Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
2007 DVD cover
Based on	A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Written by	Barbara Chain
Directed by	Abe Levitow
Voices of	Jim Backus Morey Amsterdam Jack Cassidy Royal Dano Paul Frees
Composer(s)	Walter Scharf
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Lee Orgel Henry G. Saperstein
Running time	53 mins
Production company(s)	United Productions of America
Distributor	NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	December 18, 1962 (1962-12-18)

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol is a special animated musical TV show from 1962. It was made by a company called UPA. This show is a fun version of the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In it, the famous cartoon character Mr. Magoo plays the main role of Ebenezer Scrooge. It first aired on December 18, 1962, on NBC. It was the first animated special made just for TV by NBC!

Jim Backus was the voice of Mr. Magoo. Other voices were done by Paul Frees, Morey Amsterdam, Joan Gardner, and Jack Cassidy. Abe Levitow directed the special. The songs were written by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill.

The Story of Scrooge

Mr. Magoo is going to a theater on Broadway. He is starring as Ebenezer Scrooge in a musical play. Because Magoo can't see very well, he arrives 30 minutes late. He even accidentally hurts the director! The show starts with the song "It's Great to Be Back on Broadway."

Scrooge is a very greedy man who lends money in Victorian London. It's Christmas Eve, and he is counting his money. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, is paid very little. He doesn't even have enough coal to keep warm. Scrooge sings "Ringle, Ringle."

Two men ask Scrooge for money for charity. He rudely says no. Scrooge finally lets Cratchit have Christmas Day off. Scrooge goes home to get ready for bed. But then, the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, visits him. Marley has been dead for seven years. He is covered in heavy chains because of his bad actions in life. Marley warns Scrooge that he will end up the same way. This will happen unless he listens to three spirits who will visit him.

Scrooge Meets the Spirits

First, the Ghost of Christmas Present visits Scrooge. This spirit takes Scrooge to see Cratchit and his family. They are happy and thankful, even though they are poor. They sing "The Lord's Bright Blessing." The Ghost warns Scrooge about Cratchit's sick young son, Tiny Tim. He says Tiny Tim won't live to next Christmas if things don't change.

Next, the Ghost of Christmas Past visits Scrooge. This spirit takes him back to his childhood. Scrooge was a lonely schoolboy, singing "Alone in the World." The Ghost also shows him Belle. She was a woman he loved. But she left him because he cared more about money. They sing "Winter Was Warm."

Scrooge then meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This spirit shows him a vision of the future. An unloved man has recently passed away. Scrooge sees his charwoman, his laundress, and the local undertaker. They are selling the dead man's things to a person who buys stolen goods, named Old Joe. They sing "We're Despicable (Plunderer's March)."

Scrooge asks to see some "tenderness connected with death." But he finds out that Tiny Tim has died. The Ghost takes Scrooge to a cemetery. He shows him his own grave. Scrooge realizes that he is the unloved man who died. He feels very sad and promises to change. He sings "Alone in the World (Reprise)."

A New Christmas Morning

Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning feeling like a new person. He meets the two men who asked for charity the day before. He gives them a very generous donation. Then, he secretly sends a big Christmas turkey to Cratchit's family. Later, he visits Cratchit. He gives him a raise in pay and helps Tiny Tim get better. Scrooge celebrates Christmas with them, singing "The Lord's Bright Blessing (Reprise)."

The musical play ends, and the audience claps. Magoo brings the director onto the stage. But the stage props fall on the director! Magoo proudly says, "Oh, Magoo, you've done it again, and by George, I've brought down the house!" He wishes everyone watching, both in the theater and at home, a Merry Christmas.

Voice Actors

• Jim Backus as Mr. Magoo and Ebenezer Scrooge
  • Marie Matthews as young Ebenezer Scrooge
• Morey Amsterdam as Brady, James
• Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit, Dick Wilkins
• Royal Dano as Jacob Marley
• Paul Frees as Charity Man, Fezziwig, Old Joe, the Undertaker, Stage Director
• Joan Gardner as Tiny Tim, Ghost of Christmas Past
• John Hart as Billings, Stage Manager, Milkman
• Jane Kean as Belle
• Laura Olsher as Mrs. Cratchit
• Les Tremayne as Ghost of Christmas Present

Songs in the Special

• "It's Great to Be Back on Broadway"
• "It's Great to Be Back on Broadway (Reprise)"
• "Ringle, Ringle"
• "The Lord's Bright Blessing"
• "Alone in the World"
• "Winter Was Warm"
• "We're Despicable (Plunderer's March)"
• "Alone in the World (Reprise)"
• "Ringle, Ringle (Reprise)"
• "The Lord's Bright Blessing (Reprise)"
• "Winter Was Warm (End Credits)"

Behind the Scenes

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol was made by UPA. This was when UPA was almost done as an animation studio. A company owned by Henry G. Saperstein had bought UPA. UPA later made another TV show called The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. In that show, Magoo played other famous book characters. But UPA stopped making cartoons for TV soon after. They found it hard to make so many cartoons for television. This special is an hour long, which was longer than most animated Christmas specials at the time.

The special shows the ghosts visiting Scrooge in a different order than the original book. The Ghost of Christmas Present appears before the Ghost of Christmas Past. Tiny Tim in the special looks like another UPA character called Gerald McBoing-Boing.

NBC showed this special every Christmas season until 1969. NBC aired it again in 2012. Some scenes showing Magoo getting ready for the play were cut out. This was to make room for commercials. Later, The CW got the rights to show the special. The full original special aired in 2014. But the next year, they showed the shorter NBC version. Now, NBCUniversal Television Distribution owns the rights to the special. This happened after their parent company Comcast bought Classic Media, which was renamed DreamWorks Classics.

Watching at Home

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol has been released on VHS and DVD. These were put out by DreamWorks and Sony Wonder. In November 2019, it was also released on Blu-ray.