I watched Mickey’s Christmas Carol last night. As you may know, I’m something of a Christmas Carol connoisseur. I read it every single year on the five days leading up to Christmas. I love seeing different adaptations of it. My favorite is The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Mickey’s is surprisingly good, though.
For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a 1983 cartoon featuring Scrooge McDuck as Ebeneezer Scrooge, Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, Donald Duck as Scrooge’s nephew Fred, Goofy as Jacob Marley, Jiminy Cricket as the ghost of Christmas past, Willie the Giant as the ghost of Christmas present, and Pete as the ghost of Christmas future. That’s a very good cast. They fit their roles very well.
The cartoon is surprisingly faithful to the spirit of the book. It cuts out a lot from the three spirits to make it fit into half an hour, but it’s faithful, nevertheless. During the past part, they only visit two scenes, Fezziwig’s party, and Scrooge breaking off his engagement to Belle. During the present, they visit Bob Cratchit’s house. Scrooge gets especially concerned about Tiny Tim. Then, the future where Scrooge finds out that Tiny Tim dies, and that Scrooge himself dies. Finally, Scrooge wakes up Christmas morning and has changed. He spreads joy and Christmas cheer to all he meets. He visits the Cratchits and gives them a huge turkey and presents.
I remember watching it as a kid, but it’s been a very long time since I’d seen it. It holds up well. 10 out of 10. Would recommend.
