Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

The classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.

Directors:

Burny Mattinson, Richard Rich (uncredited)

Writers:

Charles Dickens (based on the book: "A Christmas Carol" by), Burny Mattinson (story adaptation)

Stars:

Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alan Young	...	Scrooge - Scrooge McDuck / Begger Dog (voice)
Wayne Allwine	...	Bob Cratchit - Mickey Mouse / Weasel Gravedigger / Begger Dog (voice)
Hal Smith	...	Jacob Marley's Ghost - Goofy / Collector for the Poor #1 (voice)
Will Ryan	...	Collector for the Poor #2 / Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) / Ghost of Christmas Future (Pete) / Santa Claus (Big Bad Wolf) / Weasel #2 (voice)
Eddie Carroll	...	Ghost of Christmas Past - Jiminy Cricket (voice) (as Eddy Carroll)
Patricia Parris	...	Belle - Daisy Duck (voice)
Dick Billingsley	...	Tiny Tim (voice)
Clarence Nash	...	Nephew Fred - Donald Duck (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tasos Kostis	...	Goofy

Storyline

It's the same old classic Charles Dickens story with an all star Disney cast. Uncle Scrooge McDuck is appropriately enough Scrooge and is visited by his dead partner and 3 spirits one night to remember the joys of Christmas.

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | ebenezer scrooge character | reference to ebenezer scrooge | half dressed cartoon animal | barefoot cartoon animal | 

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Taglines:

He's back! Mickey Mouse - in his first new motion picture in 30 years...

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,111,582, 16 December 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$21,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (5.0 Surround Sound) (L-R)

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the original 1975 LP which served as inspiration for this film, the Ghost of Christmas Past was Merlin from The Sword in the Stone (1963) and the Ghost of Christmas Future was the Evil Witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

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Goofs

When Scrooge begins to give bags of money to Rat and Mole, there are six bags of gold in the jacket. But once he throws them all, eight bags appear. Then once Scrooge leaves, the next shot has nine bags.

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Quotes

Scrooge: I'll change! I'LL CHANGE!

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with a shot of Mickey Mouse's head, the way the old Mickey Mouse Disney cartoons start out. Mickey is wearing a hat and scarf, in keeping with the Christmas theme.

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Alternate Versions

Television airings on NBC in the 1980s and CBS in the early 1990s were an hour long. The first half originally featured Donald's Snow Fight, Pluto's Christmas Tree, and The Art of Skiing. Brief clips of other Disney Christmas shorts were shown. The second half featured this short in its entirety. Each of the four segments in the program featured wraparound narrations by Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy. From 1988 onwards, The Art of Skiing was removed from the annual broadcast and replaced with various segments. The 1993 CBS telecast featured The Making of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' in its place.

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Connections

Featured in DTV Monster Hits (1987)

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Soundtracks

Deck the Halls
(uncredited)
Traditional tune, lyrics by Thomas Oliphant
[Part of the DVD release in the Pluto's Christmas Tree short]

User Reviews

Charming Disney version of the seasonal favourite.

Disney characters fill the roles in this adaptation of the Dickens novel, with Scrooge McDuck obviously playing the role of cold blooded, greedy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge. His timid, overworked employee Bob Cratchit (Mickey) and nephew Fred (Donald) try to instill in him the Christmas spirit, but it's no use. However, in the attempt to make Scrooge see the light, he's visited by a succession of ghosts, starting with his deceased partner Jacob Marley (Goofy), who show him the progression of his character over the years, and the possible consequences. All in all, this is very likable, and often very funny, in the Disney tradition, and the talent involved do a decent job (at least this viewer thinks so) in balancing the serious moments and sentiment with some broad humour and slapstick. Goofy, not surprisingly, does a fair bit of it, turning Marleys' ghost into a clumsy bumbler. Admittedly, the main criticism of the special arises from condensing Dickens's novel into a half hour piece; it definitely feels a little rushed (although the very young, and those with short attention spans, may have no complaints on the matter). Still, there's much to enjoy, and it's amusing to see so many characters from so many Disney productions over the years cast in the various roles. Willie the Giant / The Ghost of Christmas Present is particularly funny, especially when he's searching for a particular house, lifts the roof off of one, and there's a scream heard. His reaction is priceless. The vocal performers are all excellent, especially Alan Young who always was an inspired choice for the voice of Scrooge. The animation is fine and the song composed for this special ("Oh, What a Merry Christmas Day", by Fredrick Searles and Irwin Kostal) is a reasonably good one. Some of the smaller fry may find the sequence with Pete / The Ghost of Christmas Future a little spooky, but overall this definitely makes for pleasant family viewing. Eight out of 10.