By Michael Lyons
Before Rudolph took flight, Before Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang put on a Christmas pageant; even before the Grinch stole Christmas, there was...Mr. Magoo...?
Not a typo. The seldom seen Christmas Special, “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” debuted on December 18, 1962 on NBC, making it the very first animated television Christmas special. It aired a full two years before “Rudolph,” three years before “Charlie Brown” and four years before “The Grinch.”
And yet, “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” has become, at best, a footnote in the ever growing history of television Christmas specials.
As this year marks the 55th anniversary of this special that led the way for so many others, it seems only appropriate to give Magoo his due.
At the time of the special’s debut, Mr. Magoo was a well known star of theatrical cartoon shorts from United Productions of America (UPA Animation Studio). The character, an older, near sighted wealthy man, whose challenges with his vision result in comical situations, was a perfect choice for Scrooge.
UPA put a few spins on the classic story for “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.” First, there is a “story within a story” as the film takes place in contemporary times with Magoo starring on Broadway in a musical version of “Christmas Carol.” Second, the story changes up the order of the Ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas present comes first, then Past and Future.
The remainder of the special, like many versions of Dickens classic, pulls scenes and dialogue right from the text, adding songs, some of the most beautiful in fact, ever written for a TV Christmas special.
Crafted by songwriting legends Jules Styne and Bob Merrill, who would go on to compose songs for the Barbara Streisand classic “Funny Girl,” the songs for “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” rival the brightest Broadway production or latest Disney animated feature.
From the haunting “All Alone in the World” to the lovely “Winter was Warm” and the bouncy “Lord’s Bright Blessing,” these are the kind of songs that stay with you long after the show ends.
Bringing the songs to life is a roster of who’s who comedians and character actors from the sixties. Jim Backus, best known as Mr. Howell on “Gilligan’s Island,” does his standard great cackles and asides as the title character, which he had been performing since 1949. There’s also the wonderful deep tones of Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit and Royal Dano with a haunting performance as Jacob Marley. Additionally, Paul Frees, a Mel Blanc-like vocal chameleon, voices several characters.
All of this comes together with unique, stylized animation that was a hallmark of UPA (and many say that they created). The “very ‘60’s” character design and sparse backgrounds give the special a charm unlike any other.
In all, “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” is the best holiday TV Special you’ve never seen. Now available on DVD and Blu-Ray, its definitely a worthy addition to any Christmas Viewing rotation.
As author Darrell Van Citters sums up in his excellent book, “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special”:
“A lot of factors have to line up to create a classic and fortunately, in 1962, a lot of them did.”
Sources:
Wikipedia
IMDb
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special”:
By Darrell Van Citters
No comments:
Post a Comment