Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is a 2004 computer-animated direct-to-video Christmas sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. The segments in this video feature Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and Scrooge McDuck in five different segments. Along with the Mickey's PhilharMagic theme park attraction, this production was one of the first to depict the Mickey Mouse series characters in CGI animation.

"Belles on Ice"
This first segment tells the story of Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck who are competing in an ice skating competition. The girls each are joined by their boyfriends, Mickey and Donald, as they prepare to take the ice.

Minnie is announced to take the ice first for her routine, which involves a bell choir and the Alligators from Fantasia as backup skaters. As Minnie and the Alligators perform their routine, Daisy begins to become jealous at how much the crowd enjoys the performance. She decides to ruin Minnie's routine by stealing the spotlight for herself, performing amazing jumps and tricks on the ice.

Trying to regain the spotlight, Minnie performs a daredevil jump over the Alligators, turning all eyes on her. Not to be outdone, Daisy enlists her secret weapons: the Fantasia Hippos. The Hippos charge out of a huge golden gift box and become Daisy's backup skaters. They perform twists and jumps and help Daisy to once again gain the crowd's affection.

Fed up, Daisy and Minnie begin to argue and shove. This creates a huge pinwheel on the ice, with the Hippos hanging on to Daisy and the Alligators hanging on to Minnie. The spinning is so violent that the Hippos and Alligators are thrown in all directions, causing the Alligators to spill bells across the ice and one of the stray Hippos to create a large lift in the ice. Seizing her moment to shine, Daisy lines up her Hippos and performs a massive jump off of the lift and over the Hippos. Trying desperately to outdo Daisy, Minnie instructs her Alligators to hoist the Hippos up and launches herself off the lift and over the skaters, while blind-folded with her bow over her eyes. As she lands, her skate hits a stray bell on the ice, and she falls hard.

Since Daisy realizes her friend is hurt, she helps Minnie up feeling sorry for her actions. Then, the two friends begin a grand finale. The Hippos and Alligators proceed to form a "tent" while Minnie and Daisy skate through with blue and pink streamers, respectively. The Hippos and Alligators then pop out of the golden present, first Hippos, then Alligators. Finally, the huge golden present raises upward and out on the top pops Minnie and Daisy. They then spell "Peace On Earth" with their streamers and then the two hug and wish each other a "Merry Christmas" to thunderous applause from the audience.

"Christmas: Impossible"
The second segment tells the story of Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck celebrating Christmas Eve at their Uncle Scrooge's mansion in Duckburg. Donald Duck and Daisy Duck also join in the festivities.

The story begins with Donald decorating the mansion's huge Christmas tree. In come Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who without noticing bump Donald's ladder and cause him to fall. The boys run into the kitchen to find Great-Uncle Scrooge baking Christmas cookies. When they ask for cookies, Scrooge tells them they can have some, but only after their dinner. At the dinner table, Donald, Daisy, Scrooge, and the boys are ready for the dessert, but when Scrooge uncovers the dessert tray, he finds that all the cookies have been eaten by the boys. Donald angrily sends the boys to bed.

In the boys' bedroom, Scrooge tells the boys not to make mistakes in life because Santa will put them on his “naughty list”, just like Uncle Scrooge (alluding to his namesake character, Ebenezer Scrooge). After realizing that they are on the “naughty list” for sure, the boys decide to travel to the North Pole in order to write their names on Santa's good list. They mail themselves to the North Pole and end up in Santa's toy factory.

In the factory, the boys find a map to Santa's list room, but when they arrive there, the door is locked, so they go to Santa's office in order to steal the key, but find that Santa is inside napping. To steal the key without waking Santa, the boys enter through an overhead grate. Louie is dropped down with a fishing rod in order to get the key, which lies on Santa's desk.

After getting the key, the boys race back through the toy room where they steal skateboards and skate through the room, causing toys to go here and there. Finally there plow into a stack of Jailbreak Bobs and tumble off their boards. The accident causes keys for Jailbreak Bob's jail cell to scatter all over the floor. The boys and the other elves help to sort out the keys, but one elf finds a key that does not fit. Not knowing it is the key the boys want, the elf throws it, causing it to land in a box.

The package is wrapped and placed into Santa's toy sack among many other gifts. The boys begin to unwrap each gift in search of the key, causing all the elves' hard work to be ruined. The boys find the key and run for the List Room, but accidentally bump right into Santa. Santa sees the key and thinks the boys were returning it to him, so he puts it in his pocket. Meanwhile, the toy room is in disarray and the elves begin to think that Christmas is ruined. Feeling bad, the boys help to clean up the mess in record time so that Christmas can be saved.

After saving Christmas, the boys start to walk out of the factory feeling sorry that they were unable to get on Santa's good list. But as they walk, they see an elf janitor open Santa's list room. The boys rush in, tell the janitor about a mess somewhere else, and find the list for Duckburg. Just as they begin to write their names on the list, the boys think twice and instead write down Uncle Scrooge's name.

The boys mail themselves back to Duckburg just in time for Christmas Day. Donald, Daisy, Scrooge, and the boys all gather around the tree to find a present just for their Great-Uncle Scrooge. The boys open it to reveal bagpipes, the present Uncle Scrooge has wanted ever since he was small. Donald then notices that there are more presents behind the tree, and everyone opens their gifts (Daisy finds it amusing that Donald's gift is the Big Book of Manners). Amazed that they received gifts from Santa, the boys find a letter addressed to them. It is from Santa, and in it he tells the boys that their good deed of putting Scrooge on the Good List allowed them to be put on the Good List as well, as well as helping with the mess in the toy shop. As P.S., Santa wrote "You might need these", which the boys think at first are marshmallows but are really earplugs for when Uncle Scrooge plays his bagpipes.

"Christmas Maximus"
The third story features Max Goof and Goofy celebrating the holidays. Max, now all grown up, is bringing home his friend Mona to meet Goofy. However, Max is unsure whether or not he wants Mona to meet his dad. Most of the story takes place within the song "Make Me Look Good".

The story begins with Max and Mona at a train station preparing to leave for Goofy's house. Max calls Goofy to remind him of Mona and also to ask his dad not to embarrass him during the visit. Mona and Max leave the station on the train and arrive in Max's hometown to find Goofy waiting for them. Goofy is dressed in a chauffeur's suit standing in front of his car and holding a sign that says "Maxie" with the "ie" crossed out in red.

Goofy drives Max and Mona to his home, where many Christmas lights and decorations are all over the house and lawn. After that, Goofy seems to accidentally keep embarrassing Max by showing Mona Max's baby pictures and wiping cocoa off Max's face. Max at first is embarrassed by his dad, but after taking a walk out in the snow by himself, he realizes that Goofy is always, well, goofy, and that's why he loves him. Max forgets about being embarrassed and decides to join in the fun, just in time to witness the popcorn maker in the kitchen overflow and flood the whole house with popcorn. Max, Goofy, and Mona are forced up the chimney by the popcorn and land on the roof, where they laugh and make snow angels together in the popcorn covering the roof.

"Donald's Gift"
The fourth story revolves around Donald Duck and his Christmas wish of peace and quiet. Daisy Duck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie also appear.

The story begins with Donald returning home from Christmas shopping. As he exits a store, he sees an ad for cocoa and imagines himself at home in his warm armchair. He soon realizes though that as he was daydreaming his bus left without him. He tries to run to catch it, but is slowed down by a tree decorator, a Christmas donation collector, a caroling barbershop quartet, and an old woman. As he tries to get to the bus, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is sung by the townspeople he sees. Donald then must walk home. Along the way he still hears people singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and he becomes very annoyed.

Once at home, Donald prepares himself a cup of cocoa and rests in his armchair, until being distracted by the arrival of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Daisy also arrives and asks Donald if he is ready to go to the mall to see the Christmas decorations and the windows at Mousy's Department Store. Although Donald initially refuses to go, Daisy forces him to come with her and the boys.

At the mall, Donald, Daisy, and the boys gather in front of Mousy's with other people to watch the window unveiling. Donald then wanders off to buy some hot chocolate. After he gets his cocoa, every little noise he hears in the mall seems to play the tune to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". It seems as though Donald can not escape the tune until he finally finds a door into another room. He enters a dark room and thinks he is finally safe when he discovers that he has stumbled on to the Mousy's window display. Zillions of dolls begin singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and Donald finally has had enough.

Back in front of Mousy's, a woman announces that the unveiling will commence. A curtain rises to reveal Donald inadvertently vandalizing the window display to the horror of the crowd. Daisy and the boys feel disappointed at Donald and leave the mall sadly without him. Donald is thrown out of the mall by a policeman and began to walk home in the snow, feeling guilty of his lack of Christmas spirit. As he walks, he sees a group of carolers trying to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", but unable to sing together. Annoyed at their terrible singing, Donald takes charge and conducts the group. The lovely singing causes a small crowd to form, with people joining in and singing with the carolers.

Soon the crowd draws in Daisy and the boys, who see Donald finally showing some Christmas spirit. Donald apologizes and joins in on the singing, making sure to sing from his heart.

"Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas"
The fifth and final segment of the movie begins when Mickey makes decorations for the Christmas party, until Pluto keeps interrupting. When Pluto puts the star on top of the Christmas tree, he inadvertently ruins the decorations, which causes Mickey to send Pluto to the dog house. At the doghouse, Pluto decides to run away from home by removing his collar and hopping on board a train. Pluto finds himself shipped to the North Pole where the reindeer adopt him and call him "Murray" (as in Murray Christmas).

When Mickey arrives back home, he cleans up the mess and puts the decorations back. He begins feeling guilty for how he yelled at Pluto, and when he goes to Pluto's doghouse to apologize, he finds Pluto missing. Mickey goes all over Mouseton, posting "Lost Dog" posters in hope that someone can help him. He even turns to Santa for help at a department store. (What he does not know is that this Santa is not a usual department store Santa, but is the real deal.) Meanwhile, Pluto is feeling homesick, and when Santa comes by with a picture of him and a glum-looking Mickey together, Pluto decides to return home. Santa and the reindeer drop him off back to Mickey's where the rest of the gang gathers for their annual Christmas party. The segment (and the film itself) concludes with them singing a medley of various Christmas carols, akin to how the original film ended.

Recurring "Grumpy Dog" character
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas features a "grumpy dog" character that appears in four of the five segments in the video. Belles on Ice was the only segment not to feature a "grumpy dog".

"Christmas: Impossible"
The "grumpy dog" character is the Frosty Freight delivery worker that delivers the package containing Huey, Dewey, and Louie to Uncle Scrooge's mansion after their trip to the North Pole and Santa's workshop.

"Christmas Maximus"
The "grumpy dog" character is at the train station ticket counter as this segment opens. He softly mutters a "thank you" to the unseen ticket counter worker. Later in this segment, the character is a passenger on the train. Max spills his drink on the character while stumbling down the aisle of the train car.

"Donald's Gift"
The "grumpy dog" character appears a couple times in this segment. When Donald, Daisy, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie are waiting near the Mousy's stage in the mall, Louie moves the dog's sleeve in an attempt to check his watch for the time. The "grumpy dog" character spills his hot chocolate as he moves his arm in response to Louie's unexpected contact. He barks a grumpy "Very hot!" in response when Donald asks if the spilled liquid, now on the dog's shirt, is hot chocolate.

Later, after the Mousy's fiasco, Louie tells an angry member of the crowd that "grumpy dog" is his uncle, not Donald. He causes the "grumpy dog" to spill his drink again when he hugs him in an attempt to sell the rouse to the crowd member. In response to this second spill and drawing the connection to the first, "grumpy dog" exclaims "What are the odds?"

"Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas"
As Mickey hands "Lost Dog" flyers to passers-by on the street, "Grumpy dog" grabs a flyer, crumples it into a wad, grumbles, and discards it at Mickey's feet.

Cast

 * Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse
 * Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse and Huey, Dewey, and Louie
 * Bill Farmer as Goofy and Pluto
 * Jason Marsden as Max Goof
 * Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck
 * Tress MacNeille as Daisy Duck
 * Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck
 * Corey Burton as Elf #4
 * Jim Cummings as Blitzen
 * Jeff Bennett as Donner, Elf #1, Elf #2, and Jailbreak Bob
 * Chuck McCann as Santa Claus, Elf #3
 * Kellie Martin as Mona
 * Edie McClurg as Intercom Elf
 * Clive Revill as Narrator

Trivia

 * It should be noted that Kellie Martin, who played Roxanne, Max's love interest in A Goofy Movie, plays Mona, Max's love interest, in the "Christmas Maximus" segment.
 * There were a number of segments conceived during the film's production that did not make the final cut. They included the following:
 * The Christmas Cookie Caper-Mickey tries to find out who stole Minnie's Christmas cookies in a Private Eye-style mystery.
 * A Fantasia-esque segment in which Donald leads various Disney characters in a grand musical revue of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
 * The origin story of how Minnie and Mickey met one another one Christmas when both thought they would have to spend their holidays alone. Peggy Holmes stated on the DVD that Disney may do a short film that uses the plot of this segment one day.
 * Before it was decided that Minnie and Daisy would compete in a skating competition, a number of other ideas for what the event would be were tossed around. These included a parade float contest, a store window display competition, and a cooking show bake-off.
 * The initial idea for the Mickey and Pluto segment involved Mickey sending Pluto off to the North Pole to compete in the Reindeer Games. However, the animators decided that they wanted the segment to feature Mickey more.
 * The animators came up with several different toys for the scene in which Huey, Dewey, and Louie lose the key to the Naughty & Nice List including Key-to-my-Heart Kate, Go-Go Ginny, Deputy Duck, and the Dog Pound Pals. In the end, Jailbreak Bob won out.
 * Mousy's Department Store is a spoof of the real world department store chain Macy's.
 * Continuity errors: This special is quite difficult (practically impossible, really) to place within the greater continuity of all of the previous appearances of Max, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
 * In the previous special, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, the four of them were all children, with Max presented as being even younger than his appearance in Goof Troop and Donald's nephews presented as still living with him. This indicates that Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas took place at some point prior to the events of both DuckTales (in which the nephews, still as children, live with Scrooge McDuck after Donald joins the Navy) and Goof Troop (in which Max is an 11½-year-old preteen). By the time of A Goofy Movie and Quack Pack, Max, Huey, Dewey, and Louie have all grown into high school-aged teenagers, with An Extremely Goofy Movie having Max grown further into a college-aged teenager. In the House of Mouse TV series, Max is still a teenager but old enough to be employed as a parking valet, while Huey, Dewey, and Louie (who would at times sport designs resembling their Quack Pack designs) are on the cusp of young adulthood. Because of this Christmas special presenting Donald's nephews as children at the same time that Max is a young adult (with the four even interacting together in the very last scene), Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is virtually irreconcilable with the larger continuity of all of the aforementioned TV shows, movies, and even its own predecessor Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.
 * Additionally, Goofy's house appears to have a rather large front yard that extends off to the side where Pete's house stood in both Goof Troop and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, meaning that Pete's house is missing from where it ought to be in this special.
 * And while the house's exterior does bear a decent resemblance to that of the Goof House seen in Goof Troop its interior more closely resembles that of the very different-looking Goof House seen in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, which itself had a completely different interior room layout (as well as a very different exterior design) from the house seen in Goof Troop (e.g. - the living room and kitchen sit on opposite sides of the house, instead of both sharing the same side and back end of the house like they did in Goof Troop). Since Goofy and Max only first moved into their Goof Troop house in that series's first episode, the house they lived in in "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas" has to have been a different house that they lived in prior to their first moving to Spoonerville. So, if Goofy, in this special, is supposed to still be living in the same house he's lived in since Goof Troop, the inside of the house really shouldn't resemble the very different house from the first special, yet it does, further adding to this special's inconsistencies with all that came before it.
 * Plus, both the interior and exterior of McDuck Manor as seen in this special bear very little resemblance to their appearance in DuckTales.
 * So far, this special marks the very the last appearance of Max Goof in any official Disney animation, and his only appearance in CGI form.