Welcome back to another edition of Disney Stuff. The holidays are upon us and along with it all the magic and madness of the season. I’m eagerly anticipating a week off with the family surrounded by all of our new goodies and all the Christmas trimmings here in our home.
I’ve written about our Disney Christmas Stuff here on MousePlanet before. Last year it was our “other” collection of Disney Christmas houses. The year before that it was Disney Christmas Ornaments. The very first Christmas Stuff article that I wrote still generates reader email. Apparently if you Google “Disney Village Christmas Collection,” my article from three years ago comes up pretty high on the list. Many of you out there are searching for these wonderful houses that are, unfortunately, no longer available at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, or anywhere for that matter. I always wish that I had more info on how to find them. They’re as elusive as they are desirable. A recent eBay search produced only a handful of them and they are commanding a pretty high resale price. So, I’ve just about covered most of my Disney Christmas Stuff here on MousePlanet, so when it came time to write a holiday article this year, I wondered what I would talk about.
Then, something became somewhat obvious to me. Each year my family and I all look forward to watching Christmas specials on TV together. When the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas schedule comes out, we post in on the fridge so we don’t miss our favorites. However, something dawned on me as we searched through the list this year: Disney and their main characters don’t really have a strong presence in the world of Christmas specials.
Let’s face it, when you think of Christmas specials, or at least when I think of them, a few names come to mind instantly, mainly Rudolph, Charlie Brown and The Grinch. To be perfectly honest, Rankin and Bass pretty much have the market cornered. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Frosty the SnowmanA Charlie Brown Christmas and Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas round out the Christmas special trifecta. So, where exactly is Disney in all of this? Sure, there are quite a few Disney Christmas movies, specials and home video releases out there and some of them are really great. Despite their massive popularity though, the Disney characters seem to be in a different class when it comes to Christmas movies and specials. As Disney fans, we know them and love them but they don’t quite have the popularity of the ones mentioned above.
That said, I thought I would take a look at some of the Disney Christmas specials and movies that we have in our collection. Granted, I don’t have everything that’s out there, but I think we have a solid collection. Let’s take a look.
Arguably Disney’s biggest Christmas franchise has certainly been The Santa Clause.
Disney's The Santa Clause. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
It’s hard to go wrong with any of Tim Allen’s Santa Clause films. But as far as the theaters go, it’s The Santa Clause series and Robert Zemeckis’ 3D version of A Christmas Carol from 2009. To be fair, I haven’t seen that one. I don’t like Jim Carrey all that much and I really don’t like the whole motion capture animation thing. Time will tell if A Christmas Carol becomes a Disney Christmas classic, but I suppose The Santa Clause already qualifies.
We turn to direct to video releases for the rest of the collection. My favorite one of them all is definitely Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.
Disney's Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
This wonderful Disney home video release from 1999 features three shorts classically animated in all their 2D glory. Donald and his nephews star in the first tale, Goofy and Max in the second and none other than Mickey and Minnie in the final story. It’s a Christmas classic in our house for sure.
That would be followed with…what else…Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas.
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. © Disney.
This 2004 straight-to-video release is famous for being Mickey and the gang’s first complete foray into the digital animation realm. I wasn’t crazy about it then, and I don’t love it now. The stories are nice and fun and the heartwarming Christmas message is certainly there, but the traditionalist in me has always had trouble with the digital reproductions of my beloved characters. It’s worth a watch, but it’s hardly a classic.
If you’re a Winnie The Pooh fan, and really…who isn’t…then there are a handful of decent releases out there for you and the little ones. Most are just compilations from the various Pooh television shows. These were favorites of my guys when they were younger.
Disney's Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
Disney's Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
If you are a Pooh fan, then you should also check out Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too. I know it’s here in the house somewhere. This was the only Disney Christmas special to make TV Guide’s 10 Best Christmas Specials Ever list.
When my daughter was a little Disney Princess fanatic, these two were big hits.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
Disney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment. © Disney.
If you have a kid nowadays you must know Phineas and Ferb. I’m going to go on record right now and admit that I find Phineas and Ferb quite funny and quite clever and often quite brilliant. I know it’s a bold statement, but I stand by it. Of course we had to get their Christmas special on DVD last year.
Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas. © Disney.
Here’s an old VHS from 2003, The Magic of Christmas at Walt Disney World. I’m not sure where I bought this, but it’s only a disappointing 20 minutes long. You can’t truly capture just how magical Disney World is at Christmas on tape, but you really don’t do it any justice at all in only 20 minutes.
The Magic of Christmas at Walt Disney World. © The Walt Disney Company.
Check out this rarity. I don't even remember buying this. I’m quite sure my daughter never watched this series on ABC, considering she was only an infant at the time it aired. We just acquired it along the way I guess.
Disney's 101 Dalmatians Christmas. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Sing Along Songs is one of the better releases in the Sing Along series. It’s got 22 Christmas classics, features some classic animation and a great mix of classic Disney characters.
Disney's Very Merry Christmas Sing Along Songs; © Disney Enterprises Inc.
I did enjoy the old Disney Channel series House of Mouse.
Disney's Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. © Disney Enterprises Inc.
I loved the mix of new and vintage animated shorts. I also loved how characters from every era of Disney made appearances in the theater scenes. This home video release is a great compilation of old and new and is worth it for the inclusion of the best Disney Christmas special of all time, Mickey's Christmas Carol.
Released in 1983 as a short in theaters, Mickey’s Christmas Carol deserves a place alongside all of the aforementioned Christmas classics and yet, I can’t remember the last time I saw it broadcast on television. Surely it’s worthy of a spot in Disney owned ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas, isn’t it? Despite its 1983 production date, this short film is beautifully hand drawn in true vintage Disney style. It’s funny, heartwarming and has all of your favorite characters. I can’t understand why it doesn’t seem to have a place on television each and every holiday season. It really is one of the best Christmas specials or shorts ever produced.
You can find this wonderful retelling of the Dickens classic on a few different releases including the aforementioned House of Mouse release, Volume 7 of the Disney Animation Collection and the Walt Disney Treasures set Mickey Mouse in Living Color – Volume 2. Get it into your collection now and enjoy it every year during this most magical of seasons.
So I can’t say I’ve come to a solid conclusion as to why our favorite Disney characters haven’t exactly entered the realm of Rudolph, Frosty and Charlie Brown. Disney certainly embraces Christmas both in and out of the parks. I will say this; it’s obviously a tough circle to break into. It speaks volumes about the original Christmas classics doesn’t it? Think about it, when is the last animated Christmas special that you can honestly say has even come close to being a Rudolph or a Grinch? Rudolph first aired in 1964! Charlie Brown was one year later, 1965. The Grinch was 1966. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that nothing has really come close since then. Mickey’s Christmas Carol, to me, is the closest and that was 1983.
Have people lost the ability to produce a modern classic Christmas special? Perhaps they have. I’d hate that to be the case, but there seems to be no evidence to the contrary.
So, in the meantime tune into Rudolph, and the Grinch. Watch Charlie Brown and The Little Drummer Boy. Don’t forget A Muppet Family Christmas or Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Get a little off the beaten path with Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, Arthur’s Perfect Christmas or how about Rugrats Chanukah. I challenge you to find Opus and Bill in A Wish for Wings That Work.
But, don’t forget about our old pal Mickey and his friends. He’s rarely the underdog; so don’t forget to include our favorite mouse and his pals on your list of Christmas television classics. You won’t regret it.
Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful and magical holiday season and I’ll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.
