SnoopyStyle Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) is a miserly greedy duck. His clerk Bob Cratchit (Mickey Mouse) is overworked and underpaid. His nephew Fred (Donald Duck) invites him to Christmas dinner. He is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley (Goofy) who tells him about the approaching 3 spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket) shows him the past and the origins of his miserable ways when he foreclose on Isabelle (Daisy Duck) for being an hour late rather than marrying her. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) shows him the hardship faced by Bob Cratchit and his family. Then the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him the funeral of little Tiny Tim.For such a short running time, this is a well made version of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. It is snappy and quick. It's the essential highlights. It doesn't add anything new but it's done with great sincerity. It's a nice distillation of the original material that the kids will be able to follow.

Scott LeBrun 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.

Scarecrow-88 Delightful(if a bit too short, covering very little of the Dickens' story but the bare essentials)Walt Disney version of A Christmas CAROL features the wonderful voice of Alan Young of MR. ED fame as Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Bah humbugging those around him of good Holiday cheer until he is visited by deceased partner Jacob Marley(Goofy who makes a marvelous introduction and easily the character who steals plenty of chuckles such as his inability to keep from tripping over his chains)and three ghosts over Christmas Eve, one of whom is Jiminy Cricket(as Christmas Past). With Mickey Mouse as long suffering Bob Cratchet, Minnie his wife, and Donald Duck as Scrooge's jolly nephew who invites Ebenezer to a Christmas dinner. While a mere 24 minutes(it's just too much fun to end so soon), Scrooge only visits Fezzywigs dance in the past where he first met Isabella, his first love, and the counting house where he chose a life of greed over matrimonial happiness, Cratchet's home in the present to see how small the turkey was for their dinner, and the cemetery of the future where Tiny Tim and himself would be buried. As I mentioned this little cartoon adaptation is over before you know it, but I figure Disney and Scrooge fans will enjoy it. It was quite a childhood favorite of mine and seeing it again after nearly twenty years was a pleasure. Again my only qualm with MICKEY'S Christmas CAROL is the puny length, and that is actually a compliment since I didn't want it to end.

Lee Eisenberg I haven't seen "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in probably twenty years, but I basically remember what happens. I guess that there's nothing wrong with it, although "A Christmas Carol" doesn't seem like the type of story that Disney should adapt. I always liked the Looney Tunes far better than any of the Disney characters; I can picture Bugs Bunny turning this story into a series of New York-style one-liners. The end of the sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Future was a little intense for a children's movie. My favorite adaptation of this story was "Scrooged", with Bill Murray as a mean-spirited TV executive.In the years since I watched these sorts of cartoons, I have learned that Alan Young (Wilbur on "Mister Ed") provided Scrooge McDuck's voice. It's weird to picture the talking horse's owner affecting a Scottish accent to voice a robber baron duck. I still prefer to remember Young as Wilbur, partly because I've always use "Mister Ed" as an excuse to see Connie Hines (who played Carol); now there was a HOT BABE!!!! Anyway, it's a worthy adaptation.Yeah, I would have expected him to be taller. Even Peter Dinklage is taller.