Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas!

(You can't beat John Leech's illustration of Fezziwig's Ball for Christmas spirit)

Forty Years?

Of course, I also re-watch 1983's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" every holiday season as well and it's always fun!

Hard to believe it's 40 years old this year!

The Cartoon Research website just posted a nice article about it.

Read it here!

Good info as expected from Cartoon Research!

Maybe It Stands for Johnny?

So, I was watching the 1938 MGM version of "A Christmas Carol" again, as I do every holiday season.

This time, however, I noticed that TCM had the Descriptive Video Service option for the move, so I turned it on, as I think it's kind of an interesting way to watch (hear) something you've seen before.

I raise my hand to admit that I never noticed, until the narrator mentioned it, that the sign for Fezziwig's warehouse has the first initial of "J" included?

I spend so much time nitpicking the movie that I guess I just have overlooked it all these years!

So, what does it stand for?

Is it Just Me...

 Or is there a serious lack of new Scrooge/"A Christmas Carol" content this year?

                                                  

I Sort of Get It!

Now that we've hit December and the heat is kicking in more often: 

I get it (gas prices are higher), but I don't get it (I don't speak pounds)!

Not Expecting That!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and will have a stress-free Black Friday!

It's definitely the time for Christmas music and with that in mind, I've been checking to see what's new and what's been reissued.

An interesting find is a  collection called "1950's Christmas Classics" in three volumes, which is available on Amazon and probably some other services.

Lurking behind that unassuming title (and artwork) we find mostly pretty deep cuts from the RCA Victor and Columbia families of labels rather than the same familiar (but great) tracks that get reissued all the time. Some good stuff!

In any event, I was surprised to find that Volume 3 includes "Bah! Humbug" by Bob Corley, which I featured way back here!

Also included in Volume 3 is "Chinchy Old Scrooge" by Phil Moore!

Go find this collection!

A nice present and "Bah! Humbug!" totally holds up! 

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry, Bob!

 

Somehow I have the feeling that even if Scrooge & Marley had promotional mugs like this, Bob C wouldn't get one! 

No hot beverage to warm him up!

So Not Scrooge!

While hunting around for Scrooge-related collectibles online, it's somewhat surprising how often I see this 1997 Hallmark ornament identified as Scrooge:

It does look quite a bit like Scrooge looking out the window on Christmas morning, perhaps about to tell the kid to get the prize turkey, but...

The caption says, "When, what to my wondering eyes should appear..." That's a quote from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (maybe), colloquially known as "The Night Before Christmas," not "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Duh!

The back of the box makes that clear:

As does the underside of the ornament itself:

Which raises the question as to whether the online sellers don't know the difference or are trying to trick potential buyers into thinking it's actually Scrooge!

And do the potential buyers not know the difference?

It's one of those things that shouldn't really bug me, but it just does, you knw?

What bothers me more, though, is that I want one anyway!

Intriguing!

This sort of thing always intrigues me:

More info at Neil Gaiman's website: 

FOR TWO NIGHTS ONLY: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

And a link to the audio of an earlier reading by Mr. Gaiman here: 

Neil Gaiman Bringing Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to NYC Town Hall

I'd like to see a recreation of a Dickens public reading someday!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Something Else to Learn!

 Is this where Charles Dickens got the idea for Marley's ghost to be fettered?

Read more about it here:

Tales of Times Forgotten

Interesting!

Not Really a Sweater...

 But fun:

Someone should make an actual sweater of that!

Sweater Weather!

It finally feels like Fall, so...

You Learn Something New...

...Most days anyway!

So I was playing the game CodyCross on my phone and came across a clue that went something like "Infamous executioner used by Charles II."

The answer was "Jack Ketch" as shown below:

I start thinking that I don't really know who that is, so I do a little research and find some gruesome details.

But what surprised me was that in addition to Charles Dickens namedropping Jack Ketch in several novels, the name pops up in the movie "Scrooge" from 1951!

In the Christmas Past scene, Mr. Jorkin says that young Scrooge and Marley could "skin Jack Ketch alive and he'd never know they'd done it."

I always thought he said "Jack Scratch" along the lines of Old Scratch, meaning the Devil.

But now I know!

Drop a Line!

Hey, so I notice I'm getting more views here lately for some reason!

Thanks for stopping by!

If you get the chance, leave me a comment if just to say hi!

Much appreciated!

He's Here!

 

Just got mine in the mail today!

Let the festivities begin!

Sooper Dooper!

                                               

I don't know much about this other than it's a fun, modern take on "A Christmas Carol" aimed at the youngsters!

You can check it out at Sooper Books!

And who knew E. Scrooge uses a Mac?

Back to Gruel!

That's obviously not Ebenezer Scrooge shown above, but the 1833 British lithograph does give us some insight as to why Scrooge was earing gruel on Christmas Eve!

For more info, check out this entry on the Library of Congress website!

Did they really have a cure for the common cold back then?

Back to School!

As the kids in my area headed back to school this past week, it made me wonder something...

Did young Ebenezer Scrooge ever actually go back to school?

Or did he just go off to school once then never leave until Fan came to get him and at that point never went back? Hmmm...

Carry on!

 As Summer starts to wind down, time for another dip in the pool:

Actually, if you had a pool like that, any time of year is good for a dip!

Lego My Scrooge!

Don't know who made this custom Lego of George C. Scott as Scrooge:

But I admire their dedication!

Put Out That Fire!

Here's Scrooge as a candle snuffer:

He really looks like he'll yell at you if you don't snuff that candle soon!

Grueling!

Here’s another Toby jug in the shape of our friend:

A rare gruel pose!

Fresh!

Is this really a thing?

I dig the alliteration!

But did TT Cratchit ever eat a fresh vegetable in his whole life?

What Would TT Think?

I wonder what TT Cratchit would think of this:

Would he think he was being visited by ghosts?

Is He?

Tiny Tim is back solo with this 1978 figurine from Jasco:

But is he actually tiny? Without Bob C for reference, we don’t really know!

He Sure Is!

This 1990 ornament from Kurt Adler is pretty neat:

But Tiny Tim is so… tiny!

Peppery!

More salt and pepper, this time featuring Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwg:

At least I think this says Mrs. Fezziwig:

Looks good!

Salty!

These are fun:

Scrooge and the kid with the turkey, I guess!

Wee!

Here's a fun Scrooge figurine from the Wee Forest series:

And Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim:

Very cute!

Totally Rad!

Here's a snazzy ornament from Christopher Radko:

No surprise that it goes for big bucks on the secondary market!

Have a Cup!

You see a ton of Scrooge mugs, some more interesting than others, such as this one:

I like that it lists the characters!

Kind of Creepy!

Here's another jug with another take on how the handle should be, well, handled:

Creepy! What's TT whispering into Scrooge's ear?

Highly Flammable!

Here's an interesting Toby jug:

I know these things have to have a handle, but doesn't it look like Scrooge will light his nightcap on fire?

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Here's a fun cartoon from Scott Metzger:

Heres' the reaction from my editor:

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Oh! You Beautiful Doll!

So, the long-running Annalee Dolls company has a number of dolls inspired by characters from “A Christmas Carol.” That is not surprising in itself, as there are tons of such collectibles.

What’s fascinating to me, though, is that one of said dolls depicts the underrated Martha Cratchit:

And she’s carrying the pudding!

Even more fascinating is that Martha also made the cut for the mouse series:

That's so fun! But even more fascinating is this other Annalee doll of Mouse Martha, this time playing the piano:

With the little Cratchit sister!

I'm officially fascinated!