Family Matinee! "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol," November 28, 2010

Family Matinee! "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol," 1962, NBC, 52 min. Join us for a screening of the first animated Christmas special, which premiered on NBC in 1962. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and the voices of Jim Backus, Jack Cassidy, Jane Kean and Morey Amsterdam, this 52-minute adaptation of Dickens - cleverly presented as a play within a play (with the nearsighted Magoo playing Scrooge on Broadway) - paved the way for a slew of animated holiday specials.[beta SP tbc]

Following the screening, a panel including animator Darrell Van Citters, author of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special (Oxberry Press). Key layout artist Bob Singer, actors Marie Mathews (Young Scrooge) and Jane Kern (Belle) will examine the making of the program and its place in television history.
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