First there was 'Mickey's Christmas Carol', with the famous mouse as Bob Cratchit to Scrooge MacDuck. But the new Disney has brought this anthology, a trio of stories infused with the spirit of Christmas and beautifully animated.

Donald Duck and his nephews are preparing for Christmas, but Huey, Dewey and Louie enjoy themselves so much that they wish for Christmas Day to be every day ... Goofy tries his best to keep his son, Max, from stopping his belief in Santa Claus ... and Mickey and Minnie find a way to make each other thoughtful gifts for Christmas.

In voices and in animation, the classic characters look very like they did in the great cartoons of the past. The stories, although a little saccharine, are in keeping with the season and are extremely watchable. Perhaps the Ducks' Groundhog Day Christmas is the pick of the trio, but all three shorts are well worth watching. Perhaps the narration by Kelsey 'Frasier' Grammar could be missed though.

Honestly, it is really sweet and genuinely memorable, full of powerful messages of Christmas. I think it is one of the better Christmas videos out there, and there are a lot of very good ones, like Enchanted Christmas. Here, we have three stories, like Cinderella 2 and Belle's Magical World, but I would definitely pick Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas over both those films put together. It is a little short, but with the sweetness of the entire movie, the top notch voice talents and the surprisingly good animation, that is so easy to forgive. The highlight of the film was the beautiful, restrained intonation of Kelsey Grammar's narration, and he was the main reason why I got the video in the first place. The material he was given was beautifully written, and he made the most with it. The animation was surprisingly good, I was expecting worse, but the animation was actually one of the many redeeming qualities of this movie. The three stories are inspired and very well-done, my favourite being the last one with Mickey and Minnie. Plus the inspired moments of comedy like Donald chasing a turkey and lovely music and a musical yultide interlude at then end that is enough to touch the heart. All in all, a beautiful and touching yuletide movie, with a 9/10 from me. Bethany Cox

Sweet-natured and soft-hearted Disney animated trio of tales revolving around Christmas hits the holiday spirit on the mark.

The first has Donald Duck's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie wishing upon a star for Christmas Day to never end, and they get their wish…but will the magic that is Christmas Day lose its luster? This emphasizes how having the same day, no matter how special it is, repeating over and over could ruin what makes it great. I enjoyed Donald Duck's part in this as he endured a pan of eggs and pancakes (and including the pan itself) on top of his head over and over, not to mention his reaction to his nephews during the supper, cooked special by Daisy Duck, when they act all nice, well-behaved, and mannered (having learned from a previous day when they contributed to chaos that included a runaway turkey, a destroyed supper table, damaged of piano, and toppled Christmas tree, they realize the next day should be "the best Christmas day ever"). Donald was always my favorite character as a kid, so his misfortune when the nephews inadvertently cause mayhem (just being kids) often cracked me up. A repeat of chaos as Donald tries as he might to keep the day from descending into anarchy is so wonderfully Clark Griswaldish. The plot, a version of Groundhog Day, does give the Disney Ducks plenty of opportunity to have their fun, then get bored, and eventually realize that everyday same (with the occasional slight alteration) does get a bit redundant.

The second has Goofy trying to lure Santa to his home so that his son can recover his belief in Jolly Ole Saint Nick. Giving a struggling family presents in their time of need and risking life and limb to recover a letter to Santa (to receive a special snowboard),Goofy is quite a hero here. Sure he's clumsy and often falls on his face (although he trips during a dinner spent with neighbors and all of the utensils, food, and drink fall right in place on the table so sometimes it all works out for him),but his heart of gold always perseveres in the end. Pete gleefully telling Goofy's boy Santa doesn't exist and soon realizing the error of his ways (not allowed to enjoy what Red Belly has for those that believe) is satisfying.

The third tale has Mickey and Minnie wanting to buy significant presents for each other but both suffer cruel employers. Mickey working at a Christmas tree sales lot (making sure his dastardly boss doesn't trick a poor family into a payment plan for a big tree by finding a nice smaller one they can afford means he loses the little money he had) while Minnie wraps gifts like a pro (yet doesn't get a bonus as expected, but a fruit log). A necklace for Minnie's watch is what Mickey wants to buy in a store window and a case for Mickey's harmonica is what Minnie wishes to buy him. Will it work out? Sometimes even if it doesn't work out, just being together on Christmas is enough.

Quite a family Christmas movie, Disney fans should enjoy the animation prior to going computer. The movie gets in all the faves, including Pluto, Mickey's dog, dutifully following him around as he tries to come up with a way to make some quick cash. Premiering in '99, perhaps this will be a nostalgic treat for those of us who enjoyed animation from days gone by.