Plot: What’s it about?
The House of Mouse is home to a lot of fun and happiness, but when a number of Disney stars are present, the fun is enhanced even more. So when Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto host a wealth of fellow Disney stars to the House of Mouse, it is sure to be the best Christmas party of all time, hands down. Some of the guests included Snow White, Dumbo, The Genie, The Beast, Geppeto, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, Lady, Tramp, Ariel, and countless others, all in attendance to celebrate the holidays and spend time with their friends. Soon however, their plans take an unexpected turn when a massive snowstorm sweeps through, leaving them stranded. But of course, these friends won’t let some bad luck ruin their fun and the party continues, although one of them seems to be displeased, as per usual. Yes, that wacky Donald Duck is in a bad mood and in between Bah Humbugs, he’s trying to spoil the holiday spirit of the others. Can Mickey and the others somehow turn Donald’s frown upside down, to make this the best Christmas ever?
Although I am not too taken with most of Disney’s direct to video animated releases, I had decent hopes here, for Mickey’s Magical Christmas. The artwork features a number of familiar Disney faces all in one place, which seemed like a cool premise. I saw Bambi, Simba, Pooh, Ariel, Sebastian, Gepetto, and many others, quite a novel premise, I think. In addition, this was a Christmas themed program and as we know, kids love Disney and Christmas, so it could have been a real one-two punch for parents. But instead, this is a pretty weak animated short and at just over an hour, seems more like a supplement, as opposed to the feature presentation. The show is not that bad, but it is not even close to good and looks as if it were handed over to the second string squad, as it doesn’t match up to the expectations. The animation is second rate, the story is flat, and even the voice talent seems to be sleepwalking through their work here. The older clips are fun to watch, but the new material is paper thin and pure garbage. This might be a decent title to distract the kids for a while, but without substantial content, the high price is too hard to justify. I appreciate the inclusion of DTS, but even so, a rental should suffice in most cases.
Video: How does it look?
Mickey’s Magical Christmas is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. The image is clean and shows no real flaws, especially when the new material is on showcase. The older clips also look good, but don’t have the same depth and crystal clear visuals, since they are older and have more wear signs. The colors look bold and bright, while contrast is stark and remains well balanced throughout. I do think the image is a little too sharp at times, which means shimmering is sometimes present, but this is a minor issue. All in all, a more than solid visual transfer and one that’s much better than the material itself.
Audio: How does it sound?
The inclusion of both Dolby Digital & DTS 5.1 surround options is most welcome, but this kind of material simply doesn’t warrant the extra attention. I heard minimal differences between the two tracks and while the material is well presented, it never takes advantage of the potential here, in either of the tracks. As this program has some musical numbers, the surrounds are used often and to good ends, but never to impressive heights. The songs are clean and clear, dialogue is easy to understand, and in short, these tracks are solid, but not as dynamic as expected. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a bonus episode of House of House, a brief featurette on how the sound is designed, and two sing-a-long options.
