Since I dwell at the butt-end of Generation X, the 1962 animated holiday special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol was never on my holiday TV plate. Perhaps it aired when I was youngster, but damned if I ever saw it. However, I always hear fond memories about the special from folks older than myself, so out of the goodness of my awesome heart I thought I'd let everyone know that the special will air on December 24 at 6:30am on Cartoon Network. That's early, I know, but what can you do? Fly around the Earth and reverse time like Superman? The show would still air at 6:30am even if you did do that, which is why he's Superman and you're not. Superman thinks these things through before he does them.
Obviously, the special is a spoof of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Magoo in the role of Ebenezer. During the '50s and early '60s Magoo was UPA's (United Productions of America) most famous character, and starred in the studio's only feature film, 1001 Arabian Nights. The Christmas special would lead to The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, a series that would place Mr. Magoo in various literary roles.
Special thanks to Toonopedia, for filling in the many gaps in my Magoo knowledge.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-22-2006 @ 10:52PM
ALLISON WALDMAN said...
This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas TV specials. Not only is it hilarious, well-written and brilliantly voiced, it's also heartfelt and traditional. You didn't even mention that it's a musical! The score was written by Jule Styne & Bob Merrill, right before they collaborated on the Barbra Streisand Broadway show "Funny Girl" -- and their work here is great. Tape or TIVO this one -- you won't be sorry. It'll become one of your all-time favorites, too.
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12-22-2006 @ 9:30PM
Toby OB said...
'Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol' ran last Tuesday night at 7 pm on the Cartoon Network, so I taped it to watch it again. (Even though I watched it Thanksgiving weekend on DVD at my brother's house.)
Even getting an hour in the schedule, the special was still horribly butchered to make room for commercials.
Three songs were missing - "It's Great To Be Back On Broadway", "Winter Was Warm", and two reprises of "Jingle Jangle".
With that first song excised, that meant the entire opening sequence about Magoo getting to the theatre in time was gone; the show started with the play within the cartoon's opening scene. We never get to meet the long-suffering director.
And that meant the ending - where Magoo "brings the house down" on the director - was also chopped off.
And there were a few other scenes that were lost. For example, the scene where Magoo as Scrooge sits before his fire and eats his gruel.
It's always been one of my favorite of the Christmas specials, and with the songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, definitely one of the best of the musicals. So to see this mangled version made me angry as well as disappointed.
If you really want to enjoy the special, especially if it's to be your first time, go out and get the DVD rather than bother getting up at 6:30 am that day to watch this version.
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12-22-2006 @ 9:49PM
Adam said...
Huh. Well, that's a bummer.
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12-23-2006 @ 3:30AM
erroneous_nick said...
That particular "Christmas Carol" has been residing in brain cells apparently dormant until you wrote this article. I haven't seen it since my mother was younger than I am now so I really can't comment on it any further than to say I remember always enjoying Mr. Magoo. If it's possible to find it on DVD at a local rental place I'm going to sit down with the family and kick awake a few more bits o' grey matter.
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