Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is a 1999 American direct-to-video animated Christmas anthology comedy fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The film includes three features: Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas (featuring Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Daisy Duck, and Scrooge McDuck), A Very Goofy Christmas (featuring Goofy, Max, and Pete) and Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi (featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Pete, Daisy, and Mortimer Mouse). Other Disney characters also make cameos in the film. Stuck on Christmas is inspired by the 1892 short story "Christmas Every Day" by William Dean Howells and Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi is based on the 1905 short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry.
A sequel, titled Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, was released on November 9, 2004. Unlike its predecessor, the sequel is produced in CGI rather than hand-drawn animation and is composed of five segments.
Upon the release of Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, the film received mixed reviews from critics. However, it was well-received by audiences, making the film a Christmas cult classic.
In Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas, Huey, Dewey and Louie wake up one Christmas morning and run downstairs to open their presents before Daisy, Scrooge and Gertie arrive. The boys then take their new sleds from Donald without reading the card and go sledding. As Donald, Daisy, Scrooge and Gertie sing carols, the boys play with their new toys.
Having enjoyed the day immensely, the trio wishes to have Christmas every day. Their wish is granted and at first they are joyful. After a few days however, they realize that every Christmas will be exactly the same. The following day, the trio plays tricks and pranks, including swapping the cooked turkey with a live one at dinner. The boys, distraught at what they have done, read Donald and Daisy's card and they realize Christmas is about presents and being with family. The boys decide to make the next day the best Christmas ever. As the boys spread love and cheer by kissing Gertie and helping Daisy with dinner, Donald eventually becomes suspicious that they forgot something. That evening, after Donald interferes with his family's carol-singing, Huey realizes Donald's suspicions and he, Dewey and Louie give their uncle a sail boat made out of their sleds as a gift. To thank them for this gift, Donald hugs his nephews. At the end of the next day, the boys finally realize the true meaning of Christmas and the time loop ends, leading to the day after Christmas.
In A Very Goofy Christmas, Goofy and his son Max prepare to mail a letter to Santa Claus. Their neighbor Pete tells Max that Santa does not exist, saying that it is impossible for him to fly around the world in one night. Things begin to get worse when an unprepared Goofy poses as Santa for some kids and Max finds out that he tricked him. Goofy is determined to prove to Max that Santa does exist and stays up all Christmas Eve to keep an eye out for him while a distraught Max just wants to move on. After mistaking a Beagle Boy (who was robbing Pete's house) for Santa, Goofy eventually gives up hope of Santa coming. Max then does everything that Goofy did, to try and make him happy, including posing as (a very small) Santa himself, although Goofy soon finds out. The real Santa actually comes and gives Max the gift he had asked for earlier (as well as burying Pete's house next door in snow as punishment for his cruel disbelief). When Max asks Goofy if Santa forgot his present, Goofy answers that every year he always asks and receives Max's happiness.
In Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi, Mickey wants to get Minnie a gold chain for her one heirloom, her watch, so he works at Crazy Pete's Tree Lot. Minnie wants to give Mickey a Christmas present as well, so she works to get a bonus at the department store. When Mickey offers a small tree to a poor family unable to buy a ten-footer tree, his greedy supervisor Pete steals Mickey's money and dismisses him. Pete inadvertently puts his lit cigar into his pocket with Mickey's money without noticing, which triggers a sequence that ends up setting himself, the money and his trees – including the 10-footers – on fire. Meanwhile, Minnie realizes her bonus from her supervisor Mortimer Mouse is actually a fruit cake. After playing music for a toy drive with the Firehouse Five, Mickey realizes he can trade his harmonica for the gold chain. The shop closes when he gets there and the owner is uninterested in the harmonica, but reconsiders after hearing Mickey play it. Back at Minnie's house, Mickey gives her the chain for her watch, which she reveals she sold to buy Mickey a case for his harmonica, which he also no longer has. However, Mickey and Minnie get emotional seeing how far they went to profess their love and they will still be able to celebrate a happy Christmas.
The main characters from all three segments later sing "Jingle Bells", "Deck the Halls", and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas was originally released on VHS and DVD on November 9, 1999. It was later re-released on VHS and on DVD (as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection) on November 7, 2000. Coinciding with its 15th anniversary, the film was released in a 2-Movie Collection Blu-ray and DVD with Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas on November 4, 2014.
In 2000, the film was part of McDonald's Happy Meals toys as one six titles highlighted as the Disney Video Showcase Collection. Each toy came as one of three interlocking characters from the film (Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto) packaged in a simulated video case.
The film was made available to stream on Netflix. It was subsequently released on Disney+.
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas aired in the United States on ABC Family in December 2013, and in December 2015. It aired on Freeform in December 2022.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 50% based on 6 reviews with an average rating of 5.60/10.
Allison McClain Merrill of Screen Rant called the three stories of Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas "memorable", while Zach Grass wrote, "This movie is like a cup of hot chocolate with all the marshmallows and toppings you could possibly ask for. The plots aren't exactly deep, but they're touching, funny, and oh-so festive that you just can't help but catch the feels from these wholesome holiday stories. They'll definitely make your binging session merry and bright." Caitlin Gallagher of PopSugar described Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas as one of the "perfect holiday underdogs" and as a "heartwarming movie", while Sabienna Bowman said, "Each one of the segments is terrific, but Mickey and Minnie's version of "The Gift of the Magi" is a standout for being a total tearjerker." Andrea Beach of Common Sense Media gave Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas a grade of three out of five stars, and praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing love, caring, and the spirit of giving.
Megan McCluskey of Time included Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas in their "10 Best Christmas Movies for Kids on Netflix" list, stating, "Disney's most beloved characters get into some holiday hijinks in one of the best Christmas kid movies on Netflix. With two Disney-themed retellings of classic Christmas tales, "Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas" and "Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi", as well as the original short "A Very Goofy Christmas", this animated anthology is a nice solo-watch for kids." Bryce Olin of FanSided included Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas in their "Best Christmas Movies on Netflix 2016" list. Michael Thomas of Collider included Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas in their "Best Holiday Movies and Shows on Disney+ Right Now" list, stating, "Once Upon a Christmas is Disney at its finest. It's a wholesome watch with beautiful animation, and all three stories fit well within the relatively short runtime. We're reminded why Mickey and the gang have endured for so long," while Ashley Amber ranked the film ninth in their "10 Best Animated Christmas Classics" list and described it as a "memorable watch for gen Z-ers and millennials alike."
Ashley Jones of Romper ranked Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas fifth in their "20 Of The Best Christmas Movies For Kids" list, saying, "Though it's not so much a movie as it is a film-length collection of animated shorts, Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas earns a spot on this list thanks to its charming holiday appeal. Kids who love Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and the whole crew won't be able to resist these heartwarming stories." Rachel Johnson of MovieWeb ranked Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas eighth in their "Best Christmas Movies of the 1990s" list and called it a "holiday gem". TV Insider ranked Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas thirty-eight in their "50 Best Holiday Specials and Movies of All Time" list, asserting, "There is lots of fun, songs and laughter and you'll find yourself being thawed out of any "humbug" state and embracing the Christmas spirit."
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas won the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 5th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival in 1999. It was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production at the 2000 Annie Awards.