I recently saw it posted on YouTube (in 8 parts), and boy did the memories come flooding back (since I recall it was aired in early November of 1988, now seems a reasonable time to bring it back up). Although perhaps the tie-ins with the various NBC shows at the time may not have been the most original and lasting idea, it still stands as a pretty good anniversary special for the Mouse that I think deserves a home release (the introduction and brief scene with Michael Eisner can, I think, be easily cut if need be).
If you've never seen it, Mickey's innocent use of his sorcerer's hat just a few days before his big birthday gala (after Roger Rabbit, in a hilarious bit showing why it's not a good idea to try and put candles on a birthday cake if you're feeling dazed after being walloped with a sandbag, destroys half the stage and leaves the audience covered in cake) lands him placed under a spell by the sorcerer (but for whatever reason not THE Sorceror Yen Sid; rights issues?) wherein no one will recognize him until his discovers his own magic. This leads to several scenes of him interacting with the casts of various then-hot NBC shows, including a visit to both the Keaton residence (but when Alex isn't around) and the Cheers bar (it's Rebecca's birthday). Meanwhile, poor Donald gets the rap for his colleague's apparent disappearance, thanks to incriminating footage brought up by news anchors John Ritter and Jill Eikenberry that hint he might have been jealous going all the way back to the Mickey Mouse Club days (including a tape showing that show's opening credits with his name on it ("Who's the leader of the club...D-O-N, A-L-D, D-U-C-K DUCK!")), and apparently not even the L.A. Law team can save him from strong prosecution. Can the spell be broken in time for the big birthday bash? Well, I'm certainly not going to tell you; I'm not one to spoil an ending.
Did anyone else have the luck of seeing it when it first ran.
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
Unfortunately, no. But that was around the time that I first went to Disney World. The Main Street Parade in the Magic Kingdom focused on it.
