I had mentioned that my natural comparison of "Scrooge," the 1971 musical adaptation, is "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," which I think is generally considered the best musical version, cartoon or not.
My inclination is that "Magoo" is better song-wise, but is that really the case? I thought a song by song comparison would tell the tale. The funny thing with that, though, is that there really isn't a song from one that has an exact counterpart in the other.
But let's do it anyway!
"Magoo" has six original songs versus twelve for "Scrooge." Makes sense, as "Scrooge" is just about twice as long.
The first song from "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" after the credits is "It's Great to Be Back on Broadway." There's no Broadway element to "Scrooge," but it does have "A Christmas Carol," which would be the title song, if that were the title! That also pops up here and there throughout the film. Both of these songs serve their purpose, but Magoo's is a blast!
The next song from "Scrooge" is "Christmas Children," sung by Bob Cratchit and two of his kids. The closest comparison in "Magoo" would be "The Lord's Bright Blessing," as that Bob sings it with his family. Somewhat similar themes. I like both a lot.
Each Scrooge gets a song to help establish their characters. Quincy Magoo sings "Ringle, Ringle" and Albert Finney sort-of sings "I Hate People." The focus of each is different, however, as Magoo's song shows that he loves money but doesn't give his opinion about people. Both songs work, but Magoo's is more fun, plus we get Cratchit squawking about being cold!
"Scrooge" then has "Father Christmas" sung by those pesky urchins, "See the Phantoms" from Marley's Ghost" and "December the 25th" with the Fezziwigs before we get to the next comp from "Magoo." Good songs, especially "December the 25th," which is catchy.
Meanwhile, "Magoo" has "Alone in the World," as sung by boy Scrooge as a duet with old Scrooge. Despite the extra songs in "Scrooge," none of them deal with lonely, young Scrooge. This one from "Magoo" has a depth of emotion that none of the "Scrooge" songs have.
The next songs that sort of line up are Belle/Isabel's from Christmas past. I think this is the most natural comparison of any of the songs, as the same basic character sings each, but the two are quite different. Isabel's song, "Happiness" is, naturally, about how happy she is, whereas Belle's, "Winter Was Warm," is about how happy she was. I definitely give the nod to Belle's song, with its haunting melody.
Albert Finney also has "You... You" in the Christmas past sequence. This is actually more in line with "Winter Was Warm," and has a pretty haunting melody of its own.
"Scrooge" has the titular fellow singing "I Like Life" with the Ghost of Christmas Present and "The Beautiful Day" sung by Tiny Tim in the Christmas present section. "Magoo" doesn't have comparable songs. Its big number during the present is "The Lord's Bright Blessing" as mentioned earlier, but it comes at a different time in the show, because the present comes first there!
The future sequence of each has a big number. I'm on record for not liking "We're Despicable" (except for the cool subtitle "The Plunderers' March") from "Magoo," whereas "Scrooge" has the show-stopping "Thank You Very Much." So, "Scrooge" wins the future handily, but Magoo reprising "All Alone in the World" saves that future from being a a total shambles!
We get one more original song from "Scrooge" when Albert Finney ummm sings "I'll Begin Again," then reprises of "I Like Life," "Father Christmas," and "Thank You Very Much" for the big finale. These songs now have revised lyrics to make them un-ironic!
"Magoo" gets reprises of "Ringle, Ringle" and "The Lord's Bright Blessing" with revised lyrics to suit its own happy ending.
All in all, I still think that "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" has superior songs, but "Scrooge" has a solid score that can go to-to-toe!
Interestingly, even in these days of everything seeming to be available with a couple of clicks, these two soundtracks are both hard to find.
"Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" had a download only version at one point, but never an official release on a physical medium.
"Scrooge" did have a soundtrack album on vinyl back in the day, but was never reissued on CD or digitally, ostensibly due to legal issues.
Go figure!
No comments:
Post a Comment