Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol from 1962 is the earliest TV show I remember watching. It was the first animated holiday special made for television and is still the best. It was very successful and was was quickly followed by other popular animated specials including Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), The Little Drummer Boy (1969), Frosty the Snowman (1969) and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (1970)
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is a musical comedy adaptation of Charles Dickens's story. Mr. Magoo plays himself as a Broadway star who is appearing in a stage version of A Christmas Carol. Also appearing is another popular 50's and 60's cartoon character, Gerald McBoing-Boing. He plays the role of Tiny Tim. The filmmakers freely adapted the Dickens's classic to fit the one hour running time. All references of Scrooge's nephew are removed and the order of the spirits changed around with The Ghost of Christmas present appearing first. Much of Charles Dickens dialogue is left intact, which is interesting considering the show was aimed at American children. The movie maintains Mr. Magoo's eyesight problems They are referenced a number of times during the "play" but they don't cause the same catastrophes on stage as they do off.
I love this movie not just because it's a sentimental favorite. it has a fabulous score written by the song writing team of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. The teams next project would be the award winning "Funny Girl". It has been rumored for years that the song "People" from Funny Girl was originally written for Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and then cut for timing reasons. Styne has written some of the great music from Broadway, including Gypsy and bells Are Ringing. His score for Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is worthy of any Broadway show.
Every Christmas I like to sit down by the fire with some woofle jelly cake and razzleberry dressing and enjoy this holiday gem.
At the Movie House rating **** stars
*note - This show inspired a weekly TV series in 1964 called the Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo where Mr. Magoo appeared in other popular stories The show was popular but only lasted one season due to the cost and rigors of producing a weekly animated TV series. One of the episodes featured Magoo in aversion of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In 1970 UPA paired Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol with Mr. Magoo's Little Snow White and presented them as a double feature in movie theatres during the holiday season. I went with my sister to the North Massapequa theatre to see both movies on Christmas Eve day and when we came out it was snowing. It is still one of my favorite holiday memories.
**Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is 53 minutes long and was broadcast in a one hour time period. the entire show was sponsored by Timex with commercial breaks at the beginning and end and during each break in the acts of the "play". In later years the framing device of Magoo arriving at the theatre and singing "It's Great To Be Back On Broadway" were cut to allow more commercial time"
If you like the Muppets and their whimsical comedy, puns and word-play you will love this musical version of a A Christmas Carol. Micheal Caine is to be commended for holding his own, playing Ebenezer Scrooge against a cast of frogs, pigs, rats, chickens and big furry things. It is a classic Muppet version of the story, narrated by The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchitt. The tunes are delightful and there are some very funny moments.
If you don't like the Muppets you won't like this. You should also wonder about the Scrooge inside you that prevents you from enjoying the highly entertaining Muppet crew. Directed by Brian Henson in memory of his late father, the great Jim Henson.
At the Movie House rating *** stars
1 comment:
Mr McGoos Carol is onje of my favortite all time things...ever...and it wasn;t till later in life that i realized how great the music is
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