So, the credits of "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" include a disclaimer that it's "freely adapted from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol.'"
This would seem to imply that it's not a particular faithful adaptation. But is it?
Well, yes and no. Being a cartoon that's not trying not to be a cartoon, it's surprisingly sensitive toward the original material and has some pretty dramatic moments. But, there are always a few omissions and additions in various versions. I'm presuming most of the omissions were for time constraints, as they needed to keep the special within the one hour time slot (with commercials) and still have the big musical numbers.
So, what do we have (or don't have) here...
The most notable omission comes right off the bat. There's no nephew. That's big. Almost every version includes the nephew, as the contrast between his Christmas cheer and Scrooge's lack thereof has a lot to do with establishing Scrooge's character.
What's interesting is that in the Magooverse, Mister Magoo actually does have a nephew - Waldo! He appears with him in many of his cartoons, starting with the first, "Ragtime Bear" (1949). Did Waldo audition for this show and was so bad that the producers dropped the nephew angle entirely? What did Waldo think when they told him they were going in a different direction?
We do have a lot of Scrooginess, though, from the song "Ringle, Ringle," in which Scrooge's love of money is contrasted with Bob Cratchit's lack of coal!
Scrooge also has the usual interplay with the two gentlemen attempting to collect for charity. In a nod to the book, only one of them speaks. Most adaptations have them both speak.
Another thing right out of the book that we don't frequently see is Scrooge seeing Marley's ghost's face in his fireplace in addition to his knocker. Marley is pretty creepy in a cartoon way. Although judging by his portrait, he was no bargain while alive either!
Another big change is more of a reshuffling: The Ghost of Christmas Present is the first to appear! It probably doesn't ultimately really matter that much, but it's interesting.
Since there's no nephew, we only see the Cratchits' Christmas dinner. But, with the extra time, we get a big production number, "The Lord's Bright Blessing" to show how happy they are. And they are! Tiny Tim would really like some razzleberry dressing, though!
I've heard that the reason for the present to be first is so that particular sequence would end about half-way through the special, sort of like the first act. That does make sense and we do see the audience watching the curtain open and close.
The Ghost of Christmas Past makes its arrival as the curtains open. We get a couple of scenes here and they're good. First is the lonely young Ebenezer at school. He sings a song ("Alone in the World") and when old Scrooge starts singing with him, it's powerful. It's not just a cartoon, it's real emotion. I don't think I've ever seen this done better in any form.
Fezziwig's ball lightens the mood and we do get Dick Wilkins as Ebenezer's fellow apprentice. A change from the novel that is extremely common is that Belle is also at Fezziwig's ball.
We know that things with Belle are due to go south, and they do. Belle's sings "Winter Was Warm" and that's another powerful moment. That particular song has a very haunting melody and it's used throughout the score.
Next is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears. I really like the way this ghost is presented. Since it is a cartoon, it doesn't just seem like a guy in a cloak and it's actually fairly expressive.
We see Scrooge's (former) business acquaintances discussing his death in the usual offhand manner. Then we get the one sequence in the whole thing that I don't like: the selling of his personal items in Old Joe's shop.
I don't like the way the characters are drawn and I don't like the voices! I know it's supposed to be comedic, but it's too cartoony in a cartoon that's otherwise not that cartoony, you know? Their production number seems to last longer than any other in the special as well. I do admit that the title of the song they sing, "The Plunderer's March" is awesome, however. OK, enough about this scene!
Tiny Tim's death is dealt with in a sensitive manner. This show really has some emotional depth!
So, Scrooge wakes up and it's Christmas morning. Since he's a new man and the mood is so cheerful now, we get some business related to Mister Magoo's nearsightedness. Good fun and not overdone.
Scrooge does get it together long enough to buy the big turkey (and this one is big) and have it delivered to Bob Cratchit's house anonymously. He also meets the charity guys and gives them a big bag of coins.
But since he doesn't have a nephew, he needs another Christmas dinner to crash and so goes over to Bob's house pretending to be mad, but raises Bob's salary and joins in the fun, all to a reprise of "The Lord's Bright Blessing."
Most important of all, Tiny Tim finally gets his razzleberry dressing!
So, freely adapted or not, it does a great job all around!
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