Parents' Guide to

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Respectful Magoo treatment of Dickens is fun for kids.

Movie G 2004 48 minutes
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 5+

Based on 2 parent reviews

CSMContentDefault
CSMContentDefault Adult
January 30, 2018
age 5+

One of the Few LEGIT Family-Friendly Versions of Charles Dickens' Classic

This is in my book THE least scariest depictions of "A Christmas Carol," making it a safe choice for little kids (or easily-creeped-out adults like myself... -_-) PLus, the songs and animation can actually be really fun! :D (And BTW, we live in an age of activism. It's come to a point where everyone's getting "offended" at things that aren't even offensive. Thus I must make it clear that this cartoon is NOT a mean jab at handicapped people. Good grief... -_-)

This title has:

Great messages
Lowe's man
Lowe's man Adult
October 26, 2014
age 4+

Artistic quality is poor.

The animation is disorienting, dull and simplistic (in fact, the whole show is disorienting), the songs aren't memorable, and the children's voices aren't very good, especially when they sing. Harmless for preschoolers who have nothing better to watch (or nothing better to do), but those who are at least 6 should instead be introduced to a different version. I'm surprised that Sir Alistair Cooke thinks differently, but I have my opinion, just as he has his. If most of you agree with Cooke and not me, I rest my case.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL bowed as a 1960s prime-time NBC-TV cartoon special. In the 1980s Sir Alastair Cooke surprised many with a commentary calling the cartoon one of the best of the many A Christmas Carol adaptations he'd seen. In the cartoon the premise is that Mr. Magoo has somehow become a Broadway star in a new musical "Christmas Carol," which we see in its entirety, after Magoo arrives at the last minute backstage. Magoo plays the London miser Ebeneezer Scrooge, of course, who learns the meaning of Christmas thanks to a ghostly series of interventions, in a narrative that is almost entirely faithful to the Charles Dickens novel.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The Jule Styne songs aren't terribly catchy, the line-art animation is coloring-book simplistic, and Bob Crachit looks like George Jetson. Still, for the younger set this is an appropriate Christmas Carol that does indeed preserve much of Dickens' pathos and quotes his dialogue directly, not rewriting or dumbing down. It's indeed compelling to see Magoo, even with a few bad-eyesight-gags mixed in, playing the storybook miser straight, right down to tearful regret.

Following this, more Magoo cartoons came out as mini-editions of classic literature -- casting Magoo as Don Quixote, Long John Silver, Dr. Frankenstein, and the Count of Monte Cristo, among others -- that (not unlike PBS-TV's Wishbone) treated the stories seriously and made the themes accessible to child viewers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what makes Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol so effective -- and so easily adaptable. Ask kids which is their favorite retelling and why.

  • Study up with animation-savvy kids on the history of the Mr. Magoo character and some of the real-life models for him, like legendary comic W.C. Fields. Mention that the original Magoo of the late 1940s/early 1950s was conceived as nastier, more adult-oriented and mean-spirited than the harmlessly silly gent he became on TV.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate