas Day
Now I know that I already talked about this song during the celebration but I wanted to touch upon once more. I just find this to be a very beautiful song and it just gives me a joyous feeling that one should feel during the holidays. I would rank this up there as being one of my favorite songs from a Disney short.
My Final Thoughts
I love this short, sure I may have come down hard on some aspects but I can't help to love this short. I love Christmas, I love A Christmas Carol and most of all I love Disney. That is a great combo for me. Sure, some aspects feel rushed and at certain points, I did wonder if this was meant to be a longer production but for the amount of time given, it delivers well. This was my first introduction to A Christmas Carol, it's the one that got me hooked on this tale. I have seen so many versions of this story done well such as this and not so well as in my personal opinion, Scrooged. Yeah, I like Bill Murray but I don't think that is a good film. Getting back on topic though to me, I have to watch at least two versions of A Christmas Carol or more each year. This one is a must and the other that is the 1938 version. Heck, I could do a Christmas Carol marathon and be happy. (That's not a bad idea). Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this look at what I consider a childhood Christmas classic.
Join me Monday for the final Christmas review before I go on vacation as I review a short from Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas and take a look at...
Christmas Maximus
The Plot
The plot of this short is one that most of use are familiar with because at one point most people's lives, they have come across a different adaption of A Christmas Carol. Now besides being an adaption of an LP titled Disney's Christmas Carol and there were some minor liberties taken from the LP such as in that version The Blue Fairy was The Ghost of Christmas Past and The Old Hag from Snow White was The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. While I have never heard the LP, I imagine that both it & the short are fairly similar. All the same, I feel that this short gets the message & theme across quite well. Though I'm curious as to why they recast Christmas Present and Yet To Come. Personally, I would love to have see how those two would've played out in their respective roles.
Opening Images
Before I start talking about the characters, there is something else that I wish to talk about. Which are the Opening Images.
Now normally, I wouldn't talk about something like this but I found this to be fascinating and something that caught my eye, while rewatching the short for this review.. All Mickey shorts usually start with this classic look of seeing Mickey's head but here they added a scarf and top hat to give it that Christmas feel. I believe that this is one of the few times that the Mickey open shot had some tweaks made to it and you know what? I like these changes as they add something more to the holiday feel of this short.
Now I also wanted to talk about this image because to me it is as ingrained in my mind as the rest of the short. This image is so beautiful and simple. I love the look of it but I have always loved the opening credits of this short because they have such a timeless feel to them as if they came out of a story book itself.
Characters
There's a lot of characters to get through with this short. So, I'll be breaking it down into Important & Supporting. Also seeing as these are characters portraying other characters, I'll put the name of the character used in parentheses.
Important Characters
Ebeneezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) voiced by Alan Young
The casting of Scrooge McDuck as Ebeneezer is perhaps one of the best casting choices in this entire short. They both love money and can be greedy. McDuck as Scrooge is just so wonderful and you can really feel that Alan Young had a blast playing this character. Now I may be incorrect but I believe that this was the first time that he voiced McDuck and it worked out well. This version of Ebeneezer is so much fun and while he doesn't have as much depth to him as say the Michael Caine portrayal , whom I consider one of the best Scrooge's, he is still a good choice and the delivery is done well here. Quick note here, this was Alan Young's first time playing Scrooge McDuck and he did a bang up job here.
Jacob Marley (Goofy) voiced by Hal Smith
The casting of Goofy as Marley is something that I consider a bit of an inspired choice because in the original story and many other adaptions, Marley's scene is quite frightful and can actually be pretty scary to a younger audience. I remember when I saw the musical version at Ford's Theater, the Marley scene was quite frightening and well done. Though I think Goofy was cast as Marley as to tone down some elements of the story and make it more child friendly. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but in my opinion after having watched many other versions and having read the book, makes this version seem weaker. Goofy as Marley is not bad and in this short, he is good and he does serve his purpose of informing Scrooge of the visit of the three ghosts to come. Also I believe and many other people seem to agree that they chose to cast Goofy as Marley to balance out the short because while the story does need some frightful moments, Marley's are important but the more impactful moments are with the three Ghosts and The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come needs to serve a somewhat frightening purpose.
Tiny Tim (Morty) voiced by Dick Billingsley
Now Tiny Tim in my eyes has always been one of the most crucial characters to this story andI can imagine when adapting this story to any medium that is one character that needs to be handled with caution. This short did a fine job with Tim but at the same time while he is a crucial character, looking back I do have some minor quibbles about the way he was persented. I just feel as though that we barely got to know the character and then bam, he's dead. Now I realize that this is a short and therefore they had less time for character development but I feel as though the audeince was not given enough time to actually build a relationship with Tiny Tim before he died. Nonetheless, I still consider him an important character. Sidenote people always assume since we share the same name that Tiny Tim is my favorite character but he's not. That title belongs to Marley.
The Ghost of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket) voiced by Eddie Caroll
Jiminy as The Ghost of Chrismtas Past has always been my favorite version of this liteary character. It's hard to say why that is but I do believe that having Jiminy play this Ghost was a wonderful casting choice and married up well with his original duties from his film. His portrayal of this ghost just felt so raw and honest. The way he spoke and said his line while still in the Jiminy voice gave gave depth and meaning to the lines. Perhaps the best example of this is when he takes Scrooge to see his second Christmas with Belle and has a line that stuck with me for years. So much so that when I wrote my badly done modernized version of A Christmas Carol, I used that line.
In two years time, you learned to love something else. You loved your gold, more than that precious creature.
That may not be accurate but that is the gist of the line and that one singular line and the way it was delivered have always stuck with me more than any other line from this film. I honestly believe that The Ghost of Christmas Past was given some of the best lines in this short. I think that is part of the reason why, Jiminy has always been my favorite version of The Ghost of Christmas Past.
The Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie The Giant) voiced by Will Ryan
Once again, here is another casting choice that could be considered an inspired choice. Now the two main reasons, I say this are because first, Willie in his original short was for all intents & purposes the villain. Though he was a likable villain Secondly, while The Ghost of Christmas Present does start out as sort of like an likable old man, he does take a dark turn and become brooding and scary in some instances but here again, that was cut down and we only focused on the nice guy side. Though I will say after having read that story, I'm a little sad that my favorite line of his was not used.
Come in, and know me better man.
Though I will say that one thing that I did like that they did here is that they found a way to make Willie's trouble with words work here.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (Pete) also voiced by Will Ryan
Now there if is any casting choice that is in my opinion the ideal casting for this short, it would be Pete as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. He felt perfect in this role. He was menacing, scary & ruthless. Traditionally, this ghost does not speak but Pete as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come has one of the most haunting lines.
Why yours, Ebeneezer ...the richest man in the cemetery!
Just something about the way he says that line as lights up his cigarette, is chilling and perhaps the most frightful moment of this entire short.
That image alone is so well done and perhaps one of the things I remember the most about this version of this Ghost. This may be the Ghost that Scrooge has the least amount of interaction with out of the three but he still leaves an impact especially with how when lights up his cigarette it reveals Scrooge's name on the tombstone and really, it looks as though Scrooge is about to enter Hell.
Supporting Characters
Bob Crachit (Mickey) voiced by Wayne Allwine
Now if there is any casting choice that was obvious, it would be this one. As out of all the characters other than Scrooge, Mickey and Crachit probably have the most similarities. They are both kind hearted people and caring. Mickey just feels right as Crachit and I wouldn't want any other way. Just as this short was Young's first time playing Scrooge, this was Allwine's first time playing Mickey in an actual short because before this he had only voiced Mickey in 70's Mickey Mouse Club revival. (The less said about that, the better).
Fred (Donald Duck) voiced by Clarence "Ducky" Nash"
Now I'm not even going to beat around the bush here. While I said some of the other casting choices were inspired, this one looking back now is a bit odd. Fred, is a kind and caring cheerful soul who I guess you could say is suppose to be the exact opposite of his Uncle Scrooge. Whereas Donald, is short tempered and crabby. Now I know that they probably cast Donald as Fred because Scrooge is his uncle but even still, this is one of the odder choices. Also, it's sad to say but this would be the last time that Ducky would ever voice Donald.
Belle (Daisy Duck) voiced by Patricia Parris
Daisy as Belle had to be one of the sweetest things that I have ever seen in any Disney short. She was so compassionate and caring. Sure, we barely saw her but I still believe this is one of the best portrayals of Belle. However, if you want to see to a truly raw and emotional Belle, click here. Sorry, I'll stop bringing up The Muppets. However if you want to see a truly heartbreaking moment with this Belle look at this...
This is right after Scrooge tells Belle that he has decided to foreclose on her cottage. It wasn't even the cottage she was upset about she knew that Scrooge no longer loved her and that she had lost him to gold and would never get him back. This simple pose and that one scene can speak volumes for this character.
Music
O What a Merry Christmas Day
Now I know that I already talked about this song during the celebration but I wanted to touch upon once more. I just find this to be a very beautiful song and it just gives me a joyous feeling that one should feel during the holidays. I would rank this up there as being one of my favorite songs from a Disney short.
My Final Thoughts
I love this short, sure I may have come down hard on some aspects but I can't help to love this short. I love Christmas, I love A Christmas Carol and most of all I love Disney. That is a great combo for me. Sure, some aspects feel rushed and at certain points, I did wonder if this was meant to be a longer production but for the amount of time given, it delivers well. This was my first introduction to A Christmas Carol, it's the one that got me hooked on this tale. I have seen so many versions of this story done well such as this and not so well as in my personal opinion, Scrooged. Yeah, I like Bill Murray but I don't think that is a good film. Getting back on topic though to me, I have to watch at least two versions of A Christmas Carol or more each year. This one is a must and the other that is the 1938 version. Heck, I could do a Christmas Carol marathon and be happy. (That's not a bad idea). Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this look at what I consider a childhood Christmas classic.
Join me Monday for the final Christmas review before I go on vacation as I review a short from Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas and take a look at...
Christmas Maximus
It was a wonderful review. I couldn't help myself laughing so hard in the scene where Goofy made his famous scream after walking away from Scrooge. When I was a little kid, I cried so much in the scene where Mickey cries.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great short & those are some great moments.
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