[7.0/10] Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas is perfectly solid. There’s not much to write home about with it, but it’s a collection of age-appropriate, seasonally saccharine holiday tales that come with enough cuteness and charm to pass muster.

The thing that really holds it back is the animation and design work. It’s churlish to complain about the quality of the CGI in a direct-to-video release from 2004. But the catch is, the thing that elevated Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas despite having a similar approach to character and story, was that it’s animation was unexpectedly expressive and top notch. The folks behind the scenes here are clearly doing their best, and there’s definitely some character to the movements and scenarios. But the tech just wasn’t there for a project on this scale to look great at the time, so much of this feels a little lacking (and unsightly in a few places) in terms of visuals.

The Minnie/Daisy short isn’t much to write home about. It’s nice to see the dancing animals from *Fantasia* again, but again, the nascent state of computer animation leaves much to be desired when it comes to the imagery, and the two distaff Disney characters rekindling their friendship amid rivalry carries little weight.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s story fares a little better. Frankly, the three are little jerks for ninety percent of the short, which makes it tough to root for them. The designs of Santa’s workshop isn’t especially imaginative, nor are the gags. But there’s at least a clear goal in them trying to steal the key to Santa’s office to put their names on the nice list, which gives the short a spine. And I’ll admit to enjoying the sap of the triplets ultimately deciding to put Uncle Scrooge’s name on the list instead of theirs, as a selfless act for the one who tried to encourage them to be selfless in the first place.

The story of Max bringing a college girlfriend over to meet his dad, Goofy, is short but cute. There’s some interesting subtext, carried over from *A Goofy Movie*, of Max being afraid of turning into his father and being embarrassed by ol’ Goof, which still resonates. The rhythm of Max feeling sheepish about his dad, only to eventually realize he’s the one being uptight and unfair, was already a bit overly familiar by this point. Still, it’s a solid dynamic for the two, so you can see why short’s like this one keep coming back to it. My only major complaint is that the song for this one is pretty godawful, and to a lesser extent, Max’s grown-up character design looks odd and not quite right in CGI.

Donald’s Gift is a solid short. In truth, I’m a little opposed to the accidental message of this one, that wanting a little peace and quiet around the holidays makes you a grinchy spoilsport. But I like the execution of it. Donald being haunted by the melody of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in various forms, as a representation of his inability to escape the noise of the season and just get a nice cup of cocoa, is a good device to dramatize his frustrations. The gag work is nothing special, but a little more expressive than in some of the other shorts. And him using the tune he’s been trying to exorcise to instead ring in the spirit of the season with some carolers and prove his merry bona fides is a nice way to close things out.

The final short is far and away the best one. Mickey yelling at Pluto for messing up Xmas, then feeling terrible when Pluto is lost, is a good emotional throughline that tugs the heartstrings of any pet lover. Pluto having misadventures in the North Pole is another good setup, and I particularly enjoyed the comic repartee of Donner and Blitzen, who adopt the little pup and dub him “Murray” (as in “Murray Christmas”). This short has the best gagwork, with some fun tumult in Mickey’s home, and some great down-on-his-luck shtick as Mickey runs into problem after problem trying to redecorate and then hunt for his beloved dog in the snow. Their reunion is sweet, and this is the segment that feels most rooted in genuine holiday emotion rather than just tacking it on at the end.

They do unite all the characters from the different shorts at the end, which is a nice touch, and helps convey the communal spirit of the holiday.

All-in-all, this is a definite step down from the previous “Upon a Christmas” movie from Disney, but the last short in particular is worth hanging onto, and the whole thing is benignly pleasant at worst.