MAKING OF "MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL" (TV)
Summary
A behind-the-scenes feature about the production of the Disney animated Christmas special “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.”
The process of creating the 1983 animated special begins with its director, Burny Mattinson; the film is the first starring theatrical role for Mickey Mouse since 1953. He discusses the process of matching iconic Disney characters with roles for Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”; Scrooge McDuck is given the role of his namesake, Ebenezer Scrooge, Jiminy Cricket is the Ghost of Christmas Past, Willie the Giant is the Ghost of Christmas Present, Pete is the Ghost of Christmas Future, etc. He talks about the influence of the 1947 animated film “Mickey and the Beanstalk” on his production design. The process of animating each character was carefully assigned and delegated amongst the various animators; each character is “cast” to each animator in a similar sense that an actor is cast in a role. The history of Mickey Mouse as a character is discussed, as well as how his appearance and demeanor was portrayed in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” The special provides a look into Disney’s animation research library, where decades worth of cels of Disney animated productions are stored and consulted.
“Mickey’s Christmas Carol” proves to be the debut of Wayne Allwine as the voice of Mickey; he is the third actor to portray his voice in the character’s history after sound editor Jimmy MacDonald, who in turn took over the role from Walt Disney. The voice actor for Donald Duck, Clarence Nash, discusses his temperament and character. Scrooge McDuck is also discussed, particularly his evolution in character design; his voice actor Alan Young is also interviewed. There is discussions about the designs and vocal characteristics of Jiminy Cricket, Goofy, and Willie the Giant.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 1983
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:19
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 109093
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arts documentaries
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Burny Mattinson … Interviewee
- Glen Keane … Interviewee
- David Block … Interviewee
- Mark Henn … Interviewee
- Wayne Allwine … Interviewee
- Jimmy MacDonald … Interviewee
- Clarence "Ducky" Nash … Interviewee
- Alan Young … Interviewee
- Hal Smith … Interviewee
- Will Ryan … Interviewee
- Walt Disney