Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

Ebenezer Scrooge (Mr. Magoo) is a miserly greedy business man. Bob Cratchit is his underpaid and overworked clerk. Scrooge's dead business partner Jacob Marley visits. He is then visited by three spirits of Christmas.This is a straight forward version of the classic Dickens. There are a few changes but the tone remains serious. I'm surprised that there is little humor in this. Mr. Magoo's poor sight usually leads to some fun catastrophes. This doesn't happen. All the harshness of the Victorian world and the religious aspects of the story are kept in. The songs are generally well made and a bit old fashion. Credit must be given for being one of the first animated Christmas TV special. It's still a very watchable show today.

An animated, magical, musical version of Charles Dickens' timeless classic "A Christmas Carol", starring the nearsighted Quincy Magoo (Jim Backus).In 2002, TV Guide ranked Mr. Magoo number 29 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list. And he has won an Oscar. And this was the first animated holiday program ever produced specifically for television, predating the classics like Charlie Brown. And, yes, it features the original songs of the Broadway team of Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics), who collaborated on the musical "Funny Girl". So I really need to give Magoo some credit for his importance to cartoon history.But, I am sorry. The animation is outdated, choppy and not very funny. I can give it credit for what it was, but I can not give it credit for what it is. I find it hard to believe that today's audiences would be too excited about this (although I will give them credit for the largely faithful adaptation they did).

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.

This film is a must see for my wife and I at Christmas time. We enjoy it so much that we bought the video. It is a lovely production.The familiar story is nicely told by Barbara Chain who did the adaptation. Jim Backus, Morey Amsterdam and Jack Cassidy are familiar names who lend their verbal talents to their characters. In fact the whole cast does a great job. I would like to especially mention Jane Kean who plays Bell, the beautiful lost love of Ebenezer Scrooge. Her haunting voice gives so much to the story. The musical score of Jule Styne and Bob Merril goes beyond being memorable. It makes the production. About the only thing that some critics may point a finger at is the animation. Yes. It is quite primitive. But that doesn't take away from the production. In fact, in my opinion it adds to it because it doesn't get in the way. As one writer once said – "The play's the thing."