Yes, the holiday season is upon us at last. We’ve eaten the Thanksgiving leftovers, put up our trees, and are now patiently awaiting the arrival of the man in the red suit with all the toys. As if that notion wasn’t magical enough, Disney ups their cartoon game with several specials and animated treats for us to enjoy.
Mickey, Minnie, and all their friends have gone on several holiday outings with twinkle and tinsel to spare. With a little help from IMDb, we’ve gathered a few toons around our tree for you to enjoy this holiday season. Here are our ten picks for best Disney Christmas Cartoons.
Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse (6.7)
Hey, there are worse places you could be stuck on Christmas than with all of Disney’s classic cartoon casts. The plot is pretty much exactly what the title describes. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and all their crew are trapped in the club and have to spend Christmas Eve at the House of Mouse.
While trying to keep things merry and bright, Mickey shows some entertaining Christmas-themed escapades on screen, as well as a showing of Mickey’s Christmas Carol before ending in a very touching (though sappy) Christmas song in front of the fire sung by all the characters. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great way to start.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (7.2)
This one’s not quite as extravagant as our previous entry, but we’d be lying if we said it didn’t get us all warm and fuzzy inside. Come to think of it, that’s probably the most accurate way to describe this trio of Christmas Stories from Mickey and the gang. Very warm and very, very, merry.
It’s by no means complicated but it doesn’t need to be, and neither does Christmas for that matter. It’s our favorite characters sharing the joy of the season in a series of shorts, one being The Gift of the Magi starring Mickey and Minnie. It’s equal parts Disney and holiday magic tied up with a bow.
Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too (7.5)
This little gift from a certain chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff is definitely top-tier Christmas material in our books. Pooh and his friends are always so charming and positive every day of the year but at the holiday season, they seem to push that into maximum overdrive.
When Pooh loses the friends’ letter to Santa, he ropes in his pal Piglet into masquerading as old Saint Nick and delivering presents to the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods. Of course, the plans go awry but Christmas ends up being saved at the end of the day, but the special still comes across sweeter than any pot of honey.
Toy Tinkers (7.6)
This lovely little short features Chip and Dale using Christmas toys to outwit a cranky Donald Duck out of his candy, nuts, and treats. That sounds like a cute and charming scenario, but in the second half of the short, things turn into an all-out war between them.
We’re not joking, they go from making off with nuts in a toy truck to Donald pulling an actual gun on the two chipmunks! What follows is a battle for Donald’s hoard of snacks with toy canons and popguns loaded with projectile ornaments. It’s big, bombastic, and we could watch it over and over again.
Pluto’s Christmas Tree (7.7)
When Chip and Dale aren’t eating Donald out of his snack stash, they’re tormenting Pluto while Mickey attempts to decorate the Christmas tree. To be fair though, the two chips were living in the tree first before Mickey lopped it down and brought it inside. Still, it did give us a festive little short.
Chip and Dale have a habit of causing some colorful chaos, even over the holidays. We even see Mickey Mouse get mad in this short, and that’s about as rare as twin snowflakes. Of course, being the Christmas season, all is forgiven at the end and we get that familiar fuzzy feeling.
Prep and Landing (7.7)
One of the more recent entries on our list, Disney’s Prep and Landing is a unique little holiday special involving Santa’s secret preparation team of elves. Their job, to make sure everything is perfect and safe for Santa’s arrival. Get in, get out, don’t be noticed. Making Christmas right isn’t an easy job, but someone’s gotta do it.
Aside from the creative premise, it’s a great but basic buddy movie as we follow our two elven leads who go above and beyond the call of duty to bring Christmas to all the children of the world. Definitely an underrated gem in the Disney lineup.
The Small One (7.8)
This is one underrated and under-watched gem brought to us by the legendary Don Bluth. The Small One is the story of how one frail but gentle old donkey becomes part of the greatest story ever told. When his young owner has to sell Small One, the two journey to the biblical marketplace in hopes of finding the animal a loving home, facing trouble and trials along the way.
We understand why Small One has to be sold, but we don’t want to see the poor donkey sold to the tanner, or auctioned at the block. Perhaps that’s why it’s all the more satisfying and reassuring when we see who his new owner is revealed to be.
From All of Us to All of You (8.0)
We might be cheating just a tad on this one, but we can’t leave off a Christmas special hosted by Walt Disney himself. Essentially, the program is a compilation of Christmas themed shorts (some of which are already on this list) and magical sequences from other films all hosted by Jiminy Cricket and Mickey Mouse.
Shorts aside, the reason this one makes our list is mainly for the segments in between the Christmas cartoon cavalcade. Walt’s interactions with the audience and Jiminy’s banter with his fellow cast members never fail to make it a joy to watch. Did we forget to mention Mickey even has a wicked drum solo in this one as well?
Mickey’s Christmas Carol (8.0)
Now we’re getting into some Christmas classic territory with this favored entry. Easily many of our first introductions to the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is the same holiday favorite, but with a Disney cast. Let’s face it, when your name is Scrooge McDuck, you’re bound to say humbug at least once.
This short film was actually a pretty big deal when it was released, practically ushering in a new Disney era. It was the first to introduce Ray Allwine and Alan Young as Mickey and Scrooge respectively, and a return to form for Disney animation. Definitely put this on your list.
Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special (8.3)
This might be our number one and highest rated pick, but it’s definitely not your mom and dad’s Mickey Mouse. Thanks to the comic-book-styled animation from Paul Rudish, Mickey and the gang definitely get away with a lot more gags and even a few grown-up jokes thrown in as well.
The plot is simple, Donald goes Christmas Crazy and the gang has to keep him from going off the deep end. The visuals, on the other hand, are some of the most impressive, creative, and at times bizarre we’ve ever seen from a Mickey cartoon. Give this a watch if you really want some Disney magic this Christmas.
