Mickey’s Christmas Carol (film) Mickey Mouse cartoon featurette, premiere in England on October 20, 1983; U.S. release on December 16, 1983. Directed by Burny Mattinson. 25 min. Dickens’ well-known Christmas story is retold with Uncle Scrooge taking the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, Goofy as Jacob Marley’s ghost, Donald Duck as nephew Fred, and many other Disney favorites who were returning to the silver screen after quite an absence. Mickey, for instance, had not been seen in a theatrical cartoon since The Simple Things in 1953. The film features the voices of Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith, Will Ryan, Eddy Carroll, Patricia Parris, Dick Billingsley, Clarence Nash. The song “Oh, What a Merry Christmas Day” was written by Frederick Searles and Irwin Kostal. The idea for the film was inspired by a 1974 Disney record album of the same name. Director Mattinson was inspired to begin the project, with the okay from Disney president and chief executive officer Ron Miller, in May 1981. One of the difficult tasks in bringing back such favorite characters as Mickey and Donald was finding the right voices. Clarence “Ducky” Nash was still available to voice Donald as he had since Donald’s debut, but Mickey’s voice would introduce a new talent—Wayne Allwine. Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Film. Released on video in 1984. Began an annual television airing in 1984 on NBC.
