By Geno McGahee
I don’t really know anything about Mister Magoo. I know of that terrible Disney live action film with Leslie Nielsen, but other than that, not much. The only other thing that I know about Magoo is that, as a child, I looked forward to MISTER MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL every year. It stood in my memory more than FROSTY THE SNOWMAN or any of those Claymation specials. For some reason, Mister Magoo’s holiday entry has always sat with me and so, after 40 years, I have watched it again.
Mister Magoo (Voiced by Jim Backus) is an actor and he’s heading to a play where he is starring as Ebenezer Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL. He’s driving and I suppose it’s supposed to be funny because he’s basically blind and driving. There was some controversy later on, but as my eyes go, I don’t mind people calling me a blind bastard. I am becoming one, but people got touchy with Magoo as Disney got their claws into it. There were better reasons to boycott that freaking movie.
I found it odd that Magoo was an actor and they incorporated this into this TV movie. It was strange, but it didn’t take long to kick into the actual story of Scrooge and not many have done this character as good as Magoo. I love how much of an asshole Magoo is as he kicks a donations cup out of a young kid’s hands. It was hilarious. He didn’t pull punches as he expressed his opinion about the poor, suggesting they lock them up in prison.
On top of treating people like shit, he lets his employee, Cratchit (Voiced by Jack Cassidy), freeze as he stays nice and warm. He then counts his money and sings about how much he loves it. I appreciate evil rich people that sing about their money.
It’s Christmas Eve and Scrooge gets visited by his old business partner, Marley (Voiced by Royal Dano), and he’s a scary site as he stands there in chains and moans a great deal. It’s no wonder why I looked forward to this cartoon every Christmas season. It’s a lot of fun right out of the gates.
As you know, if you’re familiar with the story, Marley informs Scrooges that he’s going to be visited by three ghosts and they are going to hand him his ass, more or less. At first, Scrooge is dismissive, but he soon gets terrified when Marley starts screaming. It doesn’t take too long before the first ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, taking Scrooge back in time. I felt bad for young Scrooge not having any friends and being left alone. It’s no wonder that he turned into king prick.
Scrooge was also once a party animal and had a girlfriend named Bell (Voiced by Jane Kean), but he hunt for money and power chased her away. He starts to become very emotional and he soon meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, where he sees what is happening around him that he’s been oblivious to, including the Cratchit situation. They are poor as shit and Tiny Tim (Voiced by Joan Gardner) is crippled and on death’s door, but they understand that they have strength in family.
The coolest ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, arrives and he looks just like the Grim Reaper and he is planning on scaring the shit out of Scrooge. He shows him the bleak future to come including his death and the death of Tiny Tim. Why would you name your son Tiny Tim? I know he’s small, but it seems like an asshole thing to do. If he was overweight would he be Fat Tim?
Scrooge begs for another chance and he gets it, of course, and now he’s a new man. He throws around his money, noting that it can’t be stolen from you if you give it away. That’s bullshit reasoning, but if it makes him happy to now give away his fortune, so be it. He buys the biggest turkey in history and sends it to the Cratchitt home and then shows up to dance around with the family and announce that he’s giving Cratchitt a raise. Good luck with that Scrooge. He’s throwing his money around so much that he might not have enough to pay Cratchitt.
I loved MISTER MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL as a child and, after watching it now, 40 years later, I still really loved it. I with Magoo spent more time being an asshole, but there was enough of it to really make me laugh. It’s just a good retelling of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I highly recommend it.
