12 Reviews of Christmas - Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Last year, I took a look at the direct-to-video holiday film Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, which was a really fun little treat for younger kids to enjoy for the holidays. Well in 2004, Disney produced a sequel, this time completely computer animated, and they called it Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. So, for 12 Reviews of Christmas, I would like to talk about it, because I honestly enjoyed it more than the first one.

          Okay, right off the bat, I want to mention the change from hand-drawn animation to CGI animation. This was done some time after Disney produced a 3D amusement park attraction called Mickey's PhilharMagic, which showcased Donald Duck chasing after Mickey's sorcerer hat throughout several famous moments from popular Disney films (i.e. Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, etc.). So, after the popularity of the ride, Disney decided to make a direct-to-video Christmas release using the same animation style. Add to that narration by Clive Revill, and we've got Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. 

         So, the film is broken into five segments, the first of which is called "Belles on Ice." The focus is on a ice skating competition with Minnie and Daisy, which somehow also includes the crocodiles and hippos from the "Song of the Hours" segment from Fantasia, and the two get way too competitive, to the point where Minnie almost injures herself when she attempts a jump. The two friends reconcile, and put on an amazing finale. The second segment is called "Christmas: Impossible," and focuses on how Huey, Dewey, and Louie are constantly misbehaving and pulling pranks that, according to Uncle Scrooge, could mean no presents from Santa. So, the boys decide to ship themselves to the North Pole and add their own names to Santa's Nice List. Unfortunately, while trying to reach Santa's List, they cause a huge mess in the workshop. Realizing that they've ruined Christmas for everyone, they decide to help clean their mess, putting everything right. When they make it to the List, they decide to write Scrooge's name on the List instead of their own names. Returning to Scrooge's mansion, they arrive to see Scrooge finally get the present he always wanted from Santa: bagpipes. The boys also get presents from Santa, including a letter that reads, and I quote: "Dear boys, There's always room on my list for those who put others first. Thanks for your help in cleaning up the workshop. Keep up the good work. Santa. P.S. you might need these." Yeah, Santa included earplugs for the boys to block out the sounds of Scrooge's terrible bagpipe playing. 

           The third segment is called "Christmas Maximus," and focuses on Goofy, whose getting ready for Max to come home for Christmas, along with his new girlfriend Mona. Unfortunately, Max feels humiliated by his father quite a bit while trying to make a good impression on Mona. However, after a walk in the snow, Max realizes how much his father loves him, and returns to Goofy and Mona making popcorn, only for the popper to go haywire and fill the entire house with popcorn, sending Goofy, Max, and Mona up the chimney in an explosion of popcorn. The three then make snow angels in the popcorn on the roof. The fourth segment, "Donald's Gift," focuses on how Donald wants some peace and quiet to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, but is constantly haunted by the repeat playing of the Christmas song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Daisy arrives with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as the five of them are supposed to head to the mall for the Christmas display, but Donald is reluctant to go. At the mall, Donald goes to get a cup of hot water, but is again housed by various people, object, and even puppies, playing the jingle "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Donald tries to hide from the music, but ends up surrounded by animatronics performing the song, and ends up getting caught destroying the animatronics. After walking out in the snow, and watching Daisy and the boys in a diner, Donald spots a group of carolers trying to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and Donald stops them and starts to lead them in the song. Soon after, others join the in singing, and Daisy forgives Donald for earlier, telling him "Merry Christmas, you big old grump." 

         The final segment, "Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas," focuses on Mickey and Pluto. Mickey is trying to get his house ready for Christmas, but Pluto wants to put the star stop the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the house gets messed up by Pluto while Mickey is on the phone with Minnie. Seeing the disaster, Mickey yells at Pluto and sends him to his dog house. Shortly after, a picture of Mickey also yells at Pluto, and Pluto leaves home, ending up in a train car full of grain heading up to the North Pole. The grain is meant to feed Santa's reindeer, and Donner takes a liking to Pluto. Meanwhile, Mickey realizes Pluto is missing, and frantically searches for him, even asking Santa for help in Pluto's safe return. Meanwhile, at the North Pole, Pluto is starting to feel homesick, and Donner and Blitzen don't know why. It's only when Santa arrives that the whole thing is put together: Pluto misses Mickey just as much as Mickey misses Pluto. So, Santa, Donner, and Blitzen take Pluto back home to Mickey, when Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie all arrive to celebrate Christmas, and Mickey and Pluto put the star stop the Christmas tree, ending the movie. 

            Okay, so Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, much like its predecessor, is definitely a fun one to watch with the kids. The segments are all really good, and it's really neat that Santa actually exists in this movie. I also enjoyed the song that played during the closing credits, "Share This Day" by Josh Kelley. On top of that, I got a kick out of the idea that the framing device for the movie is a pop-up book. Finally, the novelty of seeing Disney characters as computer animated creations is really cool. 

         Definitely a fun holiday treat, I give Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off, and 12 Reviews of Christmas will continue tomorrow with the latest version of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch. 

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