Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol turns 60

A holiday classic is born

There are hundreds of movie, television, stage, and animated adaptations of the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One that is beloved and has withstood the test of time is Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol which premiered on NBC on December 18 1962 and remains a favorite holiday animated musical six decades later. It's hard to believe that it was so many years ago when children gathered around black-and-white television sets with families to watch this annual TV special that was Christmasy, serious, and comical all at the same time.

Jim Backus who portrayed Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island was the distinctive voice of Mr. Magoo in the cartoon series (1960-1961) as well as in the Christmas cartoon. In this adaptation, Magoo is not actually the man who says "Bah Humbug" but is only portraying Ebeneezer Scrooge in a stage production. He arrives 30 minutes late because he is nearsighted and has endured several mishaps and at the end his nearsightedness causes him to literally bring down the curtain as he is taking his bows.

A baby boomer favorite

Baby boomers will recall fondly the days when there were only three television networks ABC, NBC, and CBS and you eagerly awaited each holiday season to watch Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and other favorites. In this animated version of A Christmas Carol, things are not quite the way they have been portrayed in the book or in other adaptations.

The six songs in the musical score are heartwarming, especially I'm All Alone in the World which brings many viewers to tears. No one to date has attempted to remake Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol but as they say "If it ain't broke don't fix it. Neither has anyone utilized the songs in thsi animated version of A Christmas Carol.

Fun facts about Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

There are some fun facts that fans of this holiday staple might not be aware of. The Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Past arrive in reverse order but no one has ever said why. The voice of Tiny Tim was provided by a woman named Joan Gardner a screenwriter, songwriter, actress, author, and composer, who also worked on the animated Santa Claus is Coming to Town. She also was the voice of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Young Ebeneezer Scrooge was also voiced by a female Marie Matthews.

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol was the first animated Christmas television special based on the Charles Dickens classic novel and became a family favorite for many generations. . Mr. McGoo paved the way for holiday greats like Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, (1964), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and Frosty the Snowman (1969). Although it premiered on network television the holiday cartoon later was in theaters.

Eleven actors voiced 20 characters and in addition to Backus, Matthews and Garder they were:

Morey Amsterdam as Brady, James

Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit, Dick Wilkins

Laura Olsher as Mrs. Cratchit

Les Tremayne as Ghost of Christmas Present

John Hart as Billings, Stage Manager, Milkman

Royal Dano as Jacob Marley

Jane Kean as Belle

According to the theater marquee, Mr. Magoo's first name is Quincy and Tiny Tom looks like the Dr. Suess character Gerald Mcboing boing because both were produced at the same theater. There is a trivia test related to Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol at this link.

Although I have watched this Christmas classic hundreds of times and know all the lines and songs I was not able to answer as many trivia questions as I would have liked to. Click on the above link and see how well you do.