Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)
In this animated musical version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer Scrooge - via Mr. Magoo's starring performance in a stage production of the classic - doesn't have a ghost of a chance unless he learns the true meaning of Christmas from the three spirits who haunt him one Christmas Eve.
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Such a frustrating disappointment
People are voting emotionally.
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
The only really reason I saw this was because of The Simpsons, in Tis the Fifteenth Season titled episode.Homer was watching this on TV, it find it funny in the Simpsons, Well should came on here cause, I didn't think it would have been a musical, I as i wasn't really in mood for one.So any musical parts, I Fast forwards those parts,I thought it would have been a lot more funny then it was it, I did really find it that funny at all. I didn't really like the whole movie at all, it did not feel like a Christmas movie at all.I can't say anything about the acting in this movie, some parts of the cartoon are really outdated now
I didn't find this to be that engaging. First of all, Mr Magoo is one of those flat comedy characters such as Mr Bean. Even so, since this is Mr Magoo playing Scrooge in a Broadway production, he doesn't have any of his eye problems. This means it's just another adaptation of the story. Slotted into such a short time the story feels rushed. He is also shown Christmas present before the past. The songs are so dull I can't remember a single one, and I pick up songs fairly quickly. The animation is also very aged, this leads to characters that jolt around the screen. Unfortunately, the emotion and pacing is too poor to make up for its failings.
I'm afraid my memories are biased by being age 8 when it premiered in 1962. This show was magical! To my eyes it felt like going to the theater instead of a TV production with the use of curtains and distinct acts. The cartoons were not cartoonish, but made me feel more like I was watching a grown up show. The spirits, and tiny Tim, may have been the first show that made me less egocentric. And in addition, it is a good story well told.The Scrooge character was believable as were the others. The musical numbers held my attention at age 8 and age 50. The themes were scary but not frightening. This set the bar for the holiday cartoons that followed.
I loved Mr. Magoo growing up. We don't see him much anymore on television or this special around the holiday times. We see less and less television programming devoted to the Christmas holidays. Jim Backus uses his voice as Mr. Magoo, the four eyed actor, in this special where he plays Ebenezer Scrooge, the Charles Dickens character, forever immortalized in all sorts of holiday tales. Just like the story of a Christmas Carol, there are three ghosts and Marley, the predecessor who warns Scrooge to change his ways. Okay, this version is not the best out there but it's timely and good for kids and adults and fans of classic animation. I bought the tape years ago and just played it around the holidays. It's a treat to watch every year.