Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Honestly, it is really sweet and genuinely memorable, full of powerful messages of Christmas. I think it is one of the better Christmas videos out there, and there are a lot of very good ones, like Enchanted Christmas. Here, we have three stories, like Cinderella 2 and Belle's Magical World, but I would definitely pick Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas over both those films put together. It is a little short, but with the sweetness of the entire movie, the top notch voice talents and the surprisingly good animation, that is so easy to forgive. The highlight of the film was the beautiful, restrained intonation of Kelsey Grammar's narration, and he was the main reason why I got the video in the first place. The material he was given was beautifully written, and he made the most with it. The animation was surprisingly good, I was expecting worse, but the animation was actually one of the many redeeming qualities of this movie. The three stories are inspired and very well-done, my favourite being the last one with Mickey and Minnie. Plus the inspired moments of comedy like Donald chasing a turkey and lovely music and a musical yultide interlude at then end that is enough to touch the heart. All in all, a beautiful and touching yuletide movie, with a 9/10 from me. Bethany Cox

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.

I bought this title without any word-of-mouth or ideas as to its quality, which is something I normally don't do. Two nights before Christmas, my wife, 4-year-old son and I sat down to watch the first short starring Donald Duck. We all enjoyed the playful humour as well as the message. This segment rates an 8 out of 10.

My issue with this video came in the second segment starring Goofy and Max. Our 4-year-old has been asking a lot of questions regarding the specifics of how Santa can do his seemingly impossible job. This segment, which we watched on Christmas Eve, almost blew the whole Saint Nick thing for us. It took fair amount of fast talking from both my wife and I to reassure our child that Santa was coming that night. If your child is of a certain age where they are questioning Santa and you are not ready to face a tough conversation, do not let them watch this segment! 2 out of 10.

The final segment with Mickey and Minnie was warm and wholesome, although tended to drag for the attention span of little one. 7 out of 10.

There are three stories; Donald Duck in Stuck on Christmas, A Very Goofy Christmas, and Mickey & Minnie's Gift of the Magi. Donald gives his nephews a wooden sleigh each and they learn the meaning of Christmas. Goofy's son is losing his belief in Santa. Mickey is working at the Christmas tree lot while Minnie is wrapping presents at the store. These are great little Christmas stories. It won't become classic but it's pretty good. Mostly the messages are good. It's family friendly. They may work even better as half hour episodes. It's not really hour plus material especially for little kids with attention deficiency.

This movie was fun for all ages, with stories about Daffy Duck, Goofy, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Christmas time. Kids are guaranteed to love it, and I think it could become a holiday classic.

*** out of ****