Xmas: 'Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas' (1999) Dirs. A Mann, B Raymond, J Falkenstein & B Speers

Wayne Allwine, Russi Taylor, Tony Anselmo, Tress MacNeille, Diane Michelle, Alan Young, Bill Farmer, Jim Cummings and Shaun Fleming

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Narrated by Kelsey Grammer, we are treated to three Christmas tales, each relaying a classic Disney theme of family, kindness and thoughtfulness...

In ‘Donald Duck Stuck On Christmas’, young Huey, Dewey and Louie (Taylor) neglect the real meaning of Christmas and are magically stuck in a time loop, experiencing the day over and over again.

In ‘A Very Goofy Christmas’, Goofy (Farmer) and son Max (Fleming) are brought together in their attempt to prove to each other that Santa Claus is a real person. Father and son will not rest until they manage to see if Santa really exists, despite the troubles with trying to stay awake.

And in ‘Mickey And Minnie’s The Gift of the Magi’, Mickey Mouse (Allwine) sets out to buy a gold chain for girlfriend Minnie (Taylor). Mickey is soon left with very little time and only the help of best friend Pluto to find a way he can obtain the gift before it is too late.

Featuring the classic hand-drawn animation from Disney Studios, this encapsulates the heart of Disney through their founding characters set around the most wonderful time of the year; Christmas. Couple the sugary-sweet and heart-warming stories with this festive season, and Disney really come into their element.

With brilliant animation, family friendly humour and three simple stories with very clear and meaningful themes, this lasts for only 60mins but never outstays its welcome. Each character is given time to shine in different ways, my favourite being ‘Donald Duck Stuck On Christmas’, playing out like a festive Groundhog Day. Exceptional voice talents bring the lovable characters to life in the usual way of witty scripts and comedic action and chaos.

You can’t really find fault in these seasonal tale unless you’re heartless or just hate Disney in general, but I doubt many can hate something that is presented in the classic way Disney originated from.

Classic characters and no CG animation in sight proving that even in 1999, this style of hand drawn animation adds so much charm to things it’d be a crime to lose it.

'Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas' is Walt Disney Television Animation production