Four Horsemen continue their dance with Dickens for 2024.
For past few years Four Horsemen have been bringing us surprise Christmas figures each holiday season. The first was Krampus and the second Father Christmas. Last year, Four Horsemen surprised us with the Ghost of Jacob Marley. A ghost character, especially one in 19th century clothing, can make for a fun design and figure, but it was still a bit surprising to see Four Horsemen pivot from folklore to literature. Granted, A Christmas Carol is practically folklore at this point and it’s ingrained in the Christmas season. The only downside to such a release was that it essentially removed the element of surprise when it came to the annual Christmas offering. I suppose some may have wondered if Four Horsemen would really go down a Dickens hole, but any who were still uncertain likely aren’t now for this year’s release is the unsurprising Ghost of Christmas Past.
She’s here to party.
Ghost of Christmas Past went up for sale the Saturday after Thanksgiving and has been rolling out to customers ever since. She is much like the other figures in the line in that she comes in a tall window box with a wrap-around cover that doubles as a backdrop and is held in place with magnets. The cover features some beautiful artwork of the character by Nathan Baertsch in a snowy setting while the reverse would appear to depict the interior of old Fezziwig’s. It is quite lovely, though part of me is left wishing that it was an image of Fezziwig’s from the outside of the building like the spirit is looking in.
Give her a flight stand and she really comes alive.
That’s a minor critique and what most are likely going to be interested is the figure itself and the Four Horsemen interpretation. The original text described the spirit as male, and an old one at that, but many have also depicted this spirit as female. Four Horsemen lay out their reasoning for such in a lengthy write-up of the character, but the simple fact of the matter is making this ghost female adds some variety to the line. The look of the figure conforms with my interpretation of the character, with a few twists. She’s about 6.5″ to the top of her head, but out of the box comes sporting a crown that takes her all the way to 8″. She is a beautiful woman with a fair complexion and gray hair. There’s a touch of color to her cheeks and lips, but little more. She’s clad in a white, sleeveless, gown that’s trimmed with a silver flower pattern with two flowing capes of a cheesecloth-like material, it’s light and partially transparent. The crown is quite ornate with translucent, blue, ice on the front with a wreath of silver roses. There’s a hint of a yellow-green behind the roses and rising from the crown are tall antler-like sticks. The outside of which are painted brown while the inside is a bright orange almost like there should be flame in the center. The cover picture has a burst of light shining through so I suppose that’s the illusion we’re going for here.
She basically has an adapter piece to achieve the four-armed look. The two circular holes on her back are not used for anything with this release.
Perhaps the most standout element of the figure are the extra arms protruding from her sides. This is accomplished by a piece that plugs into the figure’s upper back. In the text, Scrooge sees this apparition as constantly changing and sometimes he can’t tell if she has two arms or four and this is a clever way to accomplish such. The piece is easily removed if you prefer a two-armed ghost and the cape will cover the unsightly holes on the back of the figure. I will say these arms do not sit as high as the artwork depicts them, but that may have been a harder feat, especially if the intent was always to make them removable.
Some may prefer two arms, but I say more is better.
Adding two arms obviously adds to the articulation as well. The Ghost of Christmas Past, like most Four Horsemen figures I’ve encountered, isn’t going to really impress with the articulation, but she probably has enough. The head is on a ball hinge, which I wish wasn’t the case as it’s a bit ugly. Especially since if you use it too much you’re sure to have some paint flake off of it. Shoulders are ball-hinged and elbows single-hinged. They’ll swivel, but they’re tight and some of the arms almost feel like they’re binding. Do be careful. Wrists all have standard, horizontal, hinges and will swivel. There’s a ball joint in the diaphragm and a waist twist. Legs are ball-hinges and there is a thigh swivel. Knees are single-hinged and will rotate a little. Ankles have a cut for a swivel and the feet, which are bare, have a hinge and ankle rocker. The body beneath this appears to basically be wearing gray underwear. I assume it’s sourced from another figure, but you won’t want to remove the dress unless you need a blank to customize.
The different faces of the Ghost of Christmas Past along with her alternate hair piece.
Not only do the arms change in the story, but so does the spirit’s face. Four Horsemen have equipped her with three portraits. The first of which is a conventionally attractive woman. She looks like the actress Abigail Spencer to me, but that could just be me. Her other portraits show her in an aging, or decaying, state. The first replaces her left eye with an all white one and her skin is deteriorating slightly on the same side. The third has both eyes whited out and her skin is cracked and damaged. Aside from the eyes, the effect is subtle, but both heads add a more supernatural element to the presentation. And if you don’t care for the large crown, there’s a separate hair piece that omits it. These extra faces are basically just to add a different vibe and to keep the figure from being “too tame,” as Four Horsemen put it. Drop the crown and other distinguishing touches and she can basically just be a wraith for a non-Christmas display. It’s your choice.
Do be careful when swapping hands. Maybe just heat the forearms up out of an abundance of caution.
For hands, Past comes with a pair of open hands and a pair of gripping hands by default. In the box are a set of fists, a set of style posed hands slightly different from the open ones, and another set of gripping hands. The figure, including the hands, is all painted which may contribute to the hands being difficult to remove. I did not even attempt to remove the two open hands, but I did remove the gripping hands from the second set of arms. They were tight and I actually broke the hinge on the left hand. I had to dunk the forearms in hot water even days after opening the figure (it’s cold up north so I let figures warm up this time of year) to get the hands off. Since the figure came with four gripping hands, I didn’t feel like reaching out to customer service was warranted, but do beware.
Stuff is good.
The Ghost of Christmas Past comes with several other accessories to liven up the package. For handheld things, we get her staff which is topped with a snuffer. It’s gold in color and has a spiral texture. The snuffer end is on a ring so it’s floating, almost like a bell. She also has a large, stand-alone snuffer or extinguisher. It’s gold and has some nice silver trim to it. There’s a little tab on it she can hold onto, though she isn’t going to get a truly tight grip with any of her hands. The last handheld object is a little piece of holly. It looks the part, but it’s too thin for her gripping hands. You’re better off using one of the more style posed hands and sliding the stem between some fingers if you’d like her to hold it. The other, main, accessory is a snow base with a street light that fits into it. It’s a snug fit and the lamp being a hard plastic makes it a little worrisome when trying to slot it in. Don’t get too rough or you may break it. It looks lovely though, I just wish it was battery operated so it could actually light up.
If you prefer the no staff look, she has more of a handheld extinguisher.
The Ghost of Christmas Past comes with two more items. The next part of the story which is in book form and a bonus accessory intended to be a surprise. I won’t spoil it, but as far as surprises go I think it’s the best, and most useful, one yet. The book is stave 2 of 5 and if you have any kind of familiarity with A Christmas Carol then you should know who is on deck for 2025. I will say, that one is less interesting to me as I don’t see an obvious way to make the character visually striking, unless he’s huge, but maybe they’ll surprise me. It would seem that the next three years are basically cemented as far as releases go with this Christmas line. It’s a little disappointing knowing we don’t have a surprise coming for awhile, but maybe one of the next staves is doubled-up. The final stave is basically the aftermath where one would expect to find a figure of Scrooge. Maybe Scrooge instead gets released with the final ghost as a two-pack or optional two-pack? Some may only be in it for the ghosts, though I suspect many want a Scrooge as well. Perhaps to make Scrooge a bit more exciting he’ll come with multiple outfits so that he can basically be any of the Scrooge’s from the story, save for the child version. Or maybe he’ll come with Tiny Tim? I guess there are still questions left to be answered.
This is shaping up to be a fun display in another 3 years. I wonder how many people out there will want a Scrooge for every ghost they have?
If you’re down with Four Horsemen’s take on Dickens then you’ll probably enjoy this figure. It’s undoubtedly part of what will be a much larger display some day and is an interesting take on the character that also can pass for a traditional one as well. If you’re looking to buy it, however, you have missed your chance for 2024. She will undoubtedly be back as a retailer edition with a slightly different colorway at some point next year and Four Horsemen will probably make this version available again next Christmas, which is what they do with this line. If you happen to catch them at a convention in 2025, then they may have some of these on-hand as well. In other words, if you missed it this year don’t go nuts trying to get one on the aftermarket. The MSRP is $60 and I definitely wouldn’t pay much more than that just to get the figure early.
Missed out on any of the past Figura Obscura Christmas figures from Four Horsemen? Check these out:
Four Horsemen Studios is back with another holiday release in its Figura Obscura line of action figures. This sister line of their more famous Mythic Legions property launched two years ago with Krampus and continued with last year’s Father Christmas. Many fans, myself included, expected another holiday figure this year, though if you had asked…
It was just last year that Four Horsemen launched a subline of its popular Mythic Legions brand of action figures called Figura Obscura. Practically speaking, there’s little difference between the two lines as Mythic Legions seeks to serve as a modular line of toys based on myth and legend and that doesn’t feature licensed characters.…
Over the years, I’ve acquired quite a few action figures designed by the good people over at Four Horsemen LLC. They’ve been designing figures for companies for awhile now. My first exposure to the company was via NECA’s inaugural line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on their appearance in the Mirage Studios comics. Lately,…
Four Horsemen Studios is back with another holiday release in its Figura Obscura line of action figures. This sister line of their more famous Mythic Legions property launched two years ago with Krampus and continued with last year’s Father Christmas. Many fans, myself included, expected another holiday figure this year, though if you had asked me a week ago what that figure would be I would have been pretty stumped. The line seemed to target characters of folklore, and while there are certainly some more out there for Christmas, none seemed as obvious as Krampus or a version of Santa Claus. I probably would have guessed some kind of yeti, or maybe Jack Frost, but Four Horsemen Studios surprised me with an action figure of the ghostly Jacob Marley.
He comes sans chains, but he’s not likely to stay that way for long.I love how the feet just disappear.
Marley comes from the pages of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. If you have never read the original source you have almost certainly encountered the story as told by someone else be it Mickey Mouse or Gonzo. Marley doesn’t immediately strike me as a folklore type of character, but then again, we’re talking about a story that’s been ingrained in Christmas since 1843 so perhaps I may need to rethink my personal definition of folklore. Regardless, a spectral figure draped in chains with its jaw held in place by a knot sure sounds like something that would lend itself well to what Four Horsemen does. The character was teased with an image of chains and locks, a dead give-away, and then finally unveiled and put up for order on December 2nd. I thought it looked cool enough to warrant a purchase, and it was in my hands a mere three days later so now I’m going to interrupt the Christmas special posts to tell you what I think.
The detail on this figure is incredible, though I wish this harness had a better way to fasten.
Marley arrives in the standard window box for the line with a wrap-around backdrop held in place by magnets. It’s a terrific way to include a backdrop as the cardstock is nice and heavy. On the front is an image of Marley as a doorknocker from the novella and on the reverse is an interior painting of Scrooge’s bed chambers (the artwork is credited to Nate Baerstch) complete with a terrified Scrooge by the fire. Scrooge being present in the image makes me wonder if that means he’s not a candidate for a figure of his own down the line, but I guess we’ll see in the years to come. There’s a description of Marley on the back as well and Four Horsemen even included a small (4.125″ x 5.25″) copy of Stave 1 of the story with more illustrations inside. The actual box depicts various specters from the story from when Scrooge looks out his window initially. I’m assuming some are based on the descriptions Dickens provides, though I haven’t read the original text in probably 25 years to recall specifics. I do plan on reading this first stave before the season departs.
There’s a lot going on here.
Marley himself stands 7″ tall and out of the box he does not have his chains affixed to him. This design is credited to Eric Treadaway, one of the three founders of Four Horsemen Studios (I’m guessing there is a reason why there are three, but the name implies four), and Marley certainly looks the part of a dead 1840s rich guy. He has an aged and weathered face with long hair and thick sideburns. He’s sporting a long coat and a rather fancy looking vest beneath that with a kerchief around his neck. The figure is basically all done in tones of blue and gray. His skin is painted in a shade similar to periwinkle and shaded with cyan blue. The hair and interior of the coat are more of a gray blue and the buttons on his coat are a faint silver. I have always considered the strength of Mythic Legions to be the sculpt and paint combo and Marley does not do anything to dissuade me from that manner of thinking. There’s some great texture on the coat, he’s got a missing chunk of flesh on his rather large forehead, and all of the buttons and pockets look real. The coat is a pliable plastic as opposed to soft goods and I think that was the correct route to go. It hangs well, has a good form to it, and could fool someone from the shelf.
To fly, or not to fly?
Marley looks, in a word, awesome. This figure is phenomenal when it comes to the presentation, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. The coat appears to be a clear plastic that’s been painted. It must be, since the hem of the coat is where the paint starts to fade out so we can get a translucent effect. I’m amazed at how well the paint looks on this thing given the amount needed to pull this off. The boots below the cuffs are also done in transparent plastic and the paint fades out on them as well as it moves down leaving the actual foot portion completely transparent. I don’t think it takes much imagination to come up with such a paint scheme, but it takes talent and skill to pull it off and man does this figure ever pull it off. He looks great standing, but I’m really tempted to put him on a flight stand to draw attention to the transparent parts.
You’re in some serious shit, Scrooge.
Of course, Marley wouldn’t be Marley without his many shackles and chains. Even Goofy was forced to drag those things around. The chains are all connected to a soft, plastic, harness that is designed to go over Marley’s torso. The harness looks nice, has a big lock on the front, but is a challenge to get on. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do so and thought I may need to pop the arms off in order to get it in place. Instead, the bottom rear came apart as I examined it and I think it’s supposed to do that? There’s no tab, nor is their any glues residue to imply it came apart by accident, but it did allow me to get the harness on. It, like the belt that came with last year’s Father Christmas, doesn’t fasten well though which makes me wonder if it was supposed to come apart. I wish it had a tab to hold it in place, because it will repeatedly come apart when handling the figure and might even do so when not. I secured it with a tiny amount of gray mounting putty since it was driving me nuts.
Anything that looks like it should open, can. Well, except the books. And the locks…Keys for days!
That annoyance aside, the harness and chains really bring some added drama to the presentation of this one. He has quite a few chains of varying lengths and design. They’re all a muted copper or a dingy brushed nickel and there’s padlocks and skeleton keys throughout. Three chains end in a lockbox while two in a ledger and they’re all unique designs so not one box is the same as the other. The boxes also all open from the top in case you want to hide anything inside. There’s also a large safe at the end of another chain and that can open as well. Inside you’ll find a bonus, unadvertised, accessory that does fit the mood of this figure, but could also be used with another Mythic Legions release. Since it’s a surprise, I’ve declined to take a picture of it, but know that it is pretty cool and I like it better than the surprise inclusions with Father Christmas.
“If you’re gonna scream, scream with me!”
The chains are not Marley’s only accessories as he does also come with various hands and a second portrait. He has gripping hands out of the box, but also has a set of gripping hands with a vertical hinge, style pose gesture hands, and a set of clawing hands. The second portrait depicts Marley with his headwrap removed which causes his jaw to droop and hang slightly askew. It’s appropriately unpleasant to look at, but the large mouth opening does sometimes come off as a bit cartoony. It’s really well painted and looks amazing, but I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use it. Marley also has a pair of door knockers featuring his visage, one shows him in a stoic fashion while the other has him wailing. There’s a slot on the back if you want to hang them on a nail, though they’re not so heavy that mounting putty wouldn’t work. The knocker portion also moves and the paint job and sculpt are terrific. Lastly, there’s also a small pouch of extra skeleton keys. There are multiple designs, though I have not bothered to count how many actual keys are in there, but know that it’s a lot. You will never have need of more. Four Horsemen also tossed in a greeting card featuring the cover art, as they did for the past two releases which is cool.
Even these door knockers are impressive as they have little, flecks, of green to show age and weathering.
The Ghost of Jacob Marley is an action figure, so it stands to reason that he should articulate rather well. Mythic Legions strikes me as a line that is focused on the aesthetic at the expense of articulation. That doesn’t mean the articulation is bad, but certain styles of joints are basically off the table. For the head, we have a simple ball joint. There’s no hinge or double-ball, but it seems adequate for the figure. Marley’s hair prevents him from looking up anyway, and the scarf has to be worked around to look down, but he gets some range in doing so. There’s a little tilt as well, and it seems suitable enough. The shoulders are hinged ball-pegs, and on my figure they were pretty stuck. The figure was delivered to the northeast in December, so it was quite cold to begin with. I let it warm up for an hour or so, but still needed to apply hot water to get the hinge to work. Once free, the arms raised out to the side to pretty much a full horizontal position. Rotation is fine, but there’s no bicep swivel. Instead, we get single-hinged elbows that can also swivel. We see this a lot with Super7 (and Four Horsemen Studios designed a lot of their early figures), but with this figure the cut is better so the range on the swivel is fine and it also looks pretty good. Hands rotate and hinge and we have gripping hands with both a horizontal and vertical hinge – perfect!
In the torso, there’s no joint except for the waist. There we have a ball joint, and it allows for a reasonable amount of forward and back with plenty of tilt and rotation. Obviously, once you put the harness on the figure it’s a little trickier to work with, but nothing is truly hindered. The hips are hinged ball-pegs and Marley can hit a split reasonably well. He can’t kick forward quite all the way, nor can he kick back very far. There is a thigh twist which is well-hidden, and the knee is a single hinge with twist like the elbows and it’s well cut. There is a boot swivel below the boot cuff, while the ankle also swivels. There’s a hinge which lets the foot go forward and back basically as far as you’d ever want it to go, and there’s also an ankle rocker. The peg that goes into the shin, likely due to the nature of transparent plastic, is a little loose and the foot may pop off on occasion. The figure doesn’t have any issue standing and all of the other joints are suitably tight. Only the shoulders were overtight for me, and swapping hands and heads wasn’t an issue.
Marley may not pair all that well with what’s come before him, but it sure sounds like he will with what’s to follow.
If you have any of the Figura Obscura figures released up until now, then you’re likely not surprised to find out that this one is fantastic. It’s not going to articulate as well as some other figures out there, but it can do everything it needs to and the articulation choices feel well thought out. The presentation is what sells this guy, and while the harness isn’t the tidiest thing to work with, there’s no denying how terrific it looks in practice. My only real gripe is with how said harness fastens to the figure as I feel like almost anything would have been better, but it’s something I can work around. I’m never going to take it off so I could even glue it if I want to, though I typically refrain from permanently modifying any of my figures. The end of the included Stave 1 booklet includes the message, “You will be haunted again. The ghosts of Christmas shall return,” which sure seems to imply that we’ll be getting more from A Christmas Carol next year and beyond. Will they stick with Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, or maybe some of the other, unnamed, ghosts on the packaging will get figures? And what about Scrooge? He’s on the backdrop, so maybe Four Horsemen Studios thinks that will be enough, but I bet fans would like to see an actual Scrooge as well. Only time will tell, but I bet whatever comes next will look awesome.
If you would like to add The Ghost of Jacob Marley to your collection then I’m afraid I have some bad news. The initial stock has sold out, so right now the figure is only available on the secondhand market. The MSRP was $60, but expect to pay considerably more if buying from a reseller. Both Krampus and Father Christmas had variant releases, so it seems likely that Marley will as well. Maybe with more of a spectral green coloring? Or something closer to fully transparent? Four Horsemen also had the original version of Father Christmas available for purchase this year, so perhaps this version of Marley could even come back next December. If you missed out and absolutely have to have it, then by all means do as you please, but I do think the patient will be rewarded at some point.
Missed out on some other past Christmas releases? Check these out:
Over the years, I’ve acquired quite a few action figures designed by the good people over at Four Horsemen LLC. They’ve been designing figures for companies for awhile now. My first exposure to the company was via NECA’s inaugural line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on their appearance in the Mirage Studios comics. Lately,…
It was just last year that Four Horsemen launched a subline of its popular Mythic Legions brand of action figures called Figura Obscura. Practically speaking, there’s little difference between the two lines as Mythic Legions seeks to serve as a modular line of toys based on myth and legend and that doesn’t feature licensed characters.…
It was looking like we were in for a photo finish this year. Last year, toymaker Fresh Monkey Fiction partnered with online retailer Big Bad Toy Store to launch the Naughty or Nice collection. Structured similar to a Kickstarter campaign, FMF posted several action figures for preorder with a minimum order quantity needed for the…
We made it! Another year in the books, and another Christmas has come. Indulge in it. Bask in it, for it only comes once a year, and not to get too dramatic, but you never know how many you’re going to get. And we’re ending this year’s edition of The Christmas Spot with another throwback to a terrific holiday classic: Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
When it comes to Christmas specials, there’s no shortage of A Christmas Carol adaptations. It’s the most frequently utilized framing device for a holiday special, be it animated or live-action, and there’s no shortage of just straight retellings too. Even Disney has released multiple theatrical versions of the Charles Dickens classic, and for my money, the best version of A Christmas Carol is the one released in 1983 starring a duck and mouse.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol is basically a trimmed down version of the Dickens tale faithfully retold through animation. The familiar Disney characters we all know and love are essentially actors in this story as Mickey Mouse isn’t referred to as Mickey by the characters in the story, he’s Bob Cratchit. It’s essentially what the Muppets would do a decade later, only this isn’t really a comedy as it basically plays it straight. When it released to theaters in 1983 it was a pretty big deal for the simple fact that it was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 30 years to be released in theaters. It unfortunately didn’t lead to a new era in theatrical short-form animation, but the following decade was certainly better than the preceding ones as far as quantity goes.
Scrooge McDuck is the star, but Mickey still gets top billing and his image before the cartoon.
Being that this was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 30 years, it marked an era of new beginnings and ends. This was the directorial debut for writer/artist Burny Mattinson. Mattinson would go on to co-direct The Great Mouse Detective, but after that basically returned to his role as a writer for the remainder of his career. For many, this was the first time people were hearing Wayne Allwine as Mickey and Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck. Allwine, who worked in the sound department under his Mickey predecessor Jimmy MacDonald, had started voicing the mouse in some uncredited appearances on The New Mickey Mouse Club, but this theatrical short (which was essentially designed to go right to television given its running time) offered more exposure and a true credit, too. For Young, this was actually his second time voicing Scrooge in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge as he first took on the role for an LP release titled An Adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players in the 1970s. He even voiced Mickey on that release. This cartoon was obviously more far reaching than what was essentially an audio play and Young would retain ownership of the role into DuckTales later in the decade and really for the rest of his life. As for ends, this would be the final credited appearance of Clarence “Ducky” Nash as Donald Duck. He had been the sole voice of the character since creation, but would turn it over to animator Tony Anselmo (who was an uncredited assistant on this production) in 1985.
Other notable performances include Hal Smith voicing Goofy for the second to last time. He didn’t voice the character a ton, but Goofy is still a character with a fairly exclusive list of actors credited as performing his voice. This was also the first time Will Ryan would voice Willie the Giant and that’s a role he filled until his death earlier this year (RIP). For actor Eddie Carroll, this was arguably his most exposure as Jiminy Cricket since taking over the seldom used character in 1947. He would voice the character in his other appearances following this pretty much right up until his passing in 2007. Lastly, this is seemingly the first, and only, time Patricia Parris voiced Daisy Duck. Daisy was somewhat of a seldom used character in the 80s and 90s who had multiple voice actors playing the role until Disney seemed to settle on Tress MacNeille as the one and only Daisy sometime around the year 2000. The only credit missing is one for Minnie Mouse, but that’s because her role is silent in this one. Yeah, it wasn’t the best look to see Minnie reduced to a silent cameo, but this was during her silent era which had been going on for decades. Russi Taylor would eventually be cast as Minnie later in the decade finally putting an end to the madness, but we were denied such a performance in this one.
Time to find out if a man, err duck, who literally hugs his money is redeemable.
After it’s theatrical release alongside a re-release of The Rescuers, Mickey’s Christmas Carol would go on to have a long run as a prime time television special around the holidays. That was how I first encountered it and also how I fell in love with it. Even though the special seems to be purposefully crafted to fit into a half hour broadcast, it would actually be aired as an hour long special with some Christmas or winter themed shorts attached. The version I am most familiar with aired on NBC and was preempted by the following classic shorts: Donald’s Snow Fight, Pluto’s Christmas Tree, and The Art of Skiing. In between the shorts, there would be narration from Mickey describing the favorite Christmas memory of his friends, which would lead into that character introducing their own short (including Pluto who can be heard barking at Mickey). They would also show clips from other shorts like Toy Tinkers and Mickey’s Good Deed before eventually getting to Mickey’s favorite Christmas memory, the year they all got together to tell the story of A Christmas Carol. “Ha ha, we called it Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” he adds a bit sheepishly, almost like he’s a little embarrassed that his name went on this thing. Especially since Scrooge McDuck is the real star!
This one begins with some rousing horns and the classic Mickey head logo only it’s been dressed up with a hat and scarf. From there, we go into a lovely little opening title sequence. Still images in a monochrome, sepia, style from the cartoon to come are displayed along with the credits. It’s set to the song “Oh What a Merry Christmas Day” by Irwin Kostal (lyrics by Fredrick Searles), who conducted all of the music for the cartoon. The song really is quite nice and I think it’s been underserved by Disney ever since it was released. This should be their Christmas song, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it outside of this cartoon. The final image of the sequence eventually dissolves into some scenery that is just gorgeous. This one seems to be set in the same era as the original story, 1843, as we get a little multi-plane camera action that zooms into a street setting where the sidewalks are populated by beggars and busy bodies and the streets by horse drawn carriages. It’s important to note that all characters in this cartoon are personified animals from past Disney films and shorts. You’ll probably immediately see the three little pigs and the big, bad, wolf as well as many faces from Robin Hood and The Wind in the Willows.
Scrooge pausing to break the fourth wall.
Ebenezer Scrooge is strolling down the street looking rather unapproachable. A beggar (Young) asks him if he has a penny for the poor and Scrooge just scoffs at him. He eventually comes to the front door of his counting house, and before entering he knocks the snow off of his sign which reads Scrooge & Marley, only Marley’s name has been scratched out. It’s then Scrooge informs us (I’m not sure if we’re to read this as him breaking the fourth wall or him just talking to himself) that his old partner, Jacob Marley, died seven years ago today. He boasts the man left him enough money in his will to pay for a tombstone, but he had him buried at sea! Not said, is that Scrooge is so cheap he’d rather just cross his name off of the sign than get a new one. I also wonder if he’d bother to knock the snow off of the sign if it was covering Marley’s name instead of his own.
Cratchit is apparently allotted one piece of coal every two weeks.
When Scrooge enters the counting house, he finds his lone employee, Bob Cratchit, up to something over by the fireplace. He demands to know what he’s doing, and Cratchit indicates he’s just trying to thaw out the ink for his quill which is coated with ice. Scrooge is apoplectic that Cratchit would dare to use two pieces of coal in the span of a week and demands he get back to his work. Cratchit takes it in stride and hops up onto a tall chair and appears to make do with the frozen quill as Scrooge begins to remove his coat and hat. Cratchit then brings up the topic of Christmas, very gingerly as Scrooge bristles at the mere mention of the holiday. Cratchit meekly requests a half day off for the holiday, which is tomorrow, and Scrooge reluctantly obliges. Only it’s on the condition that he only receive half a day’s pay. He then tries to recall what he even pays his one, and only, employee and Cratchit has to correct him that he’s up to two shillings and a ha’penny per day on account of a raise he got three years ago when he agreed to start doing Scrooge’s laundry. Scrooge smiles to himself at the confirmation, likely quite satisfied to have such cheap help, before his scowl returns as it reminds him the sack he’s had slung over his shoulder is a bundle of shirts for Bob to wash.
Scrooge heads over to his desk and starts making entries in his log. He starts tallying up interest payments (he’s nailing one guy for 80%) and basically playing with the coins on his desk laughing to himself. He goes so far as to embrace a pile of coins remarking “Money, money, money,” to himself in a sequence that would be adorable if it wasn’t so illustrative of his excessive greed.
The duck we’ve all been waiting for!
A bell attached to the door, I suppose that makes it a doorbell, rings with the opening of the door. It’s Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, played by the character Scrooge McDuck also calls a nephew, Donald Duck. Fred arrives by shouting “Merry Christmas!” which his uncle responds to by shouting “Bah! Humbug!” Fred refuses to let his sour uncle get him down and he has Cratchit cheering him on. When Scrooge demands to know what Bob is doing by clapping for Fred he suggests he’s just trying to keep his hands warm. Scrooge demands to know why his nephew is there to bother him and Fred tells him that he came to bring him a wreath and to invite him to Christmas dinner. Scrooge seems actually delighted at the invitation and starts asking Fred about the menu. As Scrooge inquires about each dish, Fred enthusiastically confirms that he’s serving it as his excitement builds up until he finally asks “Are you coming?!” Scrooge then reveals he’s just been toying with the lad by saying he can’t eat that stuff. Fred is clearly hurt, but Scrooge feels he’s wasted enough of his time as shoves the wreath over Fred’s head and literally kicks him out the door. We hear the unmistakable quacks of anger from Fred as he apparently soars off of Srooge’s stoop, only he quickly returns to open the door to shout, once more, “Merry Christmas!” and slip the wreath over the doorknob. Scrooge angrily shoots back, “And a bah humbug to you!”
I’m guessing they’ll never hit Scrooge up for money again.
Cratchit reflects on how kind Fred is, but Scrooge suggests he’s always been a little peculiar. The bell by the door rings again as Scrooge angrily adds that his nephew is quite stubborn, but his mood does a total 180 when he sees that two potential customers have entered. It’s the most personable we’ve seen of Scrooge yet, but unfortunately for him the two gentlemen who just entered are not looking to secure a loan with unfavorable rates. They’re two solicitors for the poor and they’re played by Ratty and Moley (voiced by Smith and Ryan) from The Wind in the Willows. Scrooge sort of recoils at the mere suggestion he just donate money to the needy, but seeing as how he has a business to run, he doesn’t toss the two out like he did his nephew. Instead, he uses some rather twisted logic to indicate that the job of these men are dependent on there being poor, and if Scrooge gives money to the poor, well then they won’t be poor anymore! He then practically begs them not to ask him to put them out of a job, especially not on Christmas Eve! The two completely fall for it as Scrooge gently nudges them outside, but just before closing the door, the real Scrooge emerges as he tells them “I suggest you give this to the poor and be gone,” and tosses the wreath Fred gave him in their direction before slamming the door. We get one lingering shot of the two collectors looking shocked as the wreath swings back and forth on the nose of Moley.
An exasperated Scrooge slumps against the door as he asks his employee, “What’s this world coming to, Cratchit? You work all your life to get money, and people just want you to give it away!” Cratchit doesn’t respond as Scrooge heads to his desk and time passes. It’s dark in the counting house and the clock strikes 7, a long work day is apparently over. A very tired Bob Cratchit is able to smile a bit as the clock bells go off and he begins to head out. Scrooge, checking his pocket watch, then remarks the wall clock is two minutes fast. Cratchit says nothing and quickly jumps back into his chair and into his logs. Scrooge then tells him not to mind the two minutes, but adds that he better be here all the earlier the next day. The animation seems to suggest that Scrooge’s watch and the clock on the wall are in agreement. I wonder if that’s an animation goof or if Scrooge is so manipulative he’d make his employee think he’s leaving early to encourage him to arrive for work earlier in the future? Either way, Cratchit seems positively giddy to be getting out a whole two minutes early and tells his boss that he is so kind. This is clearly the nicest thing Scrooge has probably done for him since that raise three years ago. Cratchit bundles up in his tattered hat and scarf and nearly wishes his boss a “Bah! Humbug,” but corrects himself to “Merry Christmas!” before departing. Scrooge just scoffs and returns to his work.
I like how Goofy’s ears form the handle on the knocker.
When the clock strikes 9, Scrooge finally calls it a day. He puts on his coat and hat and heads out into the snowy, now deserted, streets for a lonely walk home. This walk cycle always floors me with how gorgeous it looks as the snow looks so authentic and the movement of Scrooge so accurate to how this character would move if he were real. He eventually reaches his home, a fairly large looking house with a gaudy, gold-colored, door knocker. As Scrooge goes to unlock it, the visage on the knocker changes to resemble what we, the audience, know to be the face of Goofy, but here he’s Jacob Marley. He calls out in a low, mournful, manner for Scrooge which certainly gets his attention. Scrooge just says “Jacob…Marley?!” at the sight, and when the knocker returns with another wail, Scrooge squeezes his nose which causes him to yell out in pain. This frightens Scrooge into the house while we’re left to see Goofy scrunch up his nose and remark in typical Goofy fashion, “Gwarsh!”
A shaken Scrooge enters his dark and cold house. Wide eyed, he jumps onto a tall staircase and peers through the darkness frantically, but seeing nothing, cautiously begins his ascent up the stairs. As he climbs, a shadow of Marley appears on the wall behind him. The shadow is loaded with heavy chains and makes quite the noise as it moves and Scrooge notices almost immediately. When he stops, the shadow stops, and when he spins around it disappears! Scrooge then resumes his climb and the shadow respawns, only now it’s feeling playful as it lifts Scrooge’s hat off of his head. Scrooge then carefully sticks his cane out behind him and basically tickles the shadow. As it laughs, Scrooge is able to spin around and catch sight of it. The shadow drops his hat while Scrooge yells and races up the stairs into his bed chambers.
Aww, c’mon, Scrooge! He doesn’t look so scary.
Once inside, Scrooge engages numerous locks on his bedroom door (that’s kind of irregular) before retreating to a large chair. Shaking, he pulls his hat low as Marley’s haunting calls for Ebenezer Scrooge return. Scrooge barks back for him to go away, but the ghost enters. As he walks through the door, he fails to negotiate the cane Scrooge hastily left on the floor and trips over it coming to land right beside Scrooge’s chair. Marley pops up remarking it’s kind of slippery as Scrooge lights a candle in disbelief. The ghostly apparition confirms to Scrooge that he is indeed the ghost of Jacob Marley. Scrooge then softens a bit and starts recounting how Marley was a class act who bravely robbed the widows and swindled the poor. Marley seems rather proud of himself before something reminds him that basking in such praise is not what he came here for. He snaps out of his contented state to correct Scrooge. Declaring he was wrong to live his life in such a manner, he reveals he was punished for all eternity for his crimes against humanity as he flings his chains about. They’re his curse, but wrapped around one is a piggy bank that Scrooge takes interest in. When Marley, deep in his dramatic recounting of his cursed state, yanks on the chains they wrap around Scrooge’s neck drawing him closer to Marley and choking him in the process.
It’s at this point that Marley reveals to Scrooge that the same is in store for him when his time is up. Scrooge seems legitimately scared of such a fate and begs his old partner for help. It’s at this point Marley gives him the old “You will be visited by three spirts,” routine, only since this is Goofy he holds up just two fingers when saying “three.” He warns Scrooge that if he doesn’t heed the advice of these spirits that his chains will be even heavier! He then departs with a haunting “Farewell,” and as he vanishes through the door Scrooge calls outs out for him to “Watch out for that first,” before we hear the sound of Marley falling down the stairs with the familiar Goofy yell accompanying it. When the crashing sounds end, Scrooge finishes his warning, “…step.”
A clearly spooked Scrooge searches for ghosts before bed.
Scrooge, now dressed in a gown and cap for sleeping, is inspecting his room for spirits, it would seem. He flashes a candle in the fireplace and under the bed, but seeing nothing he climbs into bed scoffing at the notion of spirits as he blows out his candle. He quickly falls to sleep, and then the camera starts bouncing! We’re clearly seeing the point of view of another creature, which heads for Scrooge’s nightstand. It’s Jiminy Cricket, who rings the bell on Scrooge’s clock to wake him from his slumber. A groggy Scrooge turns to regard this individual who informs him that he’s the Ghost of Christmas Past. Jiminy even displays a fancy badge, like the one he receives at the end of Pinocchio, confirming his identity. Scrooge rather casually remarks he thought he’d be taller, then turns to go back to sleep. The cricket fires back that if men were measured by kindness, then Scrooge would be no bigger than a speck of dust! Scrooge tells him what he thinks of kindness and its usefulness, which Jiminy reminds him he didn’t always feel that way. Declaring it’s time to go, Scrooge encourages him to get out, but when the ghost opens the window Scrooge is suddenly out of bed.
Despite the fact that he’s a duck, Scrooge clearly does not enjoy flying.
Confused, Scrooge asks the ghost (which he always addresses as Spirit) what he’s doing. He tells him they’re going to visit his past, but Scrooge lets him know he can’t go out the window without falling. The ghost just tells him to hold on, and when he opens his tiny umbrella the two sail out of the window with a gust of wind! They fly through the night sky with Scrooge becoming ever frantic like a cat that accidentally wandered onto a motor boat or something. The spirit actually laughs at him, suggesting he thought Scrooge enjoyed looking down on the world.
Scrooge clearly wasn’t very smooth with the ladies.
Eventually, the two come to rest outside a tavern. It belongs to an individual named old Fezzywig, Scrooge’s former employer. Scrooge is excited to peer through the window and the sights are full of Disney cameos. Scrooge remarks that Fezzywig couldn’t have been a kinder person to work for, which is interesting since he doesn’t appear to find that trait useful for himself as an employer. He then gets excited when he spies a younger version of himself seated in the corner. The spirit points that this is the version of Scrooge that hasn’t yet become a miserable miser consumed by greed which doesn’t seem to offend Scrooge in the least as he casually responds “No one’s perfect.” Scrooge then narrows his focus on Isabelle, as played by Daisy Duck. He refers to her as “lovely Isabelle,” and we see her pull the young Scrooge out onto the dance floor. She rather unapologetically begs Scrooge for a kiss by pointing out she’s primed and ready and under the mistletoe, but Scrooge instead takes note that she’s standing on his foot. She doesn’t allow herself to be bothered as she takes Scrooge’s hands and the two dance. When the song ends, Belle plants a kiss on Scrooge which he rather clearly enjoys.
Scrooge isn’t even willing to pause his counting and come out from behind his wall of money to talk with Belle.
The present day Scrooge is left swooning too as he recalls how he was madly in love with her. The spirit then reminds him that in ten year’s time he came to love something else. Scrooge looks around and realizes they’re in his counting house on a dark, and rainy, evening. The young Scrooge is seated at his desk behind a mountain of money he’s counting out as Belle enters. She has to interrupt his counting to get him to acknowledge her, and he won’t even stand up to look at her from behind his wall of coins. She then delivers in rather unforceful terms an ultimatum. She’s been waiting for Scrooge to keep his promise to marry her as she’s been holding onto a cottage for the two of them for years. She asks if he’s come to a decision, and Scrooge rather angrily indicates he has. Belle’s last payment on the cottage, which she apparently financed through him, was an hour late allowing Scrooge to foreclose on the mortgage. As he waves the document in her face, Belle begins to sob and head for the door as broken hearts flutter about in the air – a little corny, but effective. She casts one, last, look in Scrooge’s direction and her face morphs from sadness to anger as she slams the door behind her causing all of the coins to scatter on Scrooge’s desk.
The spirit pushes the knife in deeper by pointing out that Scrooge loved his gold more than Belle causing him to lose her forever. Scrooge then begs the spirit to take him home declaring he can no longer bare these painful memories. The spirit adds that he fashioned them himself, as the scene shifts back to Scrooge’s bedroom. He’s in bed asking himself how he could have been so foolish when he’s roused from his thoughts by a loud, booming, voice. The voice shouts “Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum!” and the being indicates it’s puzzled by the smell of something unpleasant. Scrooge peers out from behind his bed curtains to see a massive man (the only human looking denizen of this world) surrounded by food. He quickly shuts the curtains, before pulling them open carefully again and a giant eye fills the opening.
This is the part of the cartoon where the viewer gets hungry. Well, a little. That pig is more disturbing than anything.
The titanic spirit (portrayed by Willy the Giant from Fun and Fancy Free) reaches into the bed to confirm that he has, indeed, smelled a stingy, little, Englishman. Scrooge emerges from the creature’s grasp and has it confirmed that he’s the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge then takes note of the delicious looking, giant-sized, food before him. He asks where it all came from and is informed that it’s “The food of generosity, which you have long denied your fellow man.” Scrooge scoffs at the notion as he passes through a bundle of grapes, getting one stuck on his foot. He suggests no one has ever shown him generosity, and the spirit is forced to correct him that, despite his not being deserving of it, there are still some out there who do indeed extend good tidings to him. Scrooge tries to assure the spirit that this is not the case, but he’s just told. “You’ll see.”
Time to go meet this adorable little fella.
With Scrooge in the pocket his festive, green, robe, the spirit leaves Scrooge’s home. Since he is a literal giant, he has to lift the roof of the house off to step out. He then grabs a street lantern, which magically functions like a flashlight, as he goes on a search for a specific home. He checks one and the screams of a woman from inside alerts him that he’s not in the right place. He soon finds the home he’s looking for and dives onto his knees outside of it. One would assume a giant jumping around outside would get the attention of the whole neighborhood, but no one seems to notice.
“Hey mom, where did Polly go? She’s not in her cage…”
The spirit removes Scrooge from his pocket and deposits him outside the home. Scrooge, rather angrily, demands to know why he brought him to this old shack. The spirit then tells him it’s the home of his overworked, underpaid, employee: Bob Cratchit. Scrooge looks inside and sees Mrs. Cratchit placing dinner on the table. He cracks a joke by asking if she’s cooking a canary, then, perhaps sensing the ire of the giant, says they must have more food than that and points out a pot boiling over a fire. The spirit corrects Scrooge by telling him that’s his laundry, and the two go quiet and just observe as Bob tells his two children they must wait for Tiny Tim (Dick Billingsly). The small boy tells his father he’s coming as he slowly descends the stairs with the aid of a cane. His father whisks him over to the table where the boy enthusiastically declares there’s a lot of wonderful things to eat. Then reminds his family that they must thank Mr. Scrooge. His mother can’t muster up a response except just to smile politely and avoid his gaze, she probably spends many hours of her day cursing that name. Bob sits down and begins cutting a single pea for himself. Seeing that this is apparently all his dad has to eat, Tiny Tim offers him the drumstick from his plate, but Bob, sort of sadly, just hugs the child refusing to take the offering.
The final spirit is far less friendly than the first two. He also has a bad habit, but if you’re already dead, then why not enjoy a cigar?
Scrooge asks the spirit what’s wrong with Tim, and he responds, “Much, I’m afraid. For if these shadows remain unchanged, I see an empty chair where Tiny Tim once sat.” Scrooge can only respond with “Tim will…?!” but there’s no spirit to answer him. He looks around and the scenery grows foggy as Scrooge begs for the spirit to return through coughing. A shadowy figure appears smoking a cigar, the apparent source of all the smoke. Scrooge, clearly terrified of this new apparition, asks if he’s the Ghost of Christmas Future. The spirit only nods as Scrooge, rather carefully, begs to know what will happen to Tiny Tim.
That’s the one! The shot that breaks me every time.
The spirit simply raises an arm and gestures. A cemetery comes into view and a small headstone sits beneath a tree. Bob is beside it, clutching Tim’s can, as his wife and other two children lower their heads and walk away. The camera focuses on Bob as he sniffles a bit and a tear runs down his cheek. It’s a truly heartbreaking sight. He then lays the cane on the headstone and slowly walks away.
Scrooge can only wail “Oh no!” at the sight, before turning to the spirit. He declares he didn’t want this to happen and begs to know if these events can yet be changed. The spirit doesn’t respond as a raspy pair of voices fill the air. Two weasels (voiced by Allwine and Ryan) are laughing about a recent funeral they just witnessed. They’re grave diggers, and the person they’re digging a grave for apparently had a funeral with no mourners. One laughs and says they should take a break, since “He ain’t going no where,” as they laugh and walk away. Scrooge and the spirit approach the open grave and Scrooge, likely knowing the answer given how spooked he sounds, asks to know whose lonely grave this belongs to.
Dying sure seems like it sucks.
The spirit strikes a match and as he lights his cigar his hood falls away. It’s Peg Leg Pete (Ryan), and he lets him know that the grave belongs to him! He holds the match beside the headstone so Scrooge can see his own name. The spirit then slaps his back, knocking Scrooge into the grave, as he shouts, “The richest man in the cemetery!” and breaks out into laughter. As Scrooge cries out for help, the spirit only continues to laugh harder. Scrooge, holding onto a root, dangles above his own coffin which soon billows with smoke and an eerie red light shines from within. It begins to open, and as Scrooge falls towards it he shouts “I’ll change! I’ll change!”
He’s never looked better!
Scrooge tumbles out of bed tangled in his own curtains. He’s shouting demands for the spirit to let him out before he realizes he’s back in his own room. He runs to the window declaring it’s Christmas morning! He shows his elation by hugging a pigeon that was on his window sill and declares the spirits have given him another chance. He frantically searches for his robe, accidentally stepping through his hat and ripping through the top, as he tosses on a scarf and runs out the door. He then runs back in and declares “I can’t go out like this!” Mind you, Scrooge is in his nightgown and slippers with a red coat, scarf, and busted hat. He then grabs his cane and declares “There!” in a bit of a fake out before running back outside.
Okay, maybe they will come hit Scrooge up for many in the future.
Scrooge gleefully slides down a short, snow-covered, banister and crashes into the individuals who showed up at his counting house the prior day collecting funds for the poor. Scrooge is happy to see them, though they don’t appear to feel the same way about running into Scrooge again. He tells them he has something for them, but they try to deflect him as they likely assume it’s more insults or another wreath, but Scrooge surprises them with gold. He fills the mole’s hat and slaps it down on his head as the rat reacts with shock and punctuates it with an “Oh no!” in disbelief. Scrooge thinks, or acts like he thinks, that the rat thinks this isn’t enough and starts tossing more money. This schtick goes on until Scrooge literally fills the mole’s pants with money leaving them with 100 gold pieces. As Scrooge cheerfully heads to his next destination, the two call out a “Merry Christmas to you!”
Scrooge is just spreading happiness now and it’s lovely.
Scrooge merrily dances through the streets greeting people who are clearly shocked to see this side of Scrooge until his nephew nearly runs him over while riding a horse. Scrooge, not bothered by this at all, simply calls out “Ah! Nephew!” Fred, like the other denizens of town, is shocked to see his uncle in an apparent good mood. He’s even more shocked when Scrooge tells him he’s looking forward to that wonderful meal he’s preparing. Fred, almost sweetly, shouts “You mean you’re coming?!” and Scrooge tells him he’ll be over promptly at 2 and to keep it piping hot as he balances his cane on his nose and scampers off. Fred, with a huge smile across his bill, assures his uncle that he will keep it hot and wishes him “…a very merry Christmas to you!”
Scrooge feels the need to torture Bob mildly before changing his life for the better.
Some kids scamper by, two of the three little wolves chased by one of the little pigs wielding a pop gun, as Scrooge emerges from a toy store with a huge sack over his shoulder. Declaring, “And now for Cratchit’s” he merrily makes his way down the street and to the home of Bob Cratchit. He giddily knocks on the door, but then forces himself to put on a serious face. Bob answers the door and is pretty shocked to see his boss standing there on Christmas morning (he probably shouldn’t be that shocked given how terrible his boss is). He somewhat sheepishly offers a “Merry Christmas” towards Scrooge, who snorts and brushes past him causing Bob to sort of whimper “Won’t you come in.”
Toys! We’ve got toys here!
Scrooge adds a “Merry Christmas, indeed,” in an angry tone. He tells Bob he has another bundle for him as he slams the sack on the ground. A teddy bear pops out, which Tiny Tim takes notice of. Scrooge scoops it up and stuffs it in the pocket of his jacket as he tugs the sack closer to himself trying to ignore the curious child. He then goes into a rant, declaring he’s had enough of this “half day off stuff” He then starts to act like he’s going to fire Cratchit, who looks pretty terrified. As he hollers, “You leave me, no alternative, but to give you,” the last part he can’t get out without a bit laughter as Tim finishes the sentence by exclaiming, “Toys!”
The other shot that breaks me, but in a good way!
Scrooge confirms to a confused Bob that, yes, he is giving him toys. He also tells him that he’s giving him a raise, and making Bob his partner as he doffs his cap and puts an arm around him. Bob can only muster up a “Partner?!” as he clearly didn’t expect this. Scrooge basically just announced that he’s lifting his family out of poverty, for heaven’s sake. He can only respond by saying, “Thanks, Mr. Scrooge” as we see his wife lift a fully cooked turkey out of that same sack (those toys must be gross). Tiny Tim then goes in for his line, “And God bless us, every one!” as Scrooge embraces the kid. They tumble into a rocking chair as Scrooge places his hat on the kid’s head and the other two kids run in to join the fun. “Oh What a Merry Christmas Day” returns as the Cratchits look on as their children pile onto Scrooge and the cartoon comes to an end.
Now, if only this could happen to every other greedy, rich, asshole the world would be a better place.
If that ending doesn’t leave you all warm and happy on Christmas Day, then I’m guessing nothing does. The way that Scrooge toys with Bob at the end doesn’t come across as cruel, though I can see some perhaps thinking that it does. It serves to draw out the suspense of the moment as Bob Cratchit discovers that his boss has made a truly life altering decision for him and his family. Did Disney intend for us to put it in such context? Maybe, I don’t know, but it’s how I’ve always approached that last scene. That family was starving to the point where their malnourished son was essentially a goner if things didn’t change, and fast. Now, assuming Scrooge keeps his word, the Cratchits will basically get half of every dollar Scrooge makes and presumably have a much easier life. And the adorable Tiny Tim gets to live.
Scrooge is also practical in his Christmas Day delivery, though they could really use some sides.
It’s a very satisfying conclusion to a well-worn story. I, like probably many, do not care to see another version of A Christmas Carol come along ever gain. We have enough. This cartoon though was my first introduction to the story which is probably why I like it so much. I do think it has value beyond that and my affection isn’t solely attributed to nostalgia, but I do acknowledge it plays a role in just how much I adore this one. I just think it’s wonderfully paced, beautifully animated, and the cast is exceptional. I love how this one looks, even when I’m watching it on a 35 year old VHS my mother made for my sister and I. I especially love the backgrounds which are so detailed and almost weathered looking to reflect the setting. As a result, the special loses a little something in the HD transfer Disney did a few years ago that brightens everything up and dulls some of the linework. Not that it isn’t still worth watching, but I almost prefer my ancient tape or cheap DVD I bought more than a decade ago. The actual animation is also wonderful. The characters are so expressive and the animators did an amazing job of conveying emotion through them. You could watch this thing on mute and know what every character is feeling at every moment. And even though this re-telling plays it straight, there’s some exaggerated, animated, flourishes here and there like when Scrooge is terrified of Marley or when he kicks Fred out of the counting house. It feels like Disney had something to prove with the first Mickey cartoon in 30 years and it really nailed it here.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol is available to stream all year round on Disney+. It probably aired this month on cable too, but at this point those airings may be over. I wish it still got the broadcast network timeslot it occupied 30 years ago, especially with the added shorts (only two of which are on Disney’s streaming network), but that’s how it goes.
The end of the cartoon, and the end for this year’s countdown!
I hope you enjoyed this year’s edition of The Christmas Spot, whether you read one entry, or all 25. Or whether or not you’re reading this in 2021, or 2025. In December, or March. It doesn’t matter, it’s always nice to do a little Christmas reading and reflect on the specials that warmed our hearts as kids and adults. And it’s even fun to look at the not-so-good ones, and that’s why I do this every year. A lot can change in a year, but I plan on being back here next year so I hope to see you then. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Can’t wait until next year for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:
It’s Christmas morning, and if you woke up to a tree packed full of presents you have only one person to thank for that – Sonic the Hedgehog! What? You didn’t know that Sonic took over for Santa back in 1996? Oh, well find yourself a comfy chair and a plate of chili dogs while…
Welcome, Christmas Day! Hopefully you’re not hungover from too much Christmas partying last night, and if you are, hopefully it was worth it. By now, Santa should have deposited presents under the tree, if you were good this year, and hopefully he remembered the batteries. It’s been fun, but this post means we are done…
Merry Christmas! We have reached the end on our advent calendar celebration of the holiday season. This is the third complete 25 day advent calendar here at The Nostalgia Spot and fourth overall. For this year, I managed to shy away from the tropiest of the tropes when it comes to Christmas television specials -…
Mickey’s Christmas Carol marked the return of the most famous cartoon mouse to the big screen for the first time in 30 years. Once a staple of the cinematic experience, Mickey had been pushed aside for other characters (namely Donald Duck) and live-action features. It had been even longer since Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had all appeared in the same short.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol was released in 1983 along with the The Rescuers. As shorts go, it’s actually pretty long, which has helped it over the years in being shown on television because it fits easily into a standard half-hour time-slot. Mickey’s Christmas Carol also goes against one of my personal tenants of Christmas specials which is to avoid adaptations of A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life. That’s often the path of the lazy, but Mickey’s Christmas Carol benefits as being one of the earlier adaptations, and for some reason, it just works.
The story is obviously familiar to most people. It’s a pretty straight-forward retelling of the Dickens classic just with Disney characters acting out the parts (only the animal characters though, no humans allowed). The cast features the old popular ones of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie while also mixing in cameos from The Winds in the Willow, Silly Symphonies, and Robin Hood, among others. This is also the first short to feature Scrooge McDuck as the character he was born to play. He’s voiced by Alan Young, known to audiences as Wilbur from Mister Ed, who has continued to voice the character even into his 90’s. Another debut is Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, just the third voice actor to portray the character. Clarence “Ducky” Nash also gets a final opportunity to voice Donald Duck, before the character would be passed onto Tony Anselmo. As a result, Mickey’s Christmas Carol feels like a really important short in the company’s history as there’s a lot of historical significance that can be attached to it.
Gets me every time.
All of that stuff is great, but it wouldn’t matter if the story sucked. Instead, the story is told in a brisk, but not rushed, manner. The shots that need to linger, linger, and the ones that can be hurried along are. The animation is vintage Disney, with Scrooge walking home in the snow from his counting house probably my favorite shot. All of the right emotions hit, and Scrooge’s transformation from miserable miser to benevolent boss is done in a believable way. Just try to suppress the lump in your throat when Mickey is seen crying at the grave of Tiny Tim in the flash-forward. That sight would transform any man!
Mickey’s Christmas Carol has a special place in my heart. It was the lead-off special on a homemade VHS tape my mom made for my sister and I when we were really little. As a result, it’s also probably the Christmas special I’ve seen more than any other. Since Disney is omnipresent on television, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is shown quite frequently around the holidays, so hopefully you didn’t miss it this year. It’s also been released multiple times on DVD and Blu Ray, most recently just two years ago. Though if you really want to own a copy of it, I suggest you pony up the extra dollars for Mickey Mouse: In Living Color Volume 2 so you can also enjoy a bunch of Mickey’s other classic shorts.
The Nostalgia Spot 