The best Mickey Mouse Christmas shorts aren’t on Disney Plus

There was nothing like the thrill of seeing my Disney favorites come together at last. Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse to sing “The Best Christmas of All” together around a beautifully lit Christmas tree. This was in the days before I was aware that fanfiction existed. So, just to see a huge crossover, it was an amazing moment. Lumiere lit the fireplace Amazing. Jasmine and Aladdin on a magic-cart? Fantastic. Grumpy, and other dwarfs, wishing they had bunk beds to celebrate Christmas. Cinema at its best, phenomenal filmmaking

This was probably the most outrageous gimmick. House of Mouse, a Disney Channel animated show centered on Mickey and his friends running a dinner theater club — the fact that characters from across various Disney animated properties attended the club and watched various Disney shorts. Some shorts were specifically created for the show while others were adapted from Disney history. It was important to remember that everyone watched each other and was hanging out together.

Image: Disney

As the title suggests, the Christmas special takes place when everyone is snowed-in. Mickey loves to host longer but Donald has a hard time believing in Christmas. To cheer him up the group decides to show their favorites Christmas shorts.

At the House of Mouse, I was snowed in This was my first time seeing classic Mickey Mouse cartoons and my first introduction to Christmas stories such as “The Snowman”Christmas Carol The Nutcracker.My first version will be the one that I’ll always remember. For me, Jiminy Cricket and Uncle Drosselmeyer will forever be the Ghost of Christmas Past. The Nutcracker will always sound vaguely like Ludwig von Drake. Eventually, our VHS player broke and our viewings transitioned to DVD… till that DVD player broke and the Christmas special lived on in memory only. When Disney Plus debuted, I was thrilled — I could finally spend the holidays watching my beloved childhood favorite.

Unfortunately, there is not even one episode. House of MouseDisney Plus. This special is available exclusively on Disney Plus It is available to rent for $7.99 on YouTube and Prime Video, but the fact that it wasn’t readily available on Disney Plus, a service I am already paying for, irked me. Maybe I could create a DIY version, or at the very least, the shorters. These are available on Disney Plus — but only two of them are! Disney, please, tell me what you think!

Image: Disney

However Mickey’s Christmas CarolAnd Pluto’s Christmas TreeThe other shorts, which are available on Disney Plus are missing. After a little research, I learned that the three other shorts — a retelling of The Nutcracker starring Minnie; Donald entering an ice skating race; and Mickey creatively decorating his house — all came from a Disney series called Mickey Mouse Works. This series aired between 1999 and 2000. It was meant to channel the Disney animated shorts golden age. There were some short ones, others were more long and were inspired by classic stories. Nutcracker one). They are not available for streaming. OderRent anywhere

Funny enough House of MouseIt effectively took over the show’s original broadcast. The fact that neither of them are available on Disney Plus — or anywhere, really — is frustrating. So is streaming today. Even though every media company out there wants its own individual service, it’s no guarantee that its own original content will even appear on it. There is somehow more content out there than ever before, yet it is simultaneously as accessible as it’s ever been and even more inaccessible than it ever was. There are many. LotThere are many movies and shows to choose from, but what about that one childhood favourite? There are very few chances that it will be found on video rental shelves. The odds of it appearing on a streaming site are slim.

Image: Disney

Some shows or movies can only be viewed at Christmas. It’s a tradition, as tried and true as making cookies or decorating a Christmas tree. Some of the magic has been lost now that many movies and shows are kept in lockdown and can only be released by corporate power. When Apple took control of the Charlie Brown movies, many people were not too keen on the fact that they’d be streaming exclusives. Sure, this Disney special doesn’t have as much of a passionate fan base as Charlie Brown, but man, it’s sad that this beloved holiday tradition is now inaccessible to me and many others out there.

It might be worth the $7.99 and I may stop being so stingy about having to pay extra. Perhaps I can accept that streaming wars are a holiday bonus. Maybe I should include a DVD/VHS player combo in my Christmas gift list to see if Santa Claus can help me prolong my memories.

Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of MouseYou can rent it on YouTube, Apple TV and Google Play.