Mickey Mouse & Friends Come Together for Christmas

Mickey Mouse and all his friends have returned for another Christmas adventure, but this time they find themselves separated following a myriad of mishaps. Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas, which premiered yesterday on Disney Junior and is available to stream on Disney+ today, sees the friend group learn just how important it is to be together.

This is the second holiday special for Mickey and his friends this year, following the Halloween-themed ​​Mickey’s Tale of Two Witches. Executive producers Mark Seidenberg and Rob LaDuca, who have worked with the Mickey characters for over 15 years on such programs as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey and the Roadster Racers, were able to “really dig into the emotion, heart and friendship of Mickey and his friends” in the 45-minute specials.

Having 45 minutes to tell a story, as opposed to the 11-minute episodes that are typical of series, allowed for “really lush orchestration, which really helps push the emotion of the characters, the highs and the lows,” Seidenberg says. “In a 45-minute form, we really have a big playground” to work through “the universal themes of friendship, loyalty, optimism, teamwork [and] love for each other.”

The music is particularly poignant in the Christmas special, with Seidenberg highlighting one of Minnie’s parts. “There’s one song in particular where Minnie does a solo, wishing for everyone to be together. Every time Rob and I hear it, and we’ve heard it dozens and dozens of times, we tear up. It’s that powerful.”

With the holiday specials, as opposed to the purely kid-focused series like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the producers had the whole family in mind. “It really is a family viewing experience,” Seidenberg notes. “There’s something for everybody, whether you’re a child or a grandparent.”

And families everywhere will certainly be able to relate to the film, as LaDuca says, “The thing about this story—yes, it’s a group of friends that care about each other, but when put in a situation where they may not be able to see each other, they really pull together and make it happen, to be together.”

In this special, Seidenberg adds, “We really feel the joy of all of our friends getting together finally,” something that is sure to resonate with families all over the world who were unable to spend holidays together over the last couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.

Seidenberg has high praise for both the Halloween and Christmas specials, as he says, “The movies are the best thing Rob and I have ever produced.”

LaDuca concurs, adding, “We hope the audiences really enjoy the show, and I hope they watch it as many times as they’d like.” And if they are so inclined, families can catch the re-airings of Mickey and Minnie’s Wish Upon a Christmas every single day leading up to Christmas on either Disney Channel or Disney Junior.

For more Mickey Mouse and friends, families can tune into Disney Junior’s Mickey Mouse Funhouse, the successor to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that was recently renewed for a second season.