Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol!

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most enjoy! The nostalgic goofiness of casting the irascible Magoo as Scrooge was inspired, and further transforming Gerald McBoing-Boing into a version of Tiny Tim a fantastic idea. 

There are more grandiose and more elaborate interpretations of the Charles Dickens holiday classic, but few that pierce the essence of the famous literary work with more precision or more fun than does this 1962 bit of witty animation. This is the one that kicked off the tradition of holiday-themed animation for television. 

Jim Backus is as always amazing as the myopic blundering Magoo. While once a radio, movie and television personality of some note, it's clear that Mr. Magoo has become his lasting legacy to us all. 

Certainly no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth, wealth accumulated at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.

A man we see and who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his vast wealth and relative if limited comfort.

He discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and they celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon the cold vagaries of the marketplace.

And of course, he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else. 

But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and every one of us choose each day to make a difference. It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.

So, you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! 

NOTE: This is an Annual Dojo Holiday Classic. Sword and Sorcery will resume tomorrow! 

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Mister Magoo's A Christmas Carol!

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most wanted to get my mitts on. For some reasons or other it has eluded me for years, until now. I picked it up the other day along with several other holiday hits like the venerable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (my childhood favorite) and the always surprisingly entertaining Frosty the Snowman.

Certainly no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.

A man who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his accumulated wealth and relative comfort.

Who discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon the cold vagaries of the marketplace.

And of course he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else. 

But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and every one of us choose each day to make a difference. It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.

So you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! 

NOTE: I am happy to re-post this glance at the Mister Magoo classic, and I hope I remember to make it an annual tradition at the Dojo. Seeing Mister Magoo makes me laugh and seeing him change as Scrooge makes me happy. I hope it gives you a smile too. 

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CARToons Up And Running!

Gathered this little revival off the newsstand a few weeks ago. CARToons wasn't a regular on my buy list back in the day, I'm not really a car guy but this wacky chaotic cover by veteran artist Steve Austin made me give the issue a closer look. The original from Peterson Publications has been gone for several decades now (along with its mates CYCLEToons, SURFToons, SKIToons, HOT ROT Toons, etc.) but this revival has a nifty spirit. This magazine is not going to be a regular on my buy list now, but it was a long of fun tumbling through the pages and remembering how magazines like this one were once upon a time generations ago a mainstream part of car culture, and beyond. Here's a link to their website if you'd like to know more.

And here is a rather cool cameo by the one and only Mister Magoo in HOT ROD Cartoons which I stumbled across while looking things up.

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Sixty-Two Magoo!

Today I'm sixty-two years old.

That don't seem possible. I'm still a young man I think and feel, but my adult daughters give the lie to that quickly enough. Getting old is something the world rejects because the next step is quite startling indeed. And in the last year I have had to give in to my physical infirmity resort to bifocals...sigh. My sight has been weakening for some time, but I fended off the inevitable with ever stronger reading glasses stashed all over my home and car and classroom and anywhere I was likely to turn up.

But finally it became all too much and I had to try bifocals again (I did it once and it was a disaster) and so far so fine. I've adapted to them pretty well, but without them my Magoo existence is still one of guesswork. I used to laugh at Mister Magoo, but now alas I can only laugh alongside him.

Here are some posters of Mister Magoo doing absurd things, but sadly they no longer seem quite as outlandish as they once did.

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Dojo Classics - Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol!

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most wanted to get my mitts on. For some reasons or other it has eluded me for years, until now. I picked it up the other day along with several other holiday hits like the venerable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (my childhood fave) and the always surprisingly entertaining Frosty the Snowman.

Of course no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.

A man who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his accumulated wealth and relative comfort.

Who discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon markets.

And of course he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else.

But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and everyone of us choose each day to make a difference. It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.

So you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!

NOTE: I think perchance re-posting this will become an annual tradition at the Dojo. Seeing Mister Magoo makes me laugh and seeing him change as Scrooge makes me happy. Enjoy the holiday amigos!

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Godzilla Versus Magoo!

I've spent more than a few hours this past summer viewing Godzilla movies and Mister Magoo cartoons, so I was more than entertained when I stumbled across the vintage ad above in which the powerhouses of media lock horns and compare their relative successes. Not much to say about it -- it's one of those things that just is.

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Magoo Goes Mad!

I've been reading MAD magazine collections and related material lately. And I've also been watching The Mr. Magoo Show from 1960 and 1961. So I was well and truly gobsmacked when these two things crashed into one another in the Magoo cartoon "Magoo and the Beanstalk".  As you can imagine from the title, the Magoo animators took the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk and slammed the myopic Magoo into it. Spoilers be below, so tread carefully.

We meet a forlorn giant named Alfred whose face we never see, but who is unhappy that no one has climbed a beanstalk and brought about fame and fortune for him as they did for his dad and mom. Immediately a beanstalk grows in Magoo's garden and the brash old Magoo rides it up into the clouds where he mistakes the giant's castle for his neighbor's house. He makes off with the giant's belt and we see that the giant is left alone once again where it is revealed that he is reading a MAD magazine, (issue twenty-six seen above) and that when his face is revealed he is Alfred E. Neuman and spouts his famous like of "What me worry?" when asked about what will happen next. It's a bit if a shocker really, to see such a specific reference to another character and publication.

I've been unable to find out much about it online, so if anyone can point me in a direction, I'd love to learn more about how this crossover came to be. Here's a little bit at the Big Cartoon Database.

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By George, That's A Corker!

To be honest I've been getting a little education on the significance of the mighty Mister Magoo.  Magoo for me was just a rather weird TV cartoon character, one of many, and he stood out because he was an irascible old codger in a universe filled with cute tykes and cute pups and such. That said, his role in the theater and the development of UPA (United Productions of America) as an alternative animation house to the mighty Disney was stuff I knew almost nothing about. Mr. Magoo - The Theatrical Collection 1949-1959 has all of Magoo's theatrical cartoons (including the feature length 1001 Arabian Nights in a separate case). It's a true bargain.

Mister Magoo was something of a powerhouse, an adult cartoon targeted at adults with both barrels. He was a human being in a universe of critters, living in a recognizable world in which his myopic antics seemed bizarre and peculiar and otherworldly but not utterly and completely impossible, though the adventures get broader as the cartoons develop. I learned in watching these vintage cartoons and the extras that Magoo was the barometer of cartoon comedy for the industry, a Magoo cartoon being used to calibrate the humor of test audiences. That's pretty impressive stuff, since that's not about art but money and Hollywood rarely diddles about with the bottom line. Also while at times some of the antics can get a bit repetitive, you can always look forward to the credits on these cartoons which can have their own delightful artistic qualities.

I've developed an appreciation for Magoo and am looking forward to moving into his first TV series, featuring more limited animation. I've been a fan of his Christmas Carol for many years, now I'm a fan through and through. Give me more Magoo.

Here are some fabulous Dell Comic book covers featuring Mr.Magoo and another UPA star, the sound-effects uttering Gerald McBoing Boing.

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