The Walt Disney Company tells three Christmas stories featuring the Sensational Six and their friends in the 1999 film, “Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas.” The first short focuses on Huey, Dewey and Louie spending Christmas with Donald and Daisy and how they want every day to be Christmas until the repetitive nature becomes too much for them. The second short focuses on Goofy and Max and how they want to make the other happy for Christmas. And the third focuses on Mickey and Minnie as they struggle to find a way to pay for gifts for each other.

My favorite of these shorts is the first one. I loved seeing the trouble Huey, Dewey and Louie could get up to when they knew there would be no repercussions. I remember being the little kid who wanted to have a lot of fun with my toys and could sometimes be inconsiderate of others. The repetitive nature of the story helped Huey, Dewey and Louie grow so that they could give their Uncle Donald the best Christmas ever. It’s basically a Disney Christmas version of “Groundhog Day,” but it works.

My least favorite of these three was actually the last one. I still really enjoyed it, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the other two. It still told a great story of how Mickey wanted to have enough money to buy a present for Minnie but wouldn’t compromise his principles for a family that was struggling but still wanted to get a tree for their kids. Meanwhile, Minnie’s job is the perfect example of corporate greed and a cheap boss unwilling to give a proper bonus to a valued employee. Both of them trade in their most valuable possessions so they can buy the other a gift. In obvious irony, the new gifts are meant to complement what they’ve already traded. It’s a good story, but just didn’t hit me like the others did.

Goofy’s Christmas story falls right in the middle. I appreciate stories about a kid who has a childlike belief in Santa, starting to question Santa’s existence and then a parent stepping in to help restore that childlike belief. This one turns it on its head because adult Goofy still believes in Santa, and, even though Max is questioning Santa’s existence, he will do anything to help keep Goofy’s belief alive. Plus, it ends with Santa getting Pete back for a mean thing he did to Goofy and Max earlier in the short, so I greatly appreciate that.

This is only an hour long, but it was a very enjoyable way to spend an hour. I like all three stories, even though I like them each differently. There’s a sequel available on Disney+ called “Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas” that I can’t wait to watch again after revisiting this fun romp.

Rating: 4 stars

What did you think of “Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

View all posts