Toon Talk: Twice Upon a Christmas
Page 2 of 3
(c) Disney
The filmmakers' wisely place the best of the batch at the beginning and end of the feature; it's a hoot to see the catty interplay between the two leading ladies in Belles (you always new there was a ‘Lucy-versus-Ethel'-type confrontation lurking under the surface between these two gals) and its hard to resist the sentiment expressed when a mouse and his dog are separated in Dog-Gone. And while his nephews' adventures in Impossible are a bit drawn out, Donald's meltdown in Gift (where he gets medieval on a garish Christmas window display at ‘Mousey's' Department Store) is easy to relate to by anyone who has suffered through too many Christmas carols. The weakest link here (albeit a short one) is Maximus ... you'd think that Max would have gotten over being embarrassed by his dad by now. Of course, the enjoyment of the entire production is greatly increased by the always-reliable vocal performances of longtime Disney cast members Wayne Allwine (Mickey), Russi Taylor (Minnie), Bill Farmer (Goofy), Tony Anselmo (Donald) and Tress MacNeille (Daisy).
In the first Upon A Christmas outing, the warm-hearted endearments were brought about via the medium that the characters (and audience watching them) were accustomed too: traditional (‘2-D') animation. But with the decision to produce Twice in computer (‘3-D') animation, there are those moments when the method distracts, and the production is (granted, necessarily for a video release) not ambitious enough to overcome a common response to computer animation, an inherent coldness in the medium.
The end result is a pleasant holiday distraction and interesting experiment in using the classic characters in a new way, but my Christmas wish is that they don't get too used to the idea.
Bonus Features:
- Several story ideas were pitched for this project but didn't make the final cut, such as a version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" using Disney characters as the different gifts, and they can be peeked at in a collection of so-called Deleted Scenes: All Things Deleted, basically a truncated ‘making of' featurette again divided into segments to make it look like there is more then there actually is.
- "Backstage Disney" takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Inspiration on Ice, live action reference filming for Belles on Ice of Olympic skater Michelle Kwan, who proves that as a public speaker she's a great ice skater.
- The designers of the three "Games and Activities" included (Santa's Workshop Challenge, Guess What Donald Is Singing and Santa's Sort) should all get lumps of coal in their stockings considering how unchallenging and time wasting they actually are.
- Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas also features the Disney Fast Play feature.
Toon Talk Rating: B-
Magic Journeys DVDs at
The LaughingPlace Store
The LaughingPlace Store carries the full line of Magic Journeys theme park DVDs including the 8-Disc set featuring all of Walt Disney World
Laughing Place Podcast
A Happy New Year from the LPP. This week it's Lion King in Vegas, new Johnny Depp movies, Adventurer's Club last night, recent dining experiences, our favorites at Hollywood Studios, reader mail, the Captain's Challenge and more.
LP Live Recent Picture
Posted: 10/11/08