“Taking care of my neighbor was my business. The public good is what I should be striving for. Mercy, compassion, generosity, that is what I should have directed my agent to. Considering his duty to the fatherland, society and himself to ridicule the vices that constrain the development of the culture of his native England, the famous novelist Charles Dickens in his works repeatedly described far from the best traits of a person’s character in order to hint to readers that it is never too late to work on yourself and become better than now. It is noteworthy that despite all the sharp accents and voracious criticism set out in the pages of his works and aimed at both ordinary people and those in power, Dickens was not at all an outcast of British society, but on the contrary was considered one of the most respected writers who had something to tell his fans and detractors in a constantly relevant and romantic manner, making them read the works of the author without interruption from the first to the last page. One of the most popular and revered creations of Charles Dickens is the “Christmas song in prose”, flirting with the brightest holiday of the year and at the same time pointing out the reasons why this fairy-tale time can turn into a form nightmare. In his favorite style, Dickens ironies, laughs and scares, in order to at the end of the story once again sing the eternal family values and, perhaps, save someone’s soul from the sad fate of a voluntary hermit who no one needs.
“Christmas song” has gained worldwide fame for a reason and as a result, was repeatedly filmed in different films. Not bypassed the legacy of Charles Dickens and Disney studio executives, periodically returning to the recognized literary classics, in order to remake it with the participation of Mickey Mouse and other hand-drawn characters who feel great in the image of the Three Musketeers, cowboys and Indians, fearless explorers and other characters who once deserved the attention of the public and simply unable to lose relevance. To film the story of Dickens in the format of a full-length film in Disney, of course, was not going, but this does not mean that the cartoon based on such a landmark work as “Christmas song” was treated condescendingly. On the contrary, the creators again returned to the screens the most popular symbols of the studio together with Mickey Mouse at the head and tried in a colorful, instructive and incredibly fervent manner to tell their viewers the famous story, unfading with the years and able to cause serious reasoning both for adults and those who still walk under the table and only learn the wonders around them. So it is necessary to prepare and go to good old England to find out the truth of Charles Dickens through art finds from Disney.
So, London, 1843, Christmas Eve. A young miser, Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) even in the festive season continues to sit at his desk, disassembling papers and calculating bills. Along with him in the office is a faithful assistant Bob Cratchit, who well really wants to return home to celebrate Christmas with his family, but Scrooge is clearly not inspiring. However, the evil boss does not intend to force Bob to himself and sends him home. Scrooge himself also has no choice but to go to his cold bed to forget in his sleep and meet the coming day with the same calm expression as before, but his plans are not destined to come true. Returned from the dead Jacob Marley, a former companion of Scrooge, warns a former comrade in profit that very soon will come to him three ghosts of Christmas, designed to show the old miser his past, present and unhappy future. Without taking the word from where Marley appeared seriously, Scrooge immediately regretted it, since the ghosts actually visited his abode and dragged the hero on an unforgettable journey, opening his eyes to many controversial issues and making it clear that the endless race for money is not at all what it takes to actually be happy.
"Mickey's Christmas Story" was for the authoritative Disney screenwriter Barney Mattinson's first try of his own as a director, and it is safe to say that he coped with all the artistic challenges posed by the classic work of Charles Dickens. Mattinson didn’t have the opportunity to expand the scale of events for an hour and a half of screen time, but even within the allotted limits he managed to create hardly one of the best variations of the “Christmas song” that was ever made. In the cartoon, the director’s passion for his work is felt, because it is not for nothing that he also had a hand in writing the script. Under Mattinson’s leadership, the well-known Disney characters were again at the peak of popularity and pleased the audience with their characteristic features, cute jokes and easy moralizing, borrowing ideas from Charles Dickens himself. Especially reliable and authentic was the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who appeared before us in the form of Scrooge McDuck. It is no secret that the artist Carl Barks, who invented McDuck in 1947, was inspired by none other than Ebenezer Scrooge. So it would be surprising if Disney chose a different character. Finally, Scrooge took up the post, which belongs to him by right and his adventures look really great, albeit in places and somewhat frightening.
Taking on Dickens’ fairy tale, Barney Mattinson knew he could not do without showing some of the most famous scenes of the work, including the nightmares of the Ghost of Christmas. Scared to the brim, Scrooge McDuck had to face something he had not noticed until recently, but it followed him invisibly and drew a line under his earthly deeds. It was only when confronted with uncontrollable horror face to face that he finally began to realize that there were too many mistakes in his life that are not so easy to erase, but if you set a goal, you can even do the impossible. However, it is worth admitting that a trip to the future with one of the ghosts can seriously scare even persistent viewers who know the horror genre firsthand. Few people expected to see in the “Christmas story of Mickey Mouse” fire from the underworld, the servants of the Devil and other frightening things, which place more in the horror than a holiday cartoon, but sometimes bright, sharply sharpened images and situations are simply necessary in order to convey to us the truth and root it in the mind. it is gratifying that Disney producers believed Barney Mattinson and allowed him to finish what he started without resorting to unnecessary artistic edits.
In conclusion, I want to say that “The Christmas Story of Mickey Mouse” is a great festive entertainment, built on the motifs of the unfading fairy tale of Charles Dickens. For a relatively short screen time, the director managed to build an amazing extravaganza, entertaining and frightening, fun and instructive. So do not give up the Christmas adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge, in which you are guaranteed to find something interesting for yourself.
10 out of 10