A Christmas Carol (1971) - Part 1

A Christmas Carol (1971)
Director: Richard Williams
Scrooge: Alastair Sim

Now we turn our attention to another animated adaptation that is the polar opposite of "Mickey's Christmas Carol!"

This 1971 made for TV version is very well regarded, although it seems to have been out of mainstream circulation for a while. This was so acclaimed that it actually won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, even though it was originally shown on TV. Apparently that loophole was closed shortly thereafter!

This was directed by Richard Williams, a renowned animator, later justly famous for his work on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), so he knew what he was doing. The executive producer is the legendary Chuck Jones, director of more Looney Tunes classics than you can think of off the top of your head. This production doesn't scream "Chuck Jones," however, in the way that say, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"(1966) does.

The voice cast is excellent. Somebody had the awesome idea of getting Alastair Sim to reprise his role of Ebenezer Scrooge from that brilliant 1951 version!

They also got Michael Hordern, who had played Marley's Ghost in the 1951 film to repeat that role.

Throw in esteemed British actor Michael Redgrave as narrator and the whole thing is loaded with class!

We haven't even talked about the visual style. It really looks like an old edition of the book come to life. There are also a lot of pans and dissolves and such, which give the whole production an artistic touch.

 I remember seeing this a few times on TV as a kid and it seemed a cut above the usual animated fare they threw at us back then!

This seems to have disappeared for a while after that, but I always remembered it and hoped to see it again.

Then when home video became a thing in the late 1980s, I was lucky enough to acquire a VHS tape of it. I'm not sure what the origin of the tape was, maybe "gray market," as it was recorded at EP speed. If you can remember,  EP speed was the one that would let you record six hours on one tape with lower quality. Since the cassette of this show used only enough tape to hold the half-hour, it was the tinest little spool of tape I had ever seen!

So, how does this version hold up after 48(!) years?