Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey Saves Santa

We recently bought the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD and I LOVE it. So when I heard that a new DVD was coming out--Mickey Saves Santa--I of course wanted to buy it for my son. (We buy several new holiday DVDs every year.)

Mickey Saves Santa features 3 episodes:

*Mickey Saves Santa

*Goofy's Bird

*Mickey-Go-Seek

The new episode, Mickey Saves Santa, is only about 17 minutes long--with a very simplistic plot line. In fact, Mickey and Donald are the primary Disney characters. The rest of the gang are relegated to showing up at Mickey's for a slumber party (right before Mrs. Claus crashes the party requesting Mickey's help), and then at the end of the story.

Santa is apparently stuck at Mistletoe Mountain and Mrs. Claus asks Mickey to help. Mickey then asks Donald to be the co-pilot. He protests, almost beginning a tantrum, while Mrs. Claus gently scolds "Now Donald--be nice or you won't get any presents!" She does this about 5 times through the entire story! At the end of the "adventure", Donald is rewarded with tons of gifts for "being nice". Never mind that his natural inclination is to throw tantrums and be greedy--all that matters is that, because he's "played nice" for awhile, he's now deserving of a crap load of presents. (Not because the Claus's are grateful, but because Donald "played nice". What a message to send to kids! Unfortunately, this world rarely rewards those who "play nice"--let alone those who actually ARE nice and do so because they're nice at core.)

My personal rant aside, this DVD isn't worth the rather expensive price, in my opinion--especially since the other 2 episodes air frequently on Playhouse Disney...and Mickey Saves Santa probably will be airing in December, too.

I was expecting a full-length movie with an engaging plot, colorful animation, and ALL the characters--not a short, simplistic mini-story featuring a Mrs. Claus with a white Elvis 'do.

There aren't many extras on this DVD, either--just a "Dance-Along" to the rousing song "Hot Dog" (which is just the characters dancing around to the ending Clubhouse song--no dance step instructions or anything) and a Picture Puzzle Game which has kids guessing which one of three pictures is being formed by a (very simplistic) on-screen puzzle. I think we got through 15 or more puzzles, so there's a decent amount. But still...

If your child is a rabid fan of Mickey Mouse or the Clubhouse TV show, they'll probably love this DVD. However, I think that Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is a better buy. If you prefer CGI animation, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is stunning--but some of the thematic elements aren't so "nice", especially for younger kids.

This DVD is 72 minutes in length.It consists of three episodes,one being Christmas themed and some bonus features which are music and some puzzles.If your child likes MMC they will probably enjoy this DVD.Our three year old granddaughter does like this DVD and has watched it several times since we bought it about one week ago.It would be nice if all three episodes were new ones but most kid's DVD's do not do this.THINK DORA DVD's.We bought this at Target for $3.00 less than Amazon's price.

Save your money! What a waste Mickey saves Santa is just an episode, not extended or a movie which the commercial implies. The other two episodes have nothing to do with the Holiday. My kids, ages 3 & 4 were extremely disapointed as well as myself.