Like the animated Disney holiday special Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas gathers together several funny stories that teach lessons about Christmas spirit and appreciating the importance of family and friendship during the holiday season. Starring classic Disney cartoon characters, the five stories in this computer-animated sequel cover subjects ranging from dealing with annoying family members to getting into the true holiday spirit. While an unseen narrator introduces each tale, a lovely storybook opens to lead viewers into the story in classic Disney style.
Christmas Disney Cartoon About Friendship
The first animated story – Belles on Ice – presents a rapidly escalating rivalry between Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck that takes place during an ice skating competition. Accompanied by the crocodiles and hippos from the classic Disney animated movie Fantasia, Minnie and Daisy compete to see who is the better skater. When Daisy sees Minnie crying after messing up a trick, however, the two friends make peace and work together to perform a shared amazing finale.
Daisy's jealousy and Minnie's hard competitive streak are not qualities parents will want children to copy, but seeing the fallout of fighting with a friend and witnessing how Daisy and Minnie make up and create something beautiful together will teach kids a valuable lesson about how to be a good friend. Viewers may also be entertained by the appearance of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse as supportive boyfriends who get sucked into helping the competition along.
Christmas Disney Cartoon About Good Behavior
The second animated story – Christmas: Impossible – will appeal particularly to fans of the animated television series Ducktales. Huey, Dewey, and Louie, mischievous as always, are convinced that they have landed on Santa Claus' Naughty List and decide they must travel to the North Pole to sneak themselves on the Nice List. Mayhem and subterfuge ensue, during which Donald's nephews end up wrecking Santa's toy room and almost ruining Christmas for everyone. After helping clean up their mess and deciding to sneak Uncle Scrooge's name on the Nice List instead of their own, the boys earn Christmas presents for themselves based on their good behavior and decisions.
This animated cartoon contains many funny moments, particularly when Huey, Dewey, and Louie are sneaking around Santa's office, and its plot will get children thinking about the repercussions of their actions and what it really means to earn a place on Santa's Nice List. And, as always, it is nice for Disney fans to see lesser-used Disney characters like Daisy and Scrooge McDuck featured in a new Disney cartoon.
Christmas Disney Cartoon About Family
The third animated story – Christmas Maximus – will appeal to fans of Goof Troop and other cartoons about Goofy and his son Max. Here a grown-up Max is nervous about bringing his girlfriend home to meet his dad because he is certain that Goofy will embarass him. Naturally Goofy is his normal goofy self, but Max eventually learns to appreciate his dad for who he is and how much he loves Max.
Holiday Disney Cartoon About Christmas Spirit
The fourth animated story – Donald's Gift – narrates how a grumpy Donald Duck who is being haunted by the Christmas carol We Wish You a Merry Christmas wants nothing more than some peace and quiet. After trying unsucessfully to escape his family members (who have dragged him out to admire store window displays, which Donald inadvertently destroys), Donald demonstrates that he, too, can join in the Christmas spirit by leading a group of carolers in a heartfelt round of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and apologizing to Daisy and his nephews.
Holiday Disney Cartoon About Friendship
In the fifth and final animated story – Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas – Pluto accidentally ruins Mickey Mouse's Christmas decorations. Mickey means only to send Pluto to his doghouse, but saddened by their fight, Pluto decides to jump on a train and run away. While remorseful Mickey searches fruitlessly for his friend and confides in a department store Santa that he wants Pluto back, Pluto joins Santa's reindeer and is eventually returned home once he starts to miss Mickey.
The rest of the Disney characters have also been searching for Pluto (a running gag about a badly driven snowplow ends by revealing that Goofy has been behind the wheel all along), and they turn up at the end of the cartoon for a sing-along of Christmas carols.
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas Review
The computer animation in this Christmas Disney DVD is smoother than that in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and the stories cover a nice variety of themes and star a good mix of classic Disney characters. Each tale strikes a good balance between sentimentality and humor, and the subject matter is appropriate for all ages. DVD extras include deleted scenes and storyboards, an interesting feature on how Michelle Kwan's skating was used as a model for Daisy and Minnie's movements in Belles on Ice, and some games and activities.
Families that enjoy Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas may want to check out other Disney Christmas specials, like Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or other holiday animated specials starring classic cartoon characters, like Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas.
Renee Carver - Renée Carver has an Elementary Education degree and over ten years of experience writing and editing children's educational products.
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