The final Disney film of this years Christmas season. I feel like I exploited Disney+ a lot more this year than I did last year, and it has been a super handy addition to have for this time of year. Mostly because my motivation to do anything this year has been lacking so the fact, they have several Christmas shorts available has been a lifesaver. While Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) is not close to being the shortest film I have reviewed in the last three weeks, it still comes in at about an hour-long so is perfect for my mood today. Anyway, enough about me, let’s get into the film. The film takes the structure of an anthology made up of three short stories, tied together through a non-diegetic narration that leads us into each story. As a result, I thought I would match the structure of the film in this review and give a short review of each story.
Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas
The first short tells the story of the Duck family celebrating Christmas. The kids of the family, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are disappointed that the day goes so quickly and so wish upon a star for Christmas to be every day. When their wish comes true, they quickly learn that Christmas every day may not be as fun as they had originally expected. So yeah, this short is basically Disney doing Groundhog Day (1993) except with a lot fewer suicide attempts. The animation throughout is great and it uses colour well to match the feelings and emotions of the scenes. Yes, it is an obvious thing to do, but these shorts are for kids, so it doesn’t need to be deep to be effective. The animation style is also frenetic when it needs to be and more mellow when the emotional heart of the story changes. This allows for the short to remain entertaining for kids while having a solid message of enjoying Christmas for more than the materialistic side of things. The narrative is extremely obvious in terms of where it is going, so as an adult watching this it is not the most engaging, especially as due to its structure a lot of scenes are repeated. But it is a solid and fun enough short that will keep kids engaged.
A Very Goofy Christmas
The second short tells the story of Goofy and his son, Max. Max is told early into the narrative that Santa does not exist. Goofy, realising Max is upset by this, dresses up as the big man himself to show Max that he is real. But when his disguise is revealed, Max feels betrayed and feels as though Christmas is ruined, and so Goofy attempts to prove the existence of Santa to his son. This is very similar in tone to the first film. There is a lot of slapstick and frantic animation throughout which, while looking good, just has Goofy looking an idiot more than being silly. This is not a big criticism, after all, it is again made for kids so Goofy being silly will be fun for them. Again, the message is good, with the main message being pretty similar to that of the first short, in that the period of Christmas is more about making people happy and spreading that happiness rather than getting presents from Santa. But because it is aimed at little kids the film needs to have its cake and eat it too, it turns out Santa is real after all. I get it, as you don’t want to ruin the magic for kids, but it does take away a little bit from the message of the film.
Mickey and Minnie’s Gift of the Magi
This is the strongest of the three stories, both in general execution and the message it delivers. The narrative sees Mickey and Minnie trying to get each other the perfect gifts. But both are down on their look financially and so need to sell items of theirs to get the other the gift they want. In doing so they get rid of the items that the presents they receive supplement, but they are still able to enjoy Christmas due to the thought being what matters. This message could fall flat on its face if the narrative and characters don’t back it up, but that is not an issue here. The film keeps the message strong throughout and even when the characters are downtrodden, they aren’t beaten and remain positive and hopeful which makes the short massively wholesome throughout. Add to this some great music which adds to the emotional umph, and you have a great little short with a strong message for kids. It also happens to be the best looking short with some really great uses of colour and shading throughout.
And then the film ends with all the characters singing a Christmas song to send the kids away happy and cheery. This film isn’t amazing, and as an adult watching it I did feel like there was a lot to be desired overall. But, looking at this from the eyes of its demographic, it is really solid. It is well animated, paced in a way where kids won’t get bored, and has three good messages for kids that are told in a way that is clear but not preachy. I wouldn’t watch it again, but if you have kids, I think it is a good one to have them watch.
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