Airwave Comics and Sony Classic Pictures are combining efforts for one of the most interesting holiday gift items of the coming season. Sony is releasing the first DVD edition of the classic animated Christmas special, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, while Airwave is publishing a 56-page full color Mr. Magoo comic that includes an adaptation of the Magoo's Christmas Carol, two new Mr. Magoo stories, and a reprint of an 8-page classic Mr. Magoo story from the 1950s. The comic and DVD are available both separately (for $7.98 and $14.98 respectively) and in a special limited edition package that will retail for $22.98.
When it debuted on the NBC network some forty years ago, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol was one of the first animated specials produced specifically for TV. The DVD edition contains several extra features including a cartoon short featuring two of the 1950s cartoon icons, Mr. Magoo Meets Gerald McBoing-Boing. Both the comic and the DVD will be out in December, when the TV special will get another airing on NBC. Unfortunately in our 'politically correct' era, concern about giving offense has kept the Mr. Magoo brand of humor, which is based on a combination of human frailties (not just a disability), largely absent from network airwaves. Given the popularity of other holiday-based nostalgia properties such as The Island of Misfit Toys, it is great to see that Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is returning for its fortieth anniversary.
