“For every laugh, there should be a tear.”
-Walt Disney
Walt Disney knew that in order to completely sell audiences on the reality of his animated features, he would have to make his characters real and human. To do this, the films produced by his studio would have to show the good times and the bad. Like in 1983’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
In one of the possible future scenarios presented to Scrooge in the film, Tiny Tim passes away, leaving his father, played by Mickey Mouse, a sad wreck. We empathize with what are essentially just drawings because the characters are presented in a human way.
