Mickey's Christmas Carol
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Mickey's
Christmas Carol
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Mickey Mouse series
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Theatrical release
poster with The
Rescuers
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Directed by
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Produced by
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Burny Mattinson
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Story by
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Charles Dickens, Burny Mattinson, Tony L. Marino, Ed
Gombert, Don Griffith, Alan Young,
Alan Dinehart
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Voices by
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Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith, Will Ryan, Eddie Carroll, Patricia Parris, Dick
Billingsley, Clarence
Nash
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Music by
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Animation by
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Glen Keane, Mark Henn, Ed Gombert, Dale Baer, David Block, Randy Cartwright
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Layouts by
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Michael Peraza, Jr., Sylvia Roemer, Gary M. Eggleston
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Backgrounds by
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Jim Coleman, Brian Sebern, Kathleen Swain, Tia W.
Kratter, Donald A. Towns
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Studio
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Distributed by
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Release date(s)
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October 20, 1983 (UK)
December 16, 1983 (USA)
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Color process
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Running time
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26 minutes
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Country
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United States
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Language
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English
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Preceded by
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The Simple Things (1953)
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Followed by
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The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
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Mickey's Christmas Carol
is a 1983
American animated short film produced by Walt Disney
Productions and distributed by Buena Vista
Distribution Company.[1]
It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The
cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella
A Christmas
Carol with Mickey Mouse
as Bob Cratchit and Scrooge McDuck as his
namesake and inspiration, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Many
other Disney characters, primarily from the Mickey Mouse
universe, Robin Hood,
and The
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, were cast throughout the
film.
Mickey's Christmas Carol
was largely an animated adaptation of a Disneyland Records 1974
audio musical entitled An Adaptation of Dicken's Christmas Carol. The musical
featured similar dialogue and cast of characters[2]
with the exception of the first and last Christmas ghosts.[3]
This was the first original Mickey Mouse
theatrical cartoon produced in over 30 years. With the exception of rereleases,
Mickey had not appeared in movie theaters since the short film The Simple
Things released in 1953. Many additional characters seen in the
film had also not appeared in a theatrical cartoon for several decades. The
film was also the last time in which Clarence Nash voiced Donald Duck. Nash was the
only original voice actor in the film as Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse)
and Pinto Colvig
(Goofy) had died in the 1960s, Cliff Edwards (Jiminy
Cricket) and Billy Gilbert
(Willie the Giant) in 1971, and Billy Bletcher (Pete) in
1979.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Animated Short Film in 1984, but lost
to Sundae in New
York. It was the first nomination for a Mickey Mouse short since
Mickey and
the Seal (1948).
Synopsis
On Christmas Eve 1843, while
all of Victorian
England is in the merry spirit of Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) thinks
only of the money he has made and of making more (apparently, he charges people
80% interest, compounded daily). While Scrooge's selfish thoughts cascade in
his head, Bob Cratchit
(Mickey Mouse), exhausted
and underpaid (a meager two shillings
and a ha′penny
per day), continues to work long and hard for him. Cratchit reluctantly asks
for a "half day off" for Christmas, to which Scrooge replies it will
be unpaid (in contrast to the original version where Scrooge is
irritated at giving Cratchit Christmas off with pay). When collectors Rat and
Mole, along with beggars on the streets, kindly ask for a simple donation,
Scrooge responds to Rat and Mole that if he does, the poor will no longer be
poor and thus they (the collectors) will be out of work, "and you [can't]
ask me to do that, not on Christmas Eve." Scrooge's cheery nephew Fred (Donald Duck) invites his
crotchety uncle to a holiday feast fit for a Roman emperor -- roast goose with chestnut dressing, candied
fruits, and cinnamon
cake with lemon glaze. Scrooge turns him down flat, stating that such rich
festive cuisine gives him digestive and other health difficulties. ("Are
you daft, man? You know I can't eat that stuff! Here's YOUR wreath
back!" [and kicks Fred out of his house])
That Christmas Eve night, the
ghost of Jacob Marley
(Goofy), Scrooge's greedy
former business partner, appears and scares Scrooge out of his wits when Scrooge
thinks Marley has come back to
haunt him. Scrooge commends him for his ruthlessness. Marley
chuckles "Yup", then recalls his sinfulness, and tells that because
of his cruelty in life, he is doomed to wear heavy chains for eternity, or
"maybe even longer". He warns that a similar fate, if not worse, will
befall Scrooge unless he changes his ways. Marley then leaves, falling down the
stairs when he tries to avoid tripping over Scrooge's cane again and letting
out his signature Goofy holler.
Scrooge soon dismisses the incident, but is later awoken by the Ghost of
Christmas Past (Jiminy
Cricket). He shows Scrooge his past, when his growing love of money
led him to cruelly break the heart of his fiancee Isabelle (Daisy Duck) by foreclosing
on the honeymoon cottage's mortgage. This is in sharp contrast to the original
novel where Isabelle is the one who parts ways with Scrooge in a relatively
amicable manner.
Not long after the first visit, the Ghost of
Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) arrives,
surrounded by turkey, mince pies, and suckling pigs. He shows Scrooge the
poverty-stricken Cratchit family, who still keep a festive attitude in their
home despite their hardships. Bob's young son, Tiny Tim,
is revealed to be ill, and Willie foretells tragedy if the family's hapless
life does not change. However, just when Scrooge is desperate to know Tim's
fate, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the house both vanish. The Ghost of
Christmas Yet to Come (a hooded figure later revealed to be Black Pete) takes Scrooge
to the future in a graveyard.
When he sees Bob crying for Tiny Tim, who has passed away (indicated by Bob
placing Tim's crutch on his memorial marker), Scrooge fearfully asks whether
this future can be altered.
He then overhears the laughter of two
gravediggers (Weasels from The
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad). They are amused that no one
attended the funeral of the man whose grave they were digging. After the
weasels leave to take a break from their work, Scrooge and the ghost approach
the lonely grave, where the ghost lights a match, revealing Scrooge's name on
the tombstone. The ghost gives him a shove into his grave calling him "the
richest man in the cemetery." Scrooge falls towards his coffin as the lid
opens and fire bursts out (presumably the fires of hell). Scrooge clings to a
vine but it snaps and Scrooge falls into his grave, shouting his repentance, as
the ghost laughs cruelly.
Suddenly, he is back home on Christmas morning.
Having been given another chance, he throws his coat over his nightshirt, dons
his cane and top hat,
and goes to visit the Cratchits, cheerfully donating generous amounts of money
along the way (including 100 gold
sovereigns to Rat and Mole; the charity collectors from earlier) and
telling Fred that he will come after all. He tries to play a ninny on Bob,
dragging in a large sack supposedly filled with laundry and announcing gruffly
that there will be extra work in the future. But to the Cratchits' joy, the
sack is instead filled with toys and a big turkey for dinner. Scrooge gives Bob
a raise and makes him his partner in the counting house, and Tiny
Tim proclaims the original character's famous line of "God bless us,
everyone!"
Cast
Opening titles for Mickey's Christmas Carol
in sepia tone with Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit. This was the last piece of
animation to feature full opening credits and end with "The End".
Main cast
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Voice actor
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Character
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Role
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Jacob Marley's ghost
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Will Ryan
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Fred, Scrooge's nephew
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Isabelle ("Belle" in the novella)
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Nonspeaking
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Fezzywig
("Fezziwig" in the novella)
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Nonspeaking
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Emily Cratchit
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Nonspeaking
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Martha Cratchit
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Nonspeaking
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Peter Cratchit
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Dick Billingsley
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Hal Smith
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Collectors for the poor
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Will Ryan
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Wayne Allwine
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Beggar
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Wayne Allwine
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Gravediggers
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