Obviously this isn’t a straight adaptation. It’s surprisingly good. Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell are reliably entertaining. Octavia Spencer is a little underused, but definitely a plus, and she gets to sing. This is a musical, and a competent one at that. There are numerous songs, with elaborate choreography, and a sizable cast of background performers. It’s silly, and even a bit ridiculous, but as attempts to adapt and modernize Dickens’ work, it’s commendable.
This was the first version I saw when I was young, and as such holds a special place in my heart. I think I might appreciate it even more now for it’s remarkable brevity (at ~20 minutes) as well as it’s ability to walk a fine line between serious and absurd. The cast is notable as well, not just in the voice cast, but also in the way it reuses established characters as players in service of the story. It’s by no means the first Disney production to do this, but it might be the best one.
I may or mayn’t have watched that one; I was still drinking back then.
But I have watched this one, sober!
Terry Kilburn, who portrayed Tiny Tim, later lived in Michigan, and was the artistic director of the Meadow Brook Theater in Rochester, MI from 1970 to 1984. He’s still alive, too, and lives in Minneapolis.
Another favorite, and a surprisingly faithful adaptation, despite the Muppets and the occasional interludes for penguin ice skating and general silliness. Also the music. Michael Caine is fantastic as Scrooge, and plays it completely straight, even though most of the cast is made of fabric. The casting of the Muppet players is good, particularly the intentional use of Waldorf and Statler as Jacob and Robert Marley in place of the singular character from the book. I also like the framing device of a Charles Dickens stand-in so that more of the book can be presented. I especially like that they created entirely new characters for the three ghosts, rather than re-using existing Muppets. It really makes them just a little more special.
Highly recommended, but I don’t need to tell you that.
Of Course.
I remember watching this when I was younger, and enjoying it. I did not enjoy it as much this time around. It certainly has its moments, but it’s mostly just kind of a mess. Bill Murray very effectively plays an unlikable asshole at the beginning of the film, and finishes out the story being only a marginally more likable asshole who is literally forcing an entire production crew to have a Christmas party at gunpoint. The humor is weirdly dated at this point, both in that it has very 1980s values and also the jokes and references feel very 1988. There is so very much smoking and drinking in this movie. In a lot of ways, this feels a bit like a rehearsal for Groundhog Day, in that it provides a redemption arc for a character played by Bill Murray. It even has a somewhat touching scene where Murray’s character is confronted by the freezing death of a homeless person he met earlier. Groundhog Day is a much better movie, and one of my personal favorites. Scrooged also feels a bit like Toys, since Murray spends so much screen time essentially doing stand-up, much like Robin Williams. Toys is also a better movie than this. It is also a disaster, but it is such a beautiful one. Finally, Scrooged compares unfavorably to Gremlins 2, in the ways it attempts to satirize the television industry and a Ted Turner-like approach to spectacle, even including a small part for John Glover. One of the things that I think does work here is the Buddy Hackett led adaptation of A Christmas Carol within the film, which is just absurdly fun. Alfre Woodard is just wasted in her role, given almost nothing to do except sort of frown at Murray’s misdeeds. Bobcat Goldthwait is similarly underused. He is seemingly set up as this movies Bob Cratchit, except when Woodard is, and displays a mild resistance to Murray’s antics early on only to be fired on Christmas Eve. He then spends most of the rest of the movie shown unsuccessfully getting drunk due to some of the least funny gags, until he shows up near the end primarily to have that Scrooge redemption moment and take the control room hostage. I really think it was bad choice to split the Bob Cratchit character in two. Karen Allen, on the other hand, is an absolute angel in this, Another standout is Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas present, both because her character is so weird, and also because she’s probably the most fun. The other two ghosts are memorable in their own way: A cab driver stereotype that holds up much better than if they had gone in another direction that would have played at that time, and a pretty standard Grim Reaper styled ghost but with the added novelty of television.
(Somewhat reluctantly) Not recommended. The worst one I’ve encountered so far, but I have plans that will likely put me in contact with worse.
I love it when she cold-cocks Bill Murray with a toaster (It was a toaster, wasn’t it? I’ve not seen it in quite some time, and I don’t plan on breaking my streak. )
I cried seeing TMCC, as it was the first film they made after Jim died; and wasn’t it the last time a Henson did the voice of Kermit before Steve Whitmire took over? Reportedly, Michael Caine really enjoyed being a bastard to the Muppets in his role as Scrooge.
I discovered this one last year. It’s a pseudo-biographical version of the creation of A Christmas Carol a la Shakespeare in Love. I don’t have any particular feelings about Dan Stevens outside of this movie, but I think he’s well cast in it. I’ve always imagined Charles Dickens as being exceedingly dour, and this characterization of his and genial and generous, and also a bit haunted, feels a bit more likely. The rest of the cast is fantastic, with notable performances by Johnathan Pryce as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer as Scrooge. It certainly takes some liberties with the facts and history surrounding the production of the book, but I think it gets enough of the spirit right.
I hadn’t seen this one before, at least as far as I can remember. It’s a reasonably lavish production, at least by 1984 TV standards. There’s a fair number of establishing shots, which help make the story feel a little less cramped. Notable actors include George C Scott (They Might Be Giants), David Warner (Wing Commander), and Joanne Whalley (Navy Seals.) It’s a mostly faithful adaptation, although it adds some additional context, like a scene of Scrooge shrewdly selling corn to a group of business men for an additional markup, or a scene with Scrooge’s father that helps establish his distrust of others. They are unique among the versions I’ve seen so far. Marley’s ghost and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are surprisingly menacing in this iteration as well. My biggest complaint is probably with Scott’s portrayal of Scrooge. His is less intimidating, miserly, and cruel, and instead tired and sarcastic. This was apparently an intentional choice, but I think it makes the redemption less impactful, as he mostly just seems less grumpy by the end.
I had seen this version before. It’s a pretty faithful adaptation, with a very solid cast. Notable actors include Patrick Stewart (Lifeforce), Richard E. Grant (Hudson Hawk), and Dominic West (John Carter.) Unlike the others before, this one directly portrays the wandering spirits of the dead, which is interesting. There’s also a frequently omitted scene during Christmas Present where several different groups of people are shown singing Silent Night. Also included is Present’s deterioration and Man’s children. Stewart is in top form, and a pitch-perfect Scrooge. One small criticism, though, would be with the design of the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who has glowing yellow eyes for some reason. Rather than being ominous and foreboding, it just ends up looking like a Jawa.
It’s an interesting adaptation. There are some notable changes. There’s a couple adjacent to the scene with Marley’s ghost. First, there’s a scene where Scrooge goes to a restaurant, asks for more bread with his meal, and then rescinds his request since it will cost extra. I can understand the utility of the scene as a way to show how cheap Scrooge is, but it feels out of place since the very next scene still has him eating soup by the fire. Another one that struck me is that when the bells start ringing before Marley appears, none of the bells actually move, which is an interesting choice.
Probably the biggest changes are during the Ghost of Christmas past chapter. There are more segments in this adaptation than any other I’ve seen so far. The gist of it is that while working at Fezziwig’s, Scrooge is enticed to work for a competitor, where he meets Marley, and which later forces Fezziwig out of business and assumes ownership. Scrooge and Marley eventually take ownership of the company. Finally, we are shown a scene where Scrooge is notified of Marley’s impending demise, but refuses to visit him until closing time. When he does, Marley is repentant in his last moments, but his pleas fall on Scrooges deaf ears, who assumes control of both the company and Marley’s estate after his death. These scenes were apparently added to create additional transgressions for Scrooge to atone for. While they accomplish that goal somewhat, it’s a bit odd since it changes Scrooge’s occupation from a money lender to a shipping and warehousing enterprise. I’m not sure what the reasoning there was, since a money lender is a pretty indefensible job, whereas shipping and warehousing provides a legitimate service. This is further incongruous given a scene earlier where a man begs for more time to pay back money that Scrooge had lent him. These extra scenes make the other two ghost’s segments feel out of balance, since they are significantly shorter in comparison. Also, they changed Belle’s name to Alice for some reason.
There’s also an additional scene that takes place after Scrooge wakes up on Christmas day, but before he asks the passing boy to purchase a turkey for him. In this scene, Scrooge wakes up and Mrs. Dilbur is there. He has much the same reactions to being given a second chance as in most adaptations, but his antics mostly serve to terrorize Mrs. Dilbur, before he assures her that he is quite sane and then gives her a sizable raise.
I wasn’t familiar with this version before, so I have no particular attachment to it. I’m also not familiar with any of the actors in it, so I can’t really comment too much on the casting. Alastair Sim does a reasonable job as Scrooge, although I find his performance more generally mean than greedy. Michael Hordern is pretty good as Jacob Marley, with some great overacting as Marley’s ghost. Glyn Dearman is probably totally fine for a child actor in 1951, but his inability to properly use his crutch was a bit distracting for me.
One final thing: There’s a scene early in the film where Tiny Tim is seen looking into a window full of automatons. I suspect this is the reason there’s a similar scene in the 1984 George C. Scott version. This version has a laughing child toy, and it is something:
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