I brought this fairly soon after its original release; mostly because at the time it was tricky to get hold of anything with Mickey and co in (at least until the Disney Treasures came along). I’m glad I did because this is one of the better holiday specials that Disney has made. I suppose some of this may be because it didn’t have to live up to the standards of a previous film, like most DTVs have to endure or survive.
The first thing that grabbed me is the ever warm and inviting narrative by Kelsey ‘Frasier’ Grammer, which gives the film an endearing connective from the outset and pretty much sets the tone for the whole thing: Gentle and serene for the most part (if such a word could be used for anything with Goofy in it). Underneath a Christmas tree, we see three little presents laid down, each represented one of the three segments of the film.
How what about those segments? Essentially they are part of a whole, yet I have different opinions of them as separate entities. For the purposes of this review I will look at them separately before I look at them as a whole.
Stuck on Christmas
The first segment does works, even though the whole concept has become somewhat old hat. It is the weakness of the three segments in terms of originally. The Bill Murray vehicle Groundhog Day is likely to be the first thing to come to mind, although that film was also not the first to use this plot type (just the most recent).
In the animated format though this sort of scenario is more likely to generate suspicions of laziness on the animators part (or more possibly the writers) rather than joy. Indeed animation does have a unhealthy habit of recycling too much in today's industry, but in this case it is the nature of the story type.
With a segment like this, it’s dependent on the writers ability to make the recurring days both similar but significantly different from each other so that the viewer doesn’t feel cheated. To be fair the creative team does a lot with this limited story type, even if the ending is the standard “do what must be done, not what you want to do” morality tale that this type of story almost inevitably suffers with.
Ultimately, I can’t help but think that the characters are little more than window dressing in a plot that has been used much better elsewhere in Hollywood. Basically it holds little to no surprises, yet is ultimately enjoyable despite itself.
A Very Goofy Christmas
After such a near mediocre start, the film really needs to step up its act, less it become wasted time on the part of the viewer. Luckily the second act has Goofy as its star, a better story and is quite enjoyable. To me it is undeniable that he and son Max save the whole film, with the best written and most emotional (in a more personal way) of the three shorts.
The relationship between Disney’s most predominate father and son, I feel, never seems that much forced or cloy. It also is helped by the fact Max is one of the few cartoon characters who can (and has) appear in whatever part of childhood that the story demands he be in. Here Max’s a bit younger than his Goof Troop incarnation; he’s on that point of life where one might stop believing in fantasy figures. He is that rarest of things: an intelligent kid, with a little bit of naïve innocent; one who still finds his father’s antics more endearing than embarrassing.
The story centres around Max’s belief in Santa Claus being questioned after neighbour Pete tells Max that the whole concept of a single man able to fly on a reindeer-pulled sled, across the whole world in a single night is practically impossible. Although Goofy is initially able to get Max to accept that Santa is real, those seeds of doubt have entered his mind and Max begins to suspect that Mr. Pete is right and that there is no Santa.
SPOILERS AHEAD...
When Max and Goofy go to their neighbour’s, Goofy dresses as Santa to give their (the neighbours) children some gifts, but inadvertently pulls his fake beard off, shattering what belief Max had left. Leaving Goofy to prove to Max that Santa exists, even if he has to stay up all night watching the skies with a camera to do so. Of course things don’t go to plan and eventually even the generally optimistic Goofy admits defeat.
The trouble with having an optimistic outlook on things, is that I think you might be prone to a much higher degree of depression than that of someone with a generally melancholy or pessimistic point-of-view. After Goofy admits defeat it is Max’s turn to cheer up his father, following much the same routines that his father did. It is this reversal of roles that is the most potent part of the segment, the sheer length of what both these characters would put themselves through to make the other happy.
I have no problems with children forsaking or questioning their own beliefs and that: that’s in the normal process of things. I do take a little bit of issue with Pete shattering Max’s beliefs for him, which I look at as being a rather sordid thing to do. Of course in a cartoon any evidence usually ends up pointing to the contrary of what the mean bad guy says.
SPOILERS ENDS...
I’ve actually watched this as a standalone at times, which talks of the strength of it. It’s restraint enough so that it doesn’t become overly coy or schmaltzy, and has the old humour based on character rather than plot. Much more a mood piece, rather than the plot-led superstructure of its predecessor; it is all the better for it.
The Gift of the Magi
Mickey is a character that can either work well or fail terribly, he’s a very hard character to get the balance right, it hardly a coincidence that he had the least amount of theatrical shorts made of the majors after Donald, Goofy and Pluto first got star crediting and that most of ‘his’ shorts also happened to star his cohorts in tow. Another problem is coming up after Goofy's class piece, it’s a hard act to follow the Goof, so how does Mickey fare up?
To be honest, pretty well. Okay his story is not as deep as Goofy’s, but it does have some elements to recommend it; although aspects of the story and it's outcome can be seen coming a mile away.
SOME MINOR SPOILERS...
Both Mickey and Minnie cannot afford the cost of the respective presents that they would like to get the other, in Mickey’s case a golden chain for Minnie’s watch heirloom. His hopes of using the bonuses he gets working at Pete’s tree lot (the same lot that he sells cars in on Goof Troop, or at least a reasonable facsimile) go up in smoke (along with Pete’s 9ft trees) and Mickey is left with few other options.
We don’t get to see much of Minnie’s side of the story, mostly because Mickey’s side essentially has more to it. What we do see is Minnie actually being given the Christmas bonus she’s been working for; unfortunately, the bonus is a fruitcake that could double as an anchor for a small boat.
SPOILERS END...
Much of this short consists of a musical-for-charity fair that Mickey ends up in after his harmonica playing attracts the attention of the fire brigade Christmas carity music event organisers. It’s kind of the highlight of the piece, which is kind of the problem. This segment meanders a lot and is kind of disjointed, a typical Mickey short in some ways, the mouse has little personality to work with. Truth be told, the filmmakers do want they can with him, it just that it follows two segments that have at the least better plots.
Conclusion
So three different pieces of various quality and qualities, yet are part of a whole. So is the whole worth the watch, somewhat yes, although some of the film is a little bit weak, it has enough strengths. Part of this may have to do with the lower standards that I’ve come to look for in Disney’s DTV library, yet alone the throwaway commodity that the corporation tends to do with it holiday DTVs.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas is, at the very least, enjoyable.
/ 2 reviews)
Animation > Holiday Special / Direct-to-Video
Reviews for Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
