The return of Walt Disney's most famous cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, to the silver screen after a prolonged 30-year absence was via this wonderful, Oscar-nominated animated short subject a Disneyfication of Charles Dickens' Christmas perennial which, surprisingly enough for being made during a period of low ebb for the studio, succeeds far better than it ought to. Ebeneezer Scrooge is played by Scrooge McDuck (voiced by veteran actor Alan Young) while Mickey Mouse portrays his overworked underpaid employee Bob Cratchit; also making a welcome appearance (and adding to the fun) is Donald Duck as Scrooge's happy-go-lucky nephew, Goofy as the clumsy (what else?) ghost of Jacob Marley, Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Willie the Giant (of the BEANSTALK fame) as the Ghost of Christmas Present. At 26 minutes, the narrative is necessarily overly condensed but the familiar characters (ironically enough) come so vividly to life here that one is, just like Dickens' own Oliver Twist, left asking for more!
P.S. Initially, it wasn't my intention to watch this Disney short over the Christmas period in fact, I practically forgot that I actually owned it on DVD as part of the "Walt Disney Treasures" 2-Disc Set of MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR VOLUME 2! However, recent enthusiastic comments I've read on an online Forum made me spring for it sooner rather than later...
P.S. Initially, it wasn't my intention to watch this Disney short over the Christmas period in fact, I practically forgot that I actually owned it on DVD as part of the "Walt Disney Treasures" 2-Disc Set of MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR VOLUME 2! However, recent enthusiastic comments I've read on an online Forum made me spring for it sooner rather than later...