Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001 Video) User Reviews

Some Good Moments

[travisimo · 7/10 · 12 December 2003]

First off, I thought all the animated shorts they played throughout this movie were great. 'Mickey's Christmas Carol' is one of my childhood favorites. 'Pluto's Christmas Tree' is another oldie and goodie. The two new cartoons were great too. It was pretty funny to see Donald being chased by an ice crack of all things in 'Donald on Ice.' And Disney's new rendition of 'The Nutcracker' was quite original and funny, especially with Donald playing the Mouse King (as you can tell, Donald is my favorite cartoon character).

It's the in-between part that's a little dicey. I'm a relatively new fan of the 'House of Mouse' series on Disney Channel, but truth be told, I was a little disappointed by this special. I could tell that many of the scenes were just taken from previous episodes.

Also, while I find most of the episodes to be pretty clever and funny, this one just seemed to be lacking some comedic pep. Maybe this was done to concentrate more on Christmas sentiment. However, I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the last musical number. I thought it would be pretty corny and sappy, but it turned out to have the right amount of heart, and it made me laugh when the villains participated.

So while it's not necessarily a Christmas classic, there are some moments throughout the movie I think you'll definitely enjoy.

My IMDb Rating: 7/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B (Good)

I liked it

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 3 July 2010]

I don't think Mickey's Magical Christmas:Snowed in at the House of Mouse is the best Christmas movie nor is it among the best Disney has ever done. It is though a decent movie and worth seeing if you like the show House of Mouse(I do), if you love Christmas(once again I do) or if you like Disney(once again I do). This has been compared to House of Villains. I will say I liked them both equally, both had their faults but both have their virtues. I feel Snowed in at the House of Mouse is less rushed and has the better combination of shorts, while House of Villains had the better story and animation.

So what were Snowed in at the House of Mouse's faults? While less rushed, which is in some ways a good thing, the story does drag and does revolve a little too much around the shorts. The animation on the whole is pretty decent, but I did not like how Belle and the Beast were animated, Belle is deflated and Beast is ripped of his majesty. Also, it is a little too short.

However, the animation as I have said apart from Belle and the Beast is decent, there are some nicely drawn characters and the backgrounds are lovely and colourful, and it sticks reasonably true to the animation style of the show like House of Villains does. The animation in the shorts though is better than the animation inside the House of Mouse I feel. The music is very nice too, especially loved the end song, and the ending was better than that of House of Villains(it wasn't as abrupt). There is some nice dialogue, without being too sappy or going overboard with the humour, the voice work is pretty much excellent and it was wonderful seeing Disney characters such as Lumiere, Jiminy Cricket, Ariel, Jafar and Peter Pan again, and Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Daisy and Goofy of course. What made this film though was the cartoons. Donald on Ice was amusing, and matches the humour evident in the early Donald Duck cartoons. Mickey's Christmas Carol and Pluto's Christmas Tree are both Christmas classics, while the take on the Nutcracker was a lot of fun, especially for Donald's Mouse King which was hilarious.

Overall, I liked this film. It's nothing extraordinary, but it is not a bad way to pass an hour or so of your Christmas holiday. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Snowed in at house of mouse

[canadave2002 · 6/10 · 23 September 2006]

I liked the Snowed in at the House of Mouse. The House of Mouse is a fun format of Disney's cartoon stable. It shows some original cartoons with the main group and overall appearances out of context that remind me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit at a toon club. Would like to see more of the House of Mouse series. There was a House of Villains of a similar style. Good times.

Disney's House of Mouse is an animated television series, produced by Walt Disney Television, that originally aired from 2001 to 2003, and ran for 52 episodes. Mickey Mouse and his friends run a nightclub called the "House of Mouse," which shows Disney cartoons as part of its floor show.

Many characters from Disney animated television series and films (such as Aladdin, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Hercules and many more) have appeared on House of Mouse, most as guests and attendees. Mickey Mouse is the club owner, while Minnie Mouse manages finances. Other House of Mouse staff include greeter Donald Duck, reservation clerk Daisy Duck, head waiter Goofy, mascot Pluto, mechanical technician Horace Horsecollar, gossip columnist Clarabelle Cow, and parking valet driver Max Goof. "The Quackstreet Boys," "Quack Sabbath," or "The Splashing Pumpkins," a musical band consisting of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, regularly performs. Pete is also the greedy landlord of the club. Pete often attempts to shut the club down for his own purposes by sabotaging the show, as Mickey's contract states that the club stays open only as long as the show goes on.

Each episode explores the comic mishaps of Mickey and associates running the club, which are used as wraparounds for Disney cartoons (some of which are classic theatrical cartoons from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, but most of which are reruns from Mickey Mouse Works). This series is one of many Disney cartoon series made in Widescreen HD format.

House of Mouse was on One Saturday Morning on ABC, and as of February 2006, this show is no longer airing on The Disney Channel, and as of September 2006, is no longer airing on Toon Disney.

The movie was not a rip off

[jaylynn2 · 9 January 2002]

Mickey's Magical Christmas was not a rip off. It just was remembering the good times the characters shared.

And showed how beautiful friendship is. I thought the movie was beautiful.

It was alright...

[Anthonyjkb · 6/10 · 15 November 2018]

This movie wasn't awful by any means but it was pretty boring. The main problem I have with this movie was that there's really no story whatsoever, it's just a bunch of shorts linked together. Whoever decided to make this was really lazy and he/she put little effort into the film.

Disney characters having fun on Christmas!

[rrrrssssrrrrssss · 10/10 · 17 August 2017]

I' was excited to see my favorite characters from the movies I like . Jafar Iago Simba and Aladdin aren't from the same movie they're all in a different one. But when Daisy says that they have been snowed inside they walk to the door and see snow outside but Mickey then tells them that they will have their own party and everyone follows him except Donald. And everyone tells Mickey what they want Jafar says the lamp get me the lamp! Which is so hilarious and then he goes like it's good to see that Christmas is being enjoyed by all! And his staff turned into candy which makes Iago smile. And then he actually sings the Christmas song with the Heroes since he is a Hero instead of a Villain. He sounds very good when he sings the song but he should have been in the front instead of the back. He did sound nice in the song he should be just like that in every episode of the show especially since he was good in this episode.

classic oldies, slapdash binder makes an uneven show

[kurtanIMDBguy · 5/10 · 5 September 2005]

MICKEYS MAGICAL Christmas's nice bits are the classic DISNEYS' XMAS CAROL, an older short featuring Chip and Dale, a new sequence based on the classic Nutcracker Ballet (Ludrig Von Drake's a peppy spoiler), and a Donald Duck and Nephews "Holiday on Ice". The vocals for all sequences work well, and the music is tuneful and energetic.

Unfortunately, the overseas-produced animation for the scenes binding the shorts together is extremely uneven. Baby-boomer's will be surprised by the Princess's screen bits being some of the weaker animation Disney has released.

Fine for little children's holiday entertainment, but baby-boomer's may encounter some disappointments.

Even more fun for a christmas special

[arielsiere · 10/10 · 23 September 2022]

Mickey and his friends spend the christmas inside the House Of Mouse with many characters and villains from different movies, they make segments like the nutcracker, etc. They even sing a song called the best christmas of all, even though Donald Duck was acting like a grumpy scrooge just like Ms. Stout ( The Search For Santa Paws) which she is an awful women who hates kids, burns toys and she doesn't even care about christmas, it is an awesome Christmas movie just like Winnie The Pooh: Seasons Of Giving, Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas, Winnie The Pooh: A Merry Very Pooh Year and way better than Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas, fun for everyone to watch and laugh without a single word.

Ripoff video

[guyb · 2/10 · 26 November 2001]

This video is just a collection of old Disney cartoons repackaged with very poor filler material involving many classic characters with boring one-liners. Reminds me of when they have a "special" episode of a sitcom which is only recycled bits from the whole season. Don't bother to buy this one. Very poor, Walt. Don't rip us off like that!

Cheap, garish, inept and obnoxious

[kobus666 · 2/10 · 17 July 2003]

I have no idea what this was supposed to be, but the end result was atrocious. It certainly seems to fit in nicely with the current Disney run of "cheapquels" being cranked out at furious pace to squeeze a few more dollars out of their "properties", quality be damned. Certainly whoever produced this misaligned heap of bouncing blobs set to jarring and annoying music was hired by ghouls in suits or possibly accountants to do a dirty job, and no love went into it whatsoever.

The direct-to-video animation is clumsy, the characters are ghastly and vague impersonations of themselves; worse, the storyline is retarded, so much that even my 5-year-old nephew (who made me watch this awful thing) could see that it was dumb and didn't "feel" like any of the classics. The characters all have the same personality of ill-defined bouncing blobs without motivation, and the "story" couldn't have taken more than a few minutes to work out. Indeed, this thing has all the sincerity of a street hustler and all the charm of a corporate powerpoint presentation.

The music was apparently provided by a handful of lounge entertainment dinosaurs armed with cheap Casio synths.

Recycled material with lame filler and a lame gift.

[Inoshiro · 1/10 · 11 March 2002]

If you've ever watched the hour-long "Magical World of Disney" show which had various Disney cartoons from the 1940s through 1970s played, you'll be familiar with what this video is. The exact same stories shown the exact same way with a grand total of 3-5 new minutes of wrapper animation (with different voices than the segments, as well as poorer quality animation) make this one to avoid.

The tape does include a little cardboard stand for a picture of some kind, but that's not really worth the money spent on this. Go get Monsters, Inc instead -- your family will thank you.

So... many... continuity... problems!

[La Gremlin · 2/10 · 17 January 2002]

Before I rip this thing apart, let me clarify that I do NOT, as many have accused, hate the Disney Company. It's just that they're kind of like what a real-life Godzilla would be like. WAY too big and often making mistakes that shouldn't ever been allowed to happen. This video is one of them.

I got a little disillusioned with the Mouse when their direct-to-video-sequel thing started. They're rumored to have about eight more planned for the next few years. At some point, I guess, somebody decided it would be funny to have EVERY Disney character ever in one movie. And so we have... this THING. This monstrous THING!!!

If the "Snookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show" couldn't do it for you; if the ZOOG things that stole the Disney Channel couldn't do it for you; heck, if you are *looking forward* to "Back to Neverland"; then this will break you into a weeping blob of protoplasm faster than you can blink. This here is the magic bullet for any Disney detractor. You Disney fans finally know what we Looney Tunes fans went through with "Space Jam".

The only saving grace is that for some reason, some wise fellow decided to use "Pluto's Christmas Tree" and "Mickey's Christmas Carol", in their entirety, to pad out this video. Fast-forward to those parts and only watch them if you are forced to sit through this.

Don't Bother with this Movie!

[secretninja999 · 1/10 · 4 April 2002]

I enjoyed Disney's Christmas release last year so I thought that I'd pick up this movie as well. I regret it! It's a complete waste of whatever you spend on it. The movie is a poor compilation of only a handful of Disney Christmas shorts. The best part of it is the obviously edited version of Disney's Christmas Carol and even at that it's not worth it. This movie is a disgrace, don't waste your time.

Great movie!!!what are you all talking about?!?

[kramrueb · 27 April 2002]

Okay...so I'm a Disney fan.

This is a great holiday movie with a touching lesson. (that may be a bit overused in holiday movies. Christmas is all about friends and family)

I have to admit, the whole reused segments and in between animation is kind of boring, but they are classic tales from Disney and the in betweeners are fun to watch! It's not everyday you watch movies with loveable characters side-by-side. I think it's great that the other characters are able to chat with each other and take a break from their movie lives. It's just like actors and actresses getting together at a club and watching other performances for a change.

The classic tales retold with that Disney magic is great and the classic features mix well with the newly animated (though not the best animation) shorts.But...

What are you other people talking about??? You obviously haven't seen the Saturday morning show, HOUSE OF MOUSE, which the movie is based on!!!! Watch the show and you'll understand why all the characters are there and why cartoon shorts are shown! Mickey and Donald run a CARTOON club! Of course there will be cartoons shown!

With that said...this was okay for a Disney movie. It wasn't the Disney company's best holiday movie(Once upon a Christmas was much better!!), but they seem to be running out of material. I mean- Cinderella II, Hunchback II, Lady and the Tramp II, etc., coming soon- Dumbo II, Mulan II, 101 Dalmations II: Patch's adventuresomething like that], Tarzan and Jane...okay, it's weird I know all this stuff...Disney is running low on their magic.

Anyway, to sum it up...Magical Christmas was great and shouldn't be shunned so much by people who probably think Anastasia was Disney movie(believe me, most people think it is)

The T.V. Series Is So Much Ameliorative.

[Dawalk-1 · 3/10 · 14 May 2011]

I wasn't satisfied nor content with this Disney holiday special. I bought a VHS copy of it around the time that it was released and I played/viewed it only once, and haven't been interested in viewing it again since. What a waste this is and the money I spent. Because, of course, I was among those who anticipated so much more than what we got instead and was duped into purchasing it, without, at least, trying to search for and read reviews on some site first. More, better stuff could've been done in this and I really like one Amazon reviewer's ideas of how it could've and should've been done a lot better in lieu of the results we did get. How did some Disney people go from the outstanding Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas to the inferiority of this and why couldn't as much perfection be put into this??? Dern whoever came up with this dim idea and didn't even bother applying more effort.

In the main plot of this half of the House of Mouse holiday specials, after a while of watching cartoons starring Mickey Mouse and/or any of his friends, the Disney characters who make up the clientele get ready to leave emcee Mickey's club. But then here's where the one problem ensues as evident and self-explanatory in the title: They're snowbound. Donald Duck isn't into the holiday spirit for some reason or another (this is a loose end that is never tied and explained exactly, and resolved by getting to the bottom of it), so Mickey and the gang try to stir up some holiday cheer in him by showing more cartoons. These include: the Walt era featurette Pluto's Christmas Tree, a few Mickey Mouse Works shorts and Mickey's Christmas Carol. It seems that these take up a majority of the special and these are a waste, since none of them are new (or at lease newer) cartoons, and some of these can already be found on other DVDs (although they're only good if one doesn't already own a VHS/DVD copy that contains Pluto's Christmas Tree, also from one of the Walt Disney Treasures sets and more recently Mickey's Christmas Carol, as part of the Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Favorites line). The Mouse Works featurettes can be seen in two Christmas episodes of House of Mouse as well ("Clarabelle's Christmas List" and "Pete's Christmas Caper"), in addition to that, the parts in the House of Mouse about what the guests wish for Christmas and what they're thankful for would later be recycled in those (if not vise-versa, not so sure which way or how that was done first). And there's the odd moment of one villain, Jafar, saying "It's so nice to see everyone having a good time at the House of Mouse" or something to that effect, which is out of character. The shorts played seem to be taking up more time of getting on the inside of what's happening in the club. Donald does eventually cheer up in the end and the special concludes with the holiday sing-a-long "The Best Christmas Of All".

I hate to say it, but this is horse-feathers. For the aforementioned run down and the reasons giving/explained by some of the other reviewers. I wish I could've gotten the DVD instead (which I know I still can, but not necessarily for this sham-mockery that is supposed to be the prime attraction) for one of the bonus features (which includes the very first HOM episode: "The Stolen Cartoons", which is better). All the above explanations are accurately why I prefer the show to this and the other holiday (Halloween) special, Mickey's House of Villains. I don't recommend this to anyone but some kids who are below the preteen stage and may find this more entertaining than most older viewers. Why must most things Disney touches nowadays turn to scat? What another joke this was by the studio/company. I say just stick with the show.