Friday, December 25, 2015

A Merry Magoo Christmas!


Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most wanted to get my mitts on. For some reasons or other it has eluded me for years, until now. I picked it up the other day along with several other holiday hits like the venerable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (my childhood fave) and the always surprisingly entertaining Frosty the Snowman.


Of course no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.


A man who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his accumulated wealth and relative comfort.


Who discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon markets.


And of course he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else.


But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and everyone of us choose each day to make a difference.

It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.


So you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself.

Merry Christmas!

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6 comments:

  1. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year, Rip.

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  2. I've never heard of the Mr. Magoo Christmas Carol, yet another version. Charles Dickens was a great social reformer who used his novels to try to educate people about the terrible social injustices of the 19th century but it wasn't till the 20th century that anything started to happen, thanks to the rise of the political left of course. Have you ever seen the hilarious "Blackadder Christmas Carol" starring Rowan Atkinson from 1988 which turns the whole story on its' head ? Ebenezer Blackadder starts off as kind and thoughtful and then becomes mean and selfish by the end. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you, Rip.

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    1. I'll have to track down that Blackadder version. I know the character from some TV shows way back when, but haven't seen any in a very long time.

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  3. Did you catch Quincy Magoo's appearance in the Dick Tracy strip over the past week or so?
    As Quincy and Dick sit in the audience of a stage version of "Mr Magoo's 'A Christmas Carol'" (starring Vitamin Flintheart as Magoo/Scrooge) they talk over old times, including their cross-over episode "Dick Tracy and the Mob" from the animated Famous Adventures of Mr Magoo tv series!

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    1. Thanks for the heads up. Sadly I do not follow that strip regularly as it appears.

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