"Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" (2022)

"Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" (2022)

Director: Stephen Donnelly

Scrooge: Luke Evans

So, the new animated "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" dropped on Netflix yesterday, so naturally I was right on it!

I thought it was a lot of fun!

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll do my review and breakdown after the holidays!

So, if you already have Netflix, give it a watch. If you don't, sign up for a free trial or something!

OK, I'm in!

Here's the trailer for "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol," coming soon on Netfilx:

 I'll be watching!

Giddyup!

This is cool - a painted cel and the corresponding animation drawing from 1962's "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol":

Obviously this is from later in the special, after Scrooge has been reformed!

Bananas!

I just came across this ad for the Aldi supermarket chain from last holiday season:

That is just brilliant!

Baby Scrooge?

Here's a short, children's version of "A Christmas Carol" from PinkFong (the folks behind the infamous "Baby Shark" earworm:

Is it wrong that I kind of like it?

No Pear Tree!

Here's the cover of the TV GUIDE issue from December 18, 1971 which includes the listing for the famous animated version of "A Christmas Carol" directed by Richard Williams:

It gets a mention on the cover, but this family was too popular to be ignored!

Modern Stone Age!

This is pretty cool:

Signed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera!

That Charles Brickens, though - what a ham!

"What If" (2001) - Kate WInslet

"What If" (2001)
Kate Winslet
Liberty EMI Records UK

As mentioned, Kate Winslet's "Belle" character has a big power ballad in "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001.

The song "What If" was also released as a single and was very successful in Europe.
Here's the music video:

As you can see, there's footage of Kate singing interspersed with clips from the movie. There's also a live-action Belle, but you never quite get a good look at her, so it makes me wonder if it's actually Kate Winslet or a stand-in! 

Hmmm...

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 3

A few words about the cast and characters in the animated feature "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001...

Top-billed is Simon Callow, not the biggest name in the cast, but he does play Scrooge. I think he does a solid job. 

He also plays a live-action Charles Dickens in the theatrical bookends, which are not part of the U.S. straight-to-video version, but my DVD does include them as extras.

The theatrical (for the U.K., I guess) opening has Dickens arriving in Boston in 1867 to perform one of his public readings of "A Christmas Carol." He spots a mouse then apparently changes the story to incorporate the mouse, which he names Gabriel.

It's odd to have the "real" Dickens introducing a version that takes its share of liberties with the book.

In any event, Scrooge is somewhat youngish here. He's balding, but his hair is still brown. I think he says it was 20 years earlier that he had broken up with Belle, so he's not ancient.

Kate Winslet voices Belle, who is given a much larger role here, but she was/is a huge name, having hit the big time a couple of years earlier with her starring role in "Titanic" (1997).

She's a great actress with a great voice, so no complaints! She gets a big power ballad titled "What If" that shows off her vocal chops as well.

Nicolas Cage is the other big name in the cast. Is it me, or does the cover art from the video edition above make Scrooge look like Nic Cage? Is it to trick Cage fans into buying it?

At any rate, Cage voices Marley's Ghost here. I think he's a good performer, but this role doesn't really suit him. Perhaps to use Cage a bit more, Marley's Ghost pops up in the future, sort of like Alec Guinness in "Scrooge" (1970).

Why do I think the colon in the title of this thing makes it sound like a Nicolas Cage movie?

Rhys Ifans, who's also pretty well-known at least British-wise, plays Bob Cratchit here. He does a good job. 

This Bob Cratchit is very tolerant and appreciative of Scrooge. One of the added plot points here is when Tiny Tim was caroling outside of Scrooge's office, Scrooge threw a bucket of cold water on him, causing his pneumonia to worsen. Bob even forgives Scrooge for that during his Christmas toast!

The other performer to get star-ish billing here is Jane Horrocks, also well-known in England. She voices the Ghost of Christmas Past. 

The character is presented quite well, with the spirit in the now familiar persona of a young woman, but she morphs into an older woman periodically, kind of like the book.

The other characters are voiced well, but I'm not always crazy about the character design. In particular Fred just looks odd to me. Partly is that he's dressed more like a hobo than a gentleman!

This will never be my favorite version, but I think the cast is quite good on the whole.

I'll watch it again someday!

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 2

So, "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001 always struck me as another one of those straight-to-video adaptations that get a couple of name actors to do some voice work in an attempt to zhuz up a run-of-the-mill production.

Like would it be distinguishable from the 1997 animated version?

And what's with the weird title? This is The Movie? Haven't they're been a zillion other movies of this story already? And how come there's no "A" in there?

But, if you're gonna call yourself a completist, you have to put your money where your mouth is and sometimes suffer through some less-than-stellar productions.

Literally in this case, as I plunked down a few bucks for a DVD of "Christmas Carol: The Movie" and gave it a watch.

You know what, though? I enjoyed the thing!

It keeps the basic story elements, but adds something of a framing story featuring Belle, who is given a much larger part here, befitting the voice casting of the 2001 version of Kate Winslet.

I won't give any spoilers about the Belle story, but I thought it was well-handled. I will say I think it's inspired by "Alice," the Belle stand-in from 1951's "Scrooge" (the one with Alastair Sim that I may have mentioned once or twice).

It also gives a bigger part to Old Joe, who is presented here as actually evil, rather questionably opportunistic.

Most of the incidents from the book are included, but the dialogue is pretty much changed entirely, with only a couple of echoes of the book.

The order of some of the incidents has changed, but the most notable is that Marley's Ghost appears to Scrooge in his office before he goes home. Not sure of the point of this, especially as it weakens the impact of Scrooge seeing Marley's face in the knocker later in the story.

I'm sure a point of contention with a lot of viewers is that a fair amount of screen time is given to a pair of sentient mice. One of them is named Gabriel and Scrooge is actually kind to him throughout the movie.

The other mouse is not named as far as I could tell, but this one is a but smarter than Gabriel. Not sure if it's a boy or girl. They give me something of a Chip and Dale vibe.

Having wacky animal sidekicks naturally makes me think of Debit, Scrooge's pet dog in that 1997 animated feature.

I stand by my thoughts that although Scrooge showing kindness towards a pet softens his character somewhat, I don't really mind the idea. Actually here it makes me think that Scrooge doesn't like people, but since mice aren't people, he doesn't hate them.

Toward the beginning of the movie, while still in the office, Scrooge gives a piece of cheese to Gabriel, but makes sure that he blocks Bob's view so Bob won't see the kindness.

This shows that Scrooge does still have some good in him, though he doesn't want anyone to know, so his conversion is not strictly out of left field. 

I must say that this Scrooge is something of a hard sell, though, as he needs a couple of ghostly reminders on Christmas morning to get him to toe the line!

I didn't think the character design or animation in this movie were anything great, but serviceable enough. Some good music and effects, though, especially during the scenes with the ghosts.

I particularly liked the Christmas Yet to Come sequence, which was spooky and surreal.

It kept my interest for the 70-ish minutes of the story and I'm glad I watched it!

But, as always, your mileage may vary!

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 1

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001)

Director: Jimmy T. Murakami

Scrooge: Simon Callow

We turn now to a more straightforward adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" with this somewhat pretetntiously titled animated feature from 2001.

Here's the trailer:

Next: Let's discuss!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

"Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special" (2020) - Darrell Van Citters

"Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special" (2020)
Author: Darrell Van Citters

So, this authoritative book on "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" is now back in print in a softcover edition, revised in 2020.

And if, like me, you got some gift cards over the holidays, the math is simple: you need to get your mitts on this!

I've been aware of earlier editions for a while, but they tended to sell out quickly (usually before I was even aware) and people that have it aren't likely to part with it, so it's good to see it back!

There's a tremendous amount of material here. Just a great job by Darrell Van Citters.

I really like the production sketches that show how the project evolved.

Early versions of the script did include Fred, who is famously not in the show, as well as Fan, who was expendable because you don't need Fred's mother without Fred. (SPOILER ALERT: Fred does not look like Waldo!)

They were dropped early on it seems, but a sequence showing Belle with her family was apparently deleted fairly late. That explains the abrupt cut at the end of the Christmas Past sequence when the spirit says "one shadow more," but the scene ends without that shadow.

I think this definitively ends the argument I've heard/read occasionally that there's some longer version of the special that did include Belle family segment. It was never included in the finished project, but some people are "misremembering" as they had seen a similar scene in another version.

It's like the famous lost "spider pit" scene from "King Kong" (1933) that people insist they've seen on TV.

There are lots of other interesting things that I won't give away, but there's one takeaway for me that was surprise:

The Cratchit daughter is Belinda! I always thought it was Martha, as she seems fully grown, but character sketches identify her as Belinda. There are some preliminary sketches for Martha, but she was not included. Maybe so there would be fewer characters to animate?

So, for tons of fascinating tidbits, this book is highly recommended!

"A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team - Day 22

We roll along with our All-Star Team and encounter the iconic character of Tiny Tim!

Everybody knows Tiny Tim, the very sickly child of Bob Cratchit. Scrooge was unaware of Tiny Tim until he saw him with the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge was immediately taken with the child and Tim's potentially unpleasant fate was a large factor in Scrooge's conversion.

Because Tiny Tim is supposed to be so small and frail and young and sick that you can't really cast a kid who meets that criteria in a live-action version without breaking half a zillion child labor laws!

Generally speaking the TTs in movie and/or TV adaptations tend to be too big and healthy.

Audio dramas, such as radio broadcasts have a bit of an advantage since you don't see Tiny Tim, but a lot of those have adult actors doing a kid voice and you know it!

So, I think the key to a good Tiny Tim really comes down to likeability rather than authenticity.

And what version offers the most likeable Tiny Tim of all? The great 1962 "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" special:

Who can forget the razzleberry dressing?

This special was produced by the UPA cartoon studio and I had previously mentioned here how Tiny Tim definitely resembles UPA's other (beside Mr. Magoo) superstar Gerald McBoing Boing, subject of the brilliant and ground breaking, Oscar-winning, eponymous short from 1950.

The chatter is always how Gerald could play Tiny Tim when he can only talk in sound effects.

I stand by my take that in the Magooverse (or UPAverse) in which Mr. Magoo is an actor that "Gerald" is also an actor who starred in cartoons. A versatile performer, he could imitate sound effects and speak dialogue.

We know that Joan Gardner does the voice here, so no Denise Bryer/Olive Gregg controversy this time!

Whatever the case, he's a great Tiny Tim and a important part of the TV special!

The Simpsons - "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" (December 14, 2003) - Part 2

When we last left the Simpsons, Homer was describing "Mr. McGrew's Christmas Carol" as if he and the rest of the family had never heard of "A Christmas Carol."

Naturally, Lisa is well-acquainted with the literary classic and Bart is familiar with various adaptations.

As evidence, he flips on the TV and we see Urkel getting the treatment in a "Family Matters" scene:

Bart changes the station and we get this (also fictional) scene from Star Trek:

Good fun and (I think) a reasonably affectionate jab at the ubiquitousness of "A Christmas Carol" in pop culture.

This episode can be streamed on Disney Plus, along with Mickey, the Muppets and Jim Carrey!

The Simpsons - "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" (December 14, 2003) - Part 1

"'Tis the Fifteenth Season" (December 14, 2003)

The Simpsons

Writer: Michael Price

Director: Steven Dean Moore

We wrap up our little Simpsons fest with the seventh episode of season 15, "'Tis the Fifteenth Season," which I think contains their best invasion into the "A Christmas Carol" world!

The basic  storyline of the episode is that Homer is behaving in usual selfish manner at Christmastime, but sees the light by the end.

But what makes him see the light? That's what interests us!

While Homer is banished to the couch, he starts watching some Christmas specials on TV. The one that caught his attention is "Mr. McGrew's Christmas Carol," which is naturally a takeoff on blog favorite "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" and it is spot on!

Here are some screen shots:

The level of detail  makes me think it's an affectionate parody.

Just for wackiness, they play up the near-sightedness:

Homer is so moved by the special that he vows to change his ways.

The next morning he tells the family about the show in a manner that indicates he has absolutely never heard of "A Christmas Carol" before!

Next: Bart and Lisa set Homer straight!

More Simpsons!

As mentioned previously, the "Mr. Burns" character from "The Simpsons" TV series is very Scroogey. And the series has been on for 30-plus years and has had many Christmas episodes. What this all means is that there are lots of references to "A Christmas Carol" sprinkled throughout the series!

In fact, the very first episode of the series in December 1989 was a Christmas episode - "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" - and Bart namedrops Tiny Tim!

Here are a few others:

Season 11, Episode 9 - "Grift of the Magi":

At the end of the episode, Mr. Burns brings a basket of money to the Simpsons'' Christmas dinner after being visited y three ghosts the night before!

Season 17, Episode 9 - "Simpsons Christmas Stories":

During the "Nutcracker Sweet" segment, a Scroogey Mr. Burns meets the Ghost of Christmas Past, which he quickly eliminates with the aid of a dust buster!

Season 22, Episode 8 - "The Flight Before Christmas":

Mr. Burns is Scrooge and Smithers is Marley's Ghost during the opening montage!

Season 23, Episode 9 - "Holidays of Future Passed":

A quick "Bah Humbug" from Mr. Burns on a billboard during the opening.

Season 25, Episode 8 - "White Christmas Blues":

A way more inspired billboard during the opening! Mr. Teeny as Tiny Tim? Brilliant!

And Scrooge meets a grisly end at the hands of "Frosty the Hit Man" in the video game of the same title!

And a wacky video! Adam Sandler tells us these three celebrate Hanukkah, however!

Season 28, Episode 10 - "The Nightmare after Krustmas":

A terrific couch gag! Scrooge-Burns unleashes the Christmas hounds!

Lots of fun! And you can watch all of these episodes on Disney Plus!

There's one other episode that fits our theme, but it deserves its own post!