There are some goofy moments, maybe too few, in Disney's own 1983 short animated version of Christmas Carol, one of many incarnations of the Charles Dickens classic novel. Scrooge McDuck (voiced by Alan Young) is annoyed by his nephew, Fred (played by Donald Duck) and kicks him out the door with such velocity that you expect Donald to have landed somewhere on the Thames. Donald returns a second later and reminds Scrooge to have a Merry Christmas. There is also another goofy moment with Goofy himself as the ghost of Marley who is forever dragging those heavy chains and tormenting Scrooge. Goofy trips over his own chain and it made me laugh.
Beyond that, "Mickey's Christmas Carol" follows step-by-step the original Dickens classic, clearly in abbreviated form at 26 minutes. There is no major surprise or twist other than having familiar Disney characters dominating the London tale including the unusual choice of Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past and sloppy Willie the Giant as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Daisy Duck as Scrooge's lost love is wonderful, though why Minnie Mouse as Cratchit's wife has no lines of dialogue is odd. Mickey Mouse is always a pleasure to watch, this time as Bob Cratchit who feels threatened by his boss, Scrooge.
"Mickey's Christmas Carol" is a sweet little confection that still works and hits all the right marks and makes you love Christmas all over again, that is if you are in a Bah, Humbug mood. Why this was never done as a full-length feature I can't say.
No comments:
Post a Comment