Fright Night

There have been many interpretations over the years of Charles Dickens’ 1843 holiday tale, A Christmas Carol, but few as memorable as the musical adaptation Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. Wikipedia says this “was the first animated holiday program ever produced specifically for television, originally airing in December 1962, and the only one until the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was first shown in December 1964.” I must have watched this hour-long program--which has Jim Backus voicing Ebenezer Scrooge and Jack Cassidy as the lowly Bob Cratchit--dozens of times. Yet it still brings a smile to my face and a modicum of joy to my heart.

With Christmas now less than two weeks away, it seems right to revisit the near-sighted Quincy Magoo and his ghostly guest stars. Enjoy!

UPDATE: When I first composed this post, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was available in its entirety on YouTube, and I embedded it above. However, that video has since been taken down “due to a copyright claim.” As a substitute, I have installed at the top of this post a scene from the film, which finds Scrooge visiting the humble home of Bob Cratchit, in company with the Ghost of Christmas Present. You can purchase a DVD of Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol from Amazon.

READ MORE: “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” by Terence Towles Canote (A Shroud of Thoughts).