Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Reviews

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas is a trio of generic, if heartwarming, yuletide fables that should provide enough babysitting capabilities for the tots in your life. Strung together through the rhyming narration of Kelsey Grammar, whatever annoyance I may have with him his voice is perfectly suited to that of gentle bedtime narrator, Once Upon a Christmas shoves the famous Disney brand into stories both adapted and original that highlight the community and spirit of the holidays. But make sure you buy our merchandise while you teach your kids about the value of the inner spirit and familial togetherness.

There’s Mickey and Minnie taking “The Gift of the Magi” out for a spin, and watching the icons play destitute is a bit like watching MGM starlets playing struggling shopgirls in haute couture gowns and flawless makeup in the 40s.  Meanwhile, Huey, Dewey, and Louie get stuck in a Groundhog Day retread, and must learn the same lessons about selfish behavior and the true meaning of the holidays. They’re fine enough shorts, but only “A Very Goofy Christmas” touches for its vision of paternal love seeking to protect the innocence and magic of childhood from more cynical forces.

The animation quality is a visible step up from the typical direct-to-video fare. While nowhere near as good as their theatrical releases, this one doesn’t look like it was slapped together by the tv branch in a caffeine and Adderall fueled weekend. There are worse Christmas wares out there, and Goofy’s segment really does the heartstrings, so you could be stuck watching worse with the little ones during the season. I mean, you could get sacked watching the sequel, Twice Upon a Christmas.