Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

Good concept, poorly executed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Three stars for the art work. That at least remained faithful to the original.But the rest of this garbage really stunk up Christmas. All the subtlety and humor from the original cartoons is missing. The stories are thin and boring. You will end up just hating everyone on the screen.Kids won't find this in the least bit entertaining either... especially if they have seen proper Disney cartoons.As usual - story telling and characters give way to computers. Disney should be ashamed to have their name attached to this.

Sweet-natured and soft-hearted Disney animated trio of tales revolving around Christmas hits the holiday spirit on the mark.The first has Donald Duck's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie wishing upon a star for Christmas Day to never end, and they get their wish…but will the magic that is Christmas Day lose its luster? This emphasizes how having the same day, no matter how special it is, repeating over and over could ruin what makes it great. I enjoyed Donald Duck's part in this as he endured a pan of eggs and pancakes (and including the pan itself) on top of his head over and over, not to mention his reaction to his nephews during the supper, cooked special by Daisy Duck, when they act all nice, well-behaved, and mannered (having learned from a previous day when they contributed to chaos that included a runaway turkey, a destroyed supper table, damaged of piano, and toppled Christmas tree, they realize the next day should be "the best Christmas day ever"). Donald was always my favorite character as a kid, so his misfortune when the nephews inadvertently cause mayhem (just being kids) often cracked me up. A repeat of chaos as Donald tries as he might to keep the day from descending into anarchy is so wonderfully Clark Griswaldish. The plot, a version of Groundhog Day, does give the Disney Ducks plenty of opportunity to have their fun, then get bored, and eventually realize that everyday same (with the occasional slight alteration) does get a bit redundant.The second has Goofy trying to lure Santa to his home so that his son can recover his belief in Jolly Ole Saint Nick. Giving a struggling family presents in their time of need and risking life and limb to recover a letter to Santa (to receive a special snowboard), Goofy is quite a hero here. Sure he's clumsy and often falls on his face (although he trips during a dinner spent with neighbors and all of the utensils, food, and drink fall right in place on the table so sometimes it all works out for him), but his heart of gold always perseveres in the end. Pete gleefully telling Goofy's boy Santa doesn't exist and soon realizing the error of his ways (not allowed to enjoy what Red Belly has for those that believe) is satisfying.The third tale has Mickey and Minnie wanting to buy significant presents for each other but both suffer cruel employers. Mickey working at a Christmas tree sales lot (making sure his dastardly boss doesn't trick a poor family into a payment plan for a big tree by finding a nice smaller one they can afford means he loses the little money he had) while Minnie wraps gifts like a pro (yet doesn't get a bonus as expected, but a fruit log). A necklace for Minnie's watch is what Mickey wants to buy in a store window and a case for Mickey's harmonica is what Minnie wishes to buy him. Will it work out? Sometimes even if it doesn't work out, just being together on Christmas is enough.Quite a family Christmas movie, Disney fans should enjoy the animation prior to going computer. The movie gets in all the faves, including Pluto, Mickey's dog, dutifully following him around as he tries to come up with a way to make some quick cash. Premiering in '99, perhaps this will be a nostalgic treat for those of us who enjoyed animation from days gone by.

First there was 'Mickey's Christmas Carol', with the famous mouse as Bob Cratchit to Scrooge MacDuck. But the new Disney has brought this anthology, a trio of stories infused with the spirit of Christmas and beautifully animated.Donald Duck and his nephews are preparing for Christmas, but Huey, Dewey and Louie enjoy themselves so much that they wish for Christmas Day to be every day ... Goofy tries his best to keep his son, Max, from stopping his belief in Santa Claus ... and Mickey and Minnie find a way to make each other thoughtful gifts for Christmas.In voices and in animation, the classic characters look very like they did in the great cartoons of the past. The stories, although a little saccharine, are in keeping with the season and are extremely watchable. Perhaps the Ducks' Groundhog Day Christmas is the pick of the trio, but all three shorts are well worth watching. Perhaps the narration by Kelsey 'Frasier' Grammar could be missed though.

This is a great movie for some children because it's a fairy tale in Disney mode. I find that "Mickey's Magical Christmas" is a little bit better than this one for a kid's christmas animation movie. It has a great story that it divides by in 3 sections: Donald Duck, Goofy and Mickey Mouse. I think anyone younger than 10 years old must like it!!!