Christmas movie season is basically a yearly family argument with popcorn. Home Alone turns parental negligence into slapstick gold, Elf sends Will Ferrell loose in New York, and The Muppet Christmas Carol makes Dickens strangely cuddly. Then comes Die Hard, with Bruce Willis proving that holiday spirit sometimes wears a bloodied vest and crawls through air ducts.

Yes, it counts. Kindly direct all complaints to Nakatomi Plaza. Yet another festive favorite is preparing an unexpected television homecoming. After 23 years away from ABC, Mickey's Christmas Carol is returning this November.

Bringing miserly ducks, familiar mice, and supernatural customer service back to primetime.

The 1983 animated short Mickey's Christmas Carol returns to ABC on Wednesday, November 25, from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. ET/PT as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. That is Thanksgiving Eve, so the mouse is arriving before the turkey has even clocked in, armed with an unusually enthusiastic team of ghosts.

The date marks its first ABC broadcast since December 20, 2003, when it appeared in A Merry Mickey Celebration, marking Mickey's 75th anniversary. Directed by Burny Mattinson, the approximately 26-minute film gives Charles Dickens's classic a Disney family reunion. 

Originally released theatrically in 1983, the short marked Mickey's return to cinemas after three decades and received an Academy Award nomination. Its enduring charm rests in the wonderfully chaotic casting and a sincere reminder that generosity beats hoarding coins. For viewers who miss the broadcast, the short is also available on Disney+ in the United States.

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And Mickey is about to get some rather gothic competition from another Scrooge.

Paramount is also sending Dickens' infamously stingy businessman back to cinemas, this time with Johnny Depp wearing the scowl. Ebenezer opens November 13, 2026, with Ti West, the filmmaker behind X, Pearl, and MaXXXine, directing from a screenplay by Nathaniel Halpern. That pedigree should make even the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come check beneath his bed.

Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, haunted by visions of his past, present, and future in a London ghost story promising a shot at redemption. Ian McKellen portrays Jacob Marley, with Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, Andrea Riseborough as Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as Christmas Present, and Sam Claflin as Fred. Daisy Ridley and Ellie Bamber also feature.

The movie marks Depp's first major Hollywood studio release since 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Paramount's trailers tease a darker, creepier spin on a story the world knows by heart, right down to frightening apparitions.

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Which Christmas Carol version earns a place on your holiday watchlist? Let us know in the comments.