This is why doing this kind of project is beneficial. It forces me to watch things I would not normally watch and every once in a while I’m pleasantly surprised. So is the case with Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol. I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece but it was way better than I thought it would be.
I will say this was my first introduction to Mr Magoo. I have not seen the tv show or read any of the comics but as its own feature you didn’t really need to be familiar with any of the backstory so that didn’t matter.
I guess Mr Magoo is a controversial figure for how he portrays the visually impaired and I can see that but in this feature there aren’t many pratfalls aside from a crashed car at the beginning. At first I was wondering how Magoo would see the ghosts and all of the things they were showing him but they kind of forget about the blindness for most of the movie.
The animation was much better than I was expecting. It was done by UPA animation who were behind the Dick Tracy cartoons and it has an Al Hirschfeld look to it. It reminded me of the Gershwin segment of Fantasia 2000.
The songs are also pretty good by Julie Styne and Bob Merrill who wrote Funny Girl that launched Barbara Streisand’s career.
I found out in my research that Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol was the first holiday program produced especially for television. Interesting right?
Trailer: (It must have aired the same time as Snow White given this trailer)
Cast-
Jim Backus- Ebenezer Scrooge/Mr. Magoo
Morey Amsterdam- James Brady
Jack Cassidy- Bob Cratchit
Royal Dano- Marley’s Ghost
Paul Frees- Stage Director/Charity Man//Fezziwig/Old Joe/Undertaker
Joan Gardner -Tiny Tim/Ghost of Christmas Past
Jane Kean- Belle
Marie Matthews- Young Scrooge
Laura Olsher- Mrs. Cratchit
Les Tremayne- Ghost of Christmas Present
Scrooge- Mr Magoo is Scrooge. The whole program keeps remarkably true to the story and that is true with Scrooge. It’s a little confusing what Magoo can and cannot see. Sometimes it seems he can’t see a person standing in front of him and others he can read his initials on a pair of cufflinks.
It is also a little hard to understand Magoo sometimes. But other than that he is a pretty good Scrooge.
Differences- Like I said, it actually stays pretty close to the source material.
Like the Flintstones Christmas Carol it is part of a play but that is more of a framing device where in Flintstones we go in and out of the play more often. This Mr Magoo goes to the play and then we are pretty much watching the play the whole way through.
They also make the choice to have Present go first which is strange and I’m not sure why they did that as it doesn’t really do anything to the story?
Strengths- There were actually quite a few. As I said the animation was pretty good. The backgrounds, colors and style of it I really liked.
The music was also good. We get Ringle Ringle, The Lord’s Bright Blessing, We’re Despicable, Winter Was Warm and Alone in the World sung by the young Scrooge.
The singing on all the songs is very good (it is supposed to be on Broadway after all). I particularly liked Jane Kean as Belle singing Winter Was Warm.
Also, the script is pretty straight from the book. I was impressed they kept the decrease the surplus population and Tim talking about being a cripple and Jesus. Often those sections are softened for kids.
The Pawn Shop scene is also fully included with Old Joe, the Char Woman, Undertaker and Laundress selling Scrooge’s things. That was very well done with the song ‘We’re Despicable’.
Weaknesses-
Like I said, it can be tough to understand what Magoo is saying. Also, the blindness is inconsistent and I guess it offends some people. I didn’t think it was mocking in this version. In fact, most of the time I forgot he was blind.
The Ringle Ringle song isn’t my favorite abour Razzleberry dressing and the introduction as a play isn’t really necessary. Why not just start it with the Scrooge story?
Also the moving around of the spirits seemed to serve no purpose and if people are expecting a comedy they might be disappointed. There aren’t really any laughs. It is played like a straight forward telling of Christmas Carol.
Other than that. I really liked it. I am surprised how much I enjoyed it. The animation is pretty good, with good music and it stays pretty close to the feel of the book. Aside from the Disney, this is probably my favorite animated feature length version I’ve seen.
It just goes to show with good writing any concept can be entertaining.
Sesame Street started its regular weekly programming for children in 1969 and it has remained on air for over 40 years. So naturally most Americans were raised on Sesame Street and have a fondness for them.
It is a combination of educational skits, puppets, and human characters. The puppets or Muppets were first introduced by Jim Henson and there are worlds of Muppets that actually rarely combine together.
You have Sesame Street that has Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Ernie, Bert and the Count.
You have Muppets that has Fozie, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Skeeter, Ralph, Swedish Chef, Animal, Gonzo and many more.
Then there are Muppet Babies which are baby versions of the traditional Muppets.
and Fraggle Rock.
We’ll talk about The Muppets more when I review their Christmas Carol but today we are talking about Sesame Street and 3 of their Christmas films including one that has a rare combination of all 4 Muppet universes. Pretty exciting!
What makes Sesame Street so wonderful is it teaches children ABCs and other skills while making them laugh and providing messages from a diverse multicultural cast. They do not talk down to kids and have tackled hard topics over the years including AIDS, death, and divorce. The writing in all the Muppet Universe is always sharp, funny for adults and full of a warmth.
The key is they treat the world like an ordinary world. In the Christmas Eve on Sesame Street Big Bird is lost and the adult troupe at Sesame Street are as worried and upset as if it was their own little girl. It’s the same with the comedic moments. When Steve Martin has a scene with Kermit in the Muppet Movie he plays it just the same as if he was working with Chevy Chase or Dan Akroyd. That’s what makes The Muppets stand the test of time like Mickey or Winnie the Pooh because their worlds are thoughtfully rendered with universal themes.
This is my least favorite of the 3 and is more of a clip show than a movie but let’s talk about it.
Scrooge- Naturally our Scrooge is Oscar the Grouch. He is the Muppet that lives in a trash can. This is very similar to the Grouchy in the Smurfs movie.
I’m really surprised they didn’t use his song ‘I Hate Christmas’ from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street but there is a very funny narration by Tim Curry that starts out regal and stuffy and Oscar interrupts them.
The gimmick here is that Oscar doesn’t want to be disturbed until after Christmas but he gets a visit from Joe Marley of Scaredy Pants Delivery Service.
Then he gets a vintage bean can or a ‘ghostigram’ and is visited by 3 spirits that are not puppets. That was a major problem for me!
No CG in Muppets movies!!!
But if I ignore the CG they are actually pretty clever. The first ghost is Rhubarb the Scottish Grouch to show 2 clips of Christmas Past.
The 2 clips are Burt and Ernie Gift of the Magi which we will talk about in a bit (a favorite of mine).
And then we get Big Bird singing ‘All I Want for Christmas’. She is missing Snuffy and it is a lovely heartfelt moment originally from Elmo Saves Christmas.
Both of these segments have tons of heart and I enjoyed them both.
Next for Present we have Christmas Carole who is voiced by Kristen Chenoweth.
There are 4 clips in this segment.
1. Elmo and Santa Claus from Elmo’s World: Happy Holidays
Elmo in the Muppet World symbolizes love. He isn’t telling jokes or getting stressed out like Kermit, or full of himself like Piggy. He is always loving.
2. Elmo sings about ‘Everyday Can’t be Christmas’ from Elmo Saves Christmas.
3. A nice segment on Chanukah and Kwanza from Elmo’s World Happy Holidays.
4. Keep Christmas With You from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
Final Ghost is a Robot from the future and we get a cartoon about Christmas in the future.
And that’s about it. It’s a pleasant film but the other 2 I am going to talk about are much better.
This is a film I loved growing up and you know what I still love it! It’s funny and got real heart like the best of the Muppets.
This one starts with 2 musical numbers with the kids and adults skating.
Coming out of the rink Oscar starts teasing Big Bird about Santa not being small enough to fit down the chimney. This starts the plot for the film.
Worried Big Bird asks Kermit to find out how Santa gets down the chimney so him and Grover interview a bunch of cute kids during segments. Freaking adorable.
We also get a the Gift of the Magi from Bert and Ernie and this is one of my favorites Muppets moments ever. It is so sweet and heartfelt, and gets to the core of the message of Christmas. I loved it as a kid and love it now even more.
I also love they sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas at the end which is one of my favorite Christmas songs. It honestly makes me tear up a bit. It’s just a sweet little story about friendship and thinking of others more than yourself . I mean its his paperclip collection!
We also get this hilarious segment from Cookie Monster trying to write to Santa.
Everyone starts searching for Big Bird because he is up on the roof trying to see Santa and find out. Everyone becomes very worried. Maria scolds Oscar and says with real intensity (again like they are dealing with real people).
“The nest is something different. He’s got electric blanket there. And his friends are there. ‘What are you going to do about it”
When they find Big Bird it turns out Santa has come and he says ‘Now we will never know’
Bob says ‘Why do you want to know?”
Big Bird says ‘Because it’s important’
Bob says “No, what is important is we lost you tonight and we were all very worried and now we’ve got you back safe and sound for Christmas”
That’s the kind of heart I love in Sesame Street and Muppets. It’s just great.
This film is a perfect Christmas film for kids. It will make them laugh with Cookie and Grover, teach them about friendship from Bert and Ernie and remember from Big Bird what is important.
This is a very special Muppet movie because it is the only one that includes all of the Muppet universe- Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies! It was very exciting to watch!!
It’s a pretty simple story. All the Muppets are gathering at Fozzie’s house and we get to meet his mother and as the day goes more people arrive. As they arrive we get more songs.
Hilarious segment when Swedish Chef tries to cook Big Bird for Christmas dinner.Totally epic to have Statler and Waldorf with Cookie Monster. Mind blown!Bert, Ernie, and Grover put on the Night Before ChristmasThey watch a family movie of the Muppet BabiesWe even get a little cameo from our friend Jim Henson. Meta!
Robin and Kermit go in the basement and find a Fraggle Hole and invite the Fraggles up for Christmas. They sing a song.
It ends up being a very full house but the writing is funny. Ms Piggy is hilarious with a photo shoot at the beginning. Again, the photographer treats her like any other model which is why the Muppets works . He says ‘do that pouty thing’ and it is very funny.
Like I said the rest of the movie is just people arriving and singing songs. We get We Need a Little Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Sleigh Ride, Deck the halls, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, No Place Like Home for the Holidays.
Then the last 10 minutes are a Christmas medley of carols and it is very cheerful and entertaining.
This movie is a real treat. It’s so much fun to see so many of the universes together and so many characters. The jokes are funny. The songs are good. It’s not that long so the gimmick worked fine for me. It’s just great!!
So we have 3 solid Sesame Street Christmas films. I think kids and adults will enjoy all 3 with Christmas Eve and Family Christmas being the best of the 3. They are well written, funny, and have real heart. The Muppets are treated like real people and they don’t talk down to kids or patronize them. It’s the best!
And now we have a very unique offering for Scrooge Month, all the way from Great Britain- The Blackadders Christmas Carol.
This is a completely hilarious riff on the Christmas Carol story but unlike Scrooged it completely subverts the narrative of Christmas Carol which might annoy me in lesser-able hands, but the jokes are plentiful and they nail it every time. I laughed my head off. Seriously one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years.
The gist behind the special is the Blackadder played by Rowan Atkinson is constantly taken advantage of by people because ‘he’s the nicest man in town’. Much to the chagrin of his assistant Baldrick, a parade of people come into his office and take money and items from him including his Christmas tree and chicken. Pauline Melville as Mrs Scratchit is particularly funny begging for her Tiny Tim son who is clearly not so tiny.
Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent are very funny as Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Robbie Coltrane from Harry Potter is Spirit of Christmas and the way he does his ‘magic’ is a riot. Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, Tony Robinson, Pauline Melville all at the top of their comedic games.
Coltrane takes Blackadder to the Past with a diva queen and then goes into the future with a sci-fi world and it’s so strange and hilarious.
It’s the writing that makes this so funny. You get lines like “I want a present! Give me something nice and shiny! And if you don’t, I’ve got something nice and shiny for you and it’s called an axe”
or
“Baldrick, you wouldn’t see a subtle plan if it painted itself purple and danced naked on top of a harpsichord, singing “Subtle plans are here again!”
or
“It’s a fist. It’s for hitting people with. (Punches Baldrick) And the great thing is, you can use it again and again! (hits Baldrick again)”
or
“Yes! Unless I’m very much mistaken, you’re the winner of the ‘Round Britain Shortest Fattest Dumpiest Woman Competition. And for her to be accompanied by the winner of this year’s Stupidest Accent Award is really quite overwhelming” (said to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert!).
The whole point of the story is to show Blackadder that the mean people have all the fun. What a clever and humorous subversion of the classic story. At least I thought it was very funny.
That gives you an idea. It’s kind of like Monty Python type humor, very dry and sardonic.
Here’s a clip from when they go into the future. Ha!
If that looks like your style of humor you will love it. If not than skip it. I laughed my head off!
Oh and if you are a hulu plus member you can stream the entire Blackadder series.
Americans should all feel a little bit bad for Henry Winkler. Why you ask? Well, he is a Yale educated actor with loads of classical training and his biggest hit was spending 10 years on a TV show playing the Fonz. This was the smooth talking, leather jacket wearing guy who could always get the girls and teach Richie Cunningham how to be cool.
Winkler has always had a good sense of humor about his glory days but he did try even back in then to do more dramatic work. One such example was an American Christmas Carol made in 1979 for ABC Television.
And while he and the production put forth a good effort, in the end I can’t really recommend the picture. It isn’t terrible just kind of slow with poor production values and some odd choices that bothered me.
The new take on the story is it is set in small town America in the 1930’s. This would be fine but then they use a whole bunch of Canadian actors to play the parts. That annoyed me a little bit. I mean if you are going to have all Canadians in your cast call it a A Canadian Christmas Carol! (I just can’t get the accents I want in Christmas Carol it seems unless your name is Alistair Sim!). They also change all the names around and have characters refer to the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. They are familiar with the story and it gets a little meta when Winkler’s character is talking to one of the ghosts about the ghosts who visited Scrooge ‘it’s not going to work you know’
Trailer:
Here is an old television promo for it. You only need to watch the first minute or so of this video.
Cast:
Henry Winkler
Benedict Slade
Dorian Harewood
Matt Reeves
Susan Hogan
Helen Brewster
Cec Linder
Auctioneer
RH Thomson
Thatcher
David Wayne
Merrivale
Michael Wincott
Choir Leader
William Bermender
Orphan
Brett Matthew Davidson
Orphan
Christopher Crabb
Tim
Williiam Ballantyne
Minister
Tammy Bourne
Sarah Thatcher
Chris Cragg
Jon Thatcher
James Douglas
Sam Perkins
Arlene Duncan
Jennie Reeves
Scrooge-
Scrooge- Winkler is fine with his performance but the writing, makeup and direction don’t do him any favors . I can tell he is trying but they make Slade (that’s the Scrooge characters name in this) kind of like Prince John in Robin Hood. I mean this guy is a bad dude and you guys know I like the more villainous Scrooge’s best. Here’s the difference in the book Scrooge is able to be a miser because he does not interact with others. He doesn’t even know the smallest detail about his own clerk. As he points out to the Benefactor his ‘occupation consumes him’.
In this version Scrooge is a Repot man which means at the beginning he goes from house to house repossessing items from people (on Christmas Eve no less). This feels almost Gestapo mean. Especially when we get a scene where he confiscates all the books of a store and rips them out from the bindings . It made me practically physically ill to see those beautiful books destroyed like that. He also repossess a piano from the orphanage that he grew up in until he was adopted.
Differences- There are almost too many to mention them all. Of course, we have the change in setting and time. Scrooge was an orphan rescued by a man named Mr Brewster who teaches him how to work with wood and build furniture. (This is all seen by Past who is the man from the bookstore seen above).
Slade grows up and wants to implement the moving assembly line to make chairs and Brewster thinks it isn’t right to make such a shoddy product. It’s another movie where darn old capitalism is the villain. It’s like the ‘Gold, gold, gold’ song in Pocahontas. Groan. Dickens is so much more subtle. He does not condemn the earning of money but just a man who has removed Christ and other people from his life.
The Marley character is actually a teacher or mentor to Scrooge and teaches him ‘the ways of business’ and his name is Mr Latham. His scene is fairly forgettable. It’s kind of like the Mr Jorkin bit in Alistair Sim but in that case Jorkin was more of a secondary influence not a mentor.
Slade fires his clerk Bob Thatcher because he suggests to him that a good business investment might be opening up the old mill that Mr Brewster used to own. Slade’s reaction seems extreme and it turns out that Thatcher’s son Jon needs to go to Australia to see a doctor for his condition.
All of the ghosts are people Slade confiscated possessions from earlier in the film, which could have been clever but never quite works.
The rest of the story is what you would expect until Future comes. They cast Dorian Harewood as the last ghost and he is a wonderful actor but in an all white movie it bothered me a little bit that the only black man we see is the part that is usually a grim reaper type. It’s such an offensive racial caricature to have the angelic white people and the token looming grimacing black man. Future isn’t a villain per say but he is usually symbolic of death and it just annoyed me. (It’s made even worse that when Future is introduced Slade’s radio goes bonkers and starts playing hip hop music…Groan.
Also in Future there is an auction where Slade’s possessions are bought by vengeful townsfolk and then burned in a big fire. How is that the Christmas spirit to stoop to Slade’s level? They burn things that could be used by people, could help people which is almost as bad as Scrooge destroying the books. The Finney version made the same mistake. Christmas is supposed to make people kind and forgiving, not vengeful and vitriolic.
Strengths- The strengths are the acting. Like I said, Winkler tries his darndest. It’s a shame he wasn’t given better writing, makeup and direction.
The sets and costumes are fine and there are some nice messages throughout. I like what they were trying to do but it just doesn’t work.
Weaknesses- There are so many problems. Mainly it creates a tonal problem when we have Slade interacting with people, taking their things and destroying books (I hated to watch that!). Scrooge is supposed to be making only Bob and maybe Fred’s life miserable. Other than that he is terrified of poverty and the world, not out there taking pianos from orphanages. It’s just an entirely different character and one that is way less likely to be moved by the 3 visits.
Also, I had a problem with the casting of Future and the way that was handled but mostly it is slow and feels dare I say it, a little boring. All the stuff about the moving assembly line and modernization dragged and took us away from Christmas and the message of the story.
So yeah this one I would say skip. Poor, poor Henry Winkler.
Just thought I would introduce you guys to a great movie blog. Forrest Hartman gives weekly DVD reviews and always has good insight even if we don’t always agree. In this post he gives Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 4 stars which I also loved and 100 foot journey which was a lovely little movie. Check it out!
As I have said several times on the blog during Scrooge month I am trying to be positive and so if I completely dislike a version I will skip it. So far the animated versions of Christmas Carol have not been very entertaining (Mickey’s being the exception).
They are pretty much all musicals and the songs aren’t great and they end up feeling boring rather than entertaining.
However, there are a few that while not great have some things to recommend so I’ll cover them. So is the case with the 1978 Stingiest Man in Town. It is actually a remake of a version I’ve actually covered in my Basil Rathborne review.
They kept all the songs including the Santa Claus song which I wish they had skipped but most of the other songs are ok. The animation is done by the Rankin/Bass team who primarily focused on stop motion holiday specials such as Little Drummer Boy, Jack Frost, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman etc.
Like I said, it’s not a good movie. In fact, in some ways it’s terrible but it did just enough to warrant a review where I wouldn’t feel overwhelmingly negative.
Trailer-
Couldn’t find a trailer but here is the opening song to give you a feel.
Cast:
Scrooge- Walter Matthau
B.A.H. Humbug- Tom Bosley
Marley- Theodore Bikel
Young Scrooge- Robert Morse
Fred- Dennis Day
Past and Present- Paul Frees
Bob Cratchit– Sonny Melendez.
Scrooge-
Scrooge is voiced by Walter Matthau which like George C. Scott is a strange choice because his voice is so American. And why in an animated feature would you cast a different voice for young scrooge? Live action does this because an old actor cannot usually pull off a young look. In animation that isn’t a problem and our voices are basically the same.
So his voice just doesn’t fit Christmas Carol. Plus, I keep waiting for him to tell a joke. I’m so used to Walter Matthau meaning comedy and I know he played grumpy curmudgeons in movies like Grumpy Old Men but it didn’t quite work here.
Differences- Well, the big difference is there is a narrator voiced by Tom Bosley named B.A.H. Humbug (isn’t that hilarious Bah Humbug is his name?). Groan. He is very annoying. Makes Jiminy Cricket look like a seasoned pro.
As I mentioned they also include the Santa Claus song which doesn’t belong in this story. This is a story about Christmas and redemption. Leave Santa Claus to the Santa Claus stories…
Strengths-
Aside from the Santa Claus song the rest of the songs are fine. I’ve certainly heard worse. I can see why they were popular enough from the 1956 version to warrant a reuse. An Old Fashioned Christmas is a pretty good carol and the other songs are decent songs.
There are also segments that feel heartfelt and are pretty accurate to the book and the scenes with Isabel and Scrooge I liked well enough. So the content wasn’t that bad. It’s just the appearance and the voices and a few other odd touches that felt off.
All of these segments were pretty good.
The scenes in the Pawn Shop and with future are very well done and creepy. And aside from the bug and the Santa scene it is fairly accurate to the story so for kids it’s not a terrible way to introduce them to the story (although much better ways out there so why bother?)
The voicecast gives it their all and Theodore Bikel is very good as Marley. Also frequent Rankin/Bass collaborator Paul Frees is very good in his various roles.
Also some of the backdrops and settings are lovingly drawn. It seems hard to believe that many of Rankin/Bass went on to work for Studio Ghiblin and Hiyao Miyazaki. So different!
Weaknesses-
Well there are a lot. First of all, the animation is just weird. All of the characters look like bobblehead dolls with giant heads and small bodies. It looks so odd.
This is going to sound mean but they look like Sloth from the Goonies. I don’t know why they made that choice in the design?
Also like I said the Santa Claus and Matthau’s American comedic voice is distracting. But there is a heart to all the performances, the story and music that is sincere and pleasant. It just felt weird and I couldn’t get over the look of the human characters. Plus, the addition of B.A.H. Humbug was super lame.
I can picture if you like things that are a little bit strange and you like animation that is odd looking than you might enjoy this. Those are the big hurdles that kept me from enjoying it completely. It wasn’t for me but for a particular type of viewer I think it could be a lot of fun. Maybe I’ve just grown soft because of the bad animated versions I saw. I don’t know. With all its faults, this was at the top of the pack if you can believe it…
Things are looking better than ever for the Disney’s Christmas Carol. Definitely my favorite feature film animated version. Still will be reviewing the Tim Curry version and Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol also by Rankin/Bass I believe. Both by special request. We will see!
For the most part for Scrooge Month if I saw a version I did not care for I let it go and moved on to the next one (animated versions have been rough!). But the Albert Finney version is so iconic that I feel like I need to talk about it. Alas, it is not a favorite of mine. If you like it that is awesome. Sincerely but it took turns that I was not a fan of.
Scrooge is clearly a result of the huge success of Oliver! in 1968. Coming out in 1971 it is a musical version of the Christmas Carol story (like Oliver! was a musical version of Oliver Twist). Just a reminder Oliver! won Best Picture when 2001 Space Odyssey wasn’t even nominated….Oscars is such a joke.
Anyway, the styling and feel of Scrooge feel similar to Oliver but it is not as true to its source material. So, let’s talk about it.
I couldn’t find a trailer but you’ll get an idea from the screen caps and photos I show.
Cast:
Albert Finney as Ebenezer Scrooge
Alec Guinness as Marley’s ghost
Edith Evans as Ghost of Christmas Past
Kenneth More as Ghost of Christmas Present
Paddy Stone as Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
David Collings as Bob Cratchit
Frances Cuka as Mrs. Cratchit
Richard Beaumont as Tiny Tim
Michael Medwin as Fred, Scrooge’s nephew
Mary Peach as Fred’s wife
Gordon Jackson as Tom, Fred’s friend
Anton Rodgers as Tom Jenkins
Laurence Naismith as Fezziwig
Kay Walsh as Mrs. Fezziwig
Suzanne Neve as Isabel
The cast is honestly fine in the film. It’s not my favorite but it’s not the reason it didn’t work.
Scrooge- At first I kind of liked Albert Finney as Scrooge. I like when his anger is filtered by his work and not just anger at everything and everyone . He is mad at Fred for interrupting his work. Same with the Benefactors. However, when Scrooge meets Present he drinks from the milk of human kindness and for the rest of the movie Finney appears to be half drunk. That kind of inebriation works for the Crazy Scrooge moments but not throughout the whole film.
Also there are times when Finney seems to be playing Quasimodo more than Scrooge. He is a sharp, capable businessman not someone with special needs that is hunched over and garbling words.
Strengths- Like I said the cast is pretty good. Alec Guinness is fine as Marley (in the early section at least).
A few of the songs are engaging. I really liked the opening number and the credits sequence a lot. Also David Collings was fine as Bob Cratchit although the Cratchit scenes didn’t quite work for me. Cratchit actually defends Scrooge too much in the toast. It doesn’t feel genuine and the Cratchit’s must feel genuine.
The scenes with Isabelle and the songs there are fine, and Finney actually plays the young Scrooge which I doesn’t happen very often.
The sets are also pleasant to look at until it takes a turn…
Differences/Weaknesses-
I combined these because they are basically one in the same. There are a lot of problems.
1. It takes too long to get to Past- 40 minutes. Why? Because of the songs. I still hold the best musical version of Christmas Carol is Muppets Christmas Carol and the reason why is because most of it’s songs tell the story. For example, we hear all about Scrooge in the opening number.
In this film the songs, competently written as they might be, stop the narrative. We don’t need a song about how Scrooge hates people. We already know that . Nearly every song tells us things we already know so it slows everything down.
And really Scrooge taking the time to sing a song about how he hates people doesn’t really fit with his character. He is totally absorbed in his work and would want to get back it as soon as possible. Again, in the Muppet version the songs are sung about Scrooge, not from him until the end when Scrooge singing is appropriate .
They also make some strange casting choices like Edith Evans as Ghost of Christmas Past. Everything from her costume to her demeanor did not fit that ghost at all.
Kenneth More is ok as Present but again I don’t like that he gets Scrooge drunk.
Then we get to Future and things start going downhill. We get a song called ‘Thank you Very Much’. This is sung by a mob gathered to cheer on the death of Scrooge and the removal of their debts. First of all they will be transferred to someone else. In the book the couple is grateful for a few days respite from the loan, not tearing up loan books.
But even if the loans are forgiven aren’t the people supposed to be an example of the goodness of Christmas? It is only in the slums of the Pawn Shop that we see the glee over Scrooge’s things. Not a mob of people singing with a coffin coming out. That felt so against the tone of the story to me.
Plus, it is awkward because Scrooge thinks they are cheering him on . He says ‘I have labored all my life to be worthy of this demonstration”. I felt bad for Scrooge. Again, he’s a smart businessman and understanding the events of the Future humble him and make him want to change. This just feels uncomfortable and not in keeping with Christmas…
But then it takes another turn. We get the scene with the grave and I thought ‘that’s strange. There are still 20 minutes left in this movie. What else are they going to do?’
Well my friends Scrooge goes to Hell. That’s right H E L L. And who does he see in Hell. Why Jacob Marley of course. (Wasn’t Jacob’s hell to wander the earth and see the joy he could not enjoy?). The special effects are laughable. The sets look like a a cheap haunted house.
Can you believe it? In the world of this story where Scrooge is going to be the head clerk for Lucifer in Hell why would Marley be given the opportunity to come and rescue his friend? And why would he seem happy to see said friend in Hell? Wouldn’t he be a little disappointed that his friend didn’t listen to the Spirits?
The chains are over the top, the oily chain laborers are ridiculous, the whole thing was like something out of an old Ed Wood movie. I sat there stunned at what I was seeing.
Scrooge is terrified at the idea he is the dead man left alone with no mourners. That is enough. If it takes Hell to turn him around is that not a pretty shallow repentance? It’s kind of like if I told you I was going to beat you to death if you didn’t say you were sorry than of course you will say you are sorry.
If I told you how your injury to me had hurt me and how it left you alone and you pondered it and said sorry that is true repentance worthy of change. Anyone would repent if shown Hell.
Maybe other people can overlook this turn the story takes but I could not. So this is definitely one of my personal least favorite versions. I am open to different interpretations. I think I’ve shown that (I even had a laugh at Tori Spelling) but at least those versions kept the basic framework of miser, visitors, recognizing loneliness and despair, and change.
This is like a Wagnerian opera where we are told how awful sin is and how the wicked will be punished without any of the subtlety or heart of a true conversion experience.
So this is a definite skip. On to better versions.
I thought it might be fun to take a little break from movies and Scrooge for a second to talk about my favorite moments in the world of television this year.
I’m a huge TV fan, which is really strange because my family is not. My parents do not watch a single program on a regular basis, so it is not something I grew up with. For long periods we didn’t even have TV and then the Olympics would come around and I would beg the parents. Please let us get TV! (I love the Olympics!).
As an adult I have embraced it even more and especially with DVR I find it immensely entertaining to get into a show and spend some time with the characters. Unlike a movie where you get 2 hours into a story, a television show you can really get to know people.
I also must add that I try to keep my viewing on a PG-13 level so that cuts out some of the very popular HBO shows such as Game of Thrones (same with Orange is the New Black). I know all of you love it and I respect that but too much violence and nudity for me.
How I Met Your Mother-
The biggest disappointment for the year was without a doubt the finale of my favorite show How I Met Your Mother. I hated it. It undermined the narrative they had been building for 9 years of the great love story between Ted and Tracy and I will never forgive the show for that. Shame on them!
I know it sounds dramatic but it was one of the biggest disappointments in media of my life. I still want to throw something at Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for their lack of respect for all they had created. Urgh….
Mixology-
Mixology was another major low point. What was ABC thinking? It was one of the most disgraceful pieces of media I’ve ever seen. Read my rant on the misogynist junk. (Rape was a punchline in a joke if that tells you anything).
24 was back and they managed to craft a very entertaining season with all of the things we love about 24- layers of villains, Jack Bauer outrunning a helicopter, a mole in Jack’s team (maybe 2?), great performances, stunts, action, twists, turns and just a ton of fun.
To me it wasn’t as good as season 5 but I’d put it up there with 2,3 and 4.
Girl Meets World-
I LOVE Boy Meets World. It was a show on TGIF from 1993-2002. The characters were the same age as me and yes it was incredibly corny but it always had its heart in the right place. William Daniels took the acting up a notch from typical teen fair and the relationships between Shawn, Cory, Topanga, Eric and others had real heart to them.
So naturally I was hesitant when I heard a spinoff was in the works called Girl Meets World. Fortunately they got Michael Jacobs producing and most of the same writers back and Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage are back as Cory and Topanga only this time they are the parents of 2 kids Riley (the Girl who meets the world) and adorable Augie.
This first season has been incredibly strong. It has all the cornball elements with all the heart. Now Cory is the Mr Feeny character and Riley’s best friend Maya is the new Shawn Hunter.
We also have Farkle the son of Boy Meets World Minkus and he is great and a more than just for good looks kid named Lucas. It teaches good messages with an engaging cast and humor that works. I love it!
Much like Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie it is a show about an entire family, not just a snarky little girl. They all get plotlines and have character development. It’s so refreshing to have something everyone can watch together and enjoy.
Survivor-
Yes, I love me some reality competition. Survivor is about to go into season 30 and while season 29 has been a bit of a let down season 28 was fantastic. One of the best they’ve ever had.
Almost every person was in it to win it and winner Tony was spastic and crazy, building spy shacks, running around the island entertaining us all and being completely brilliant. Never has a more bold player won the game and it was fascinating to watch.
Say what you want about the show the interactions of the contestants and the choices they make are fascinating to me. Why they vote a certain person off? Why they keep another? It’s a very interesting social experiment and game. In the current season the game play is some of the most random I’ve seen which has it’s own level of fascination. It’s amazing with nearly 30 seasons the game never plays out in exactly the same way because you are dealing with people not scriptwriters. It makes it unpredictable and exciting. I’ve always said you could do an interesting class on game theory and use Survivor as your test case. I’d take that class.
What makes Survivor especially fun is I am a patron for RHAP- Rob Has a Podcast which is a community of fellow fans and we talk about the moves and for a girl who works from home it has become my watercooler conversation that I look forward to each day.
Former contestant Rob Cesternino is the R of RHAP and he is engaging and funny, my favorite podcaster (although Rotoscopers Animation Addicts is a close second!). It’s fascinating to me to see the different takes people have on moves and who people bond with and for what reasons, especially in a great season like Cagayan.
Big Brother/Amazing Race-
Survivor is my first love but I also love Amazing Race and watch some Big Brother.
After a lame All Star season, this current season of the Race has been fabulous. The move to Friday has been a good thing and Bethany and Adam are my favorites. What she can do with one arm is truly remarkable to watch and they are just so down to earth. I love them and want them to win so bad!
Really great challenges and likable contestants have made it fun. The Race is fun to watch but not as much of a strategic game as Survivor so not quite as interesting.
Big Brother was an interesting season because it was so dominated by one player. Like Tony, Derrick was bold and incredibly smart at the game. He was never put on the block ever and Big Brother lasts 90 days! That’s pretty amazing. There was one moment where a lie he had told a character had come out and within a 45 minute conversation he had her apologizing to him. That was unbelievable to watch. What a game player! I would get eaten alive by players like that! (Since I was laid up with my knee I watched too much of the live feeds this season. The darn things are addicting and why does everything happen after 2 am in that house!).
Both Tony and Derrick were able to convince their partners to take them to the end when there were clear goats they could have taken. Basically they both convinced 2 people to give them the prize. Fascinating.
What makes me happy is both Tony and Derrick seemed like really good guys and always nice when the good guys win the game.
(Again with the Race and Big Brother my RHAP community make both shows extremely fun).
Downton Abbey-
The only drama I’m really into right now. I know a lot of people have gotten of the Downton train but I’m still on. It was an intense season with Anna’s rape and the effect that has on all the characters.
The acting is so good, sets, costumes top notch and the melodramatic stories work for the kind of stories being told. It was a bummer so many quit the show but they handled as best they could and I am sooo excited for the new season coming in January!
I hope they get back to the lighter feel the show originally had. Yes there was always drama but oddly enough Season 2 with WW1 was not the saddest season. They need a bit more of a balance. I’d also like for them to dive into Thomas’ character more and not just have him be the gay bad guy.
I’ve always found Mary to be a fascinating character because we should hate her but then she does something very likable and so we don’t. It’s great and Mosely, Carson, Daisy and of course the Dowager Countess played by Maggie Smith are all great characters.
So on to season 5!
Sherlock Season 3-
This shows how much I loved the long awaited Sherlock return. It aired February 2014 and I still have it on my DVR 10 months later.
Especially episode 1 and 3 of the season I thought were just about perfect in every way. The ending may be one fake death to many we will see and it is a bit frustrating they never told us what happened to Sherlock but it was brilliant as well. The way we kept getting possibilities of how he might have survived.
The acting is amazing, cinematography perfect and a new villain Charles Magnussen who was chilling and even creepier than Moriarty.
I also loved the plotline with Mary and trying to figure out what kind of mole she was. They give you a huge hint there is something afoot when Holmes first meets her and it was a puzzle the whole series. Brilliant.
As I watched the series I was literally yelling at the scream at times I was so engrossed. I’d put the writing, acting, cinematography up against any Hollywood film. It’s just great.
A to Z-
Well I suppose there is going to be one show I loved which barring a miracle appears to be cancelled. Darn it all American viewers this show is so good!
Featuring Cristin Millioti from HIMYM and Ben Feldman from Drop Dead Diva it’s like a combination of 500 Days of Summer and How I Met Your Mother.
Some of the side characters were a little much but I’m convinced if NBC could just stick with it a little longer it would be a big hit for them.
As a girl who is starving for good romantic comedies, this was one. The leads have terrific chemistry. The story was charming. I hope it can be saved but for now not looking great. 🙁
Goldbergs-
My favorite comedy by a long shot. Especially as a movie lover and a kid from the 80s the humor hits all the nostalgic points but it’s more than that. It’s extremely well written with an appealing cast and great kid actors.
When I first saw it I thought it was a That’s 70’s Show retread in the 80s but it’s not. Wendi McLendon Covey is hilarious as the mother. Jeff Garlin and George Segal steals every scene he is in as the Grandpa who thinks he is Burt Reynolds.
It’s kind of like The Simpsons brought to life with older kids. It’s that smart and fun and warm. Plus, the fact that Adam Goldberg shot all these hours of tapes of his family and a the end of every episode you see clips pertaining to that episode is so cool.
It makes the show feel lived in and real despite it’s craziness. The videos say ‘this is over-the-top but my family was pretty darn close to it’ and that is funny. Plus, you can tell the whole show is a labor of love from writing, directing, acting and everything else. I love it and think it is hilarious.
My favorite episode is Karate from season 1 but season 2 has been great too.
Mindy Project-
A lot of people are down on this show too but I still really like it. It has an engaging cast with pretty good writing and I love the chemistry between Danny and Mindy. The kiss on the plane…holy cow that was a great kiss
and then the ending to last season I am not kidding I might have watched it 45 times. It was perfect. I almost wished the show was over so it could just end there but you know they have actually done a good job with Mindy and Danny as a couple this season. It wasn’t until I saw that finale that I realized how much I miss romantic comedies. I need my sugary romances you guys or I get very gloomy! I need my romantic movies so at least I get it from TV from time to time.
I wish we could hang on to A to Z like they’ve hung on to Mindy Project. Morgan cracks me up every scene he is in. Definitely my favorite character.
Other Shows I Still Love- The Middle, The Simpsons, Big Bang Theory (yes I still like it), Duck Dynasty, Wahlburgers, and Shark Tank. Oh and Dancing with the Stars has had 2 excellent seasons in 2014.
What shows did you like this year? Any I mentioned you a fan of? Any way that’s what I like. Thanks for reading!
This is why doing this kind of project is beneficial. It forces me to watch things I would not normally watch and every once in a while I’m pleasantly surprised. So is the case with Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol. I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece but it was way better than I thought it would be.
Like the Flintstones Christmas Carol it is part of a play but that is more of a framing device where in Flintstones we go in and out of the play more often. This Mr Magoo goes to the play and then we are pretty much watching the play the whole way through.
They also make the choice to have Present go first which is strange and I’m not sure why they did that as it doesn’t really do anything to the story?
The music was also good. We get Ringle Ringle, The Lord’s Bright Blessing, We’re Despicable, Winter Was Warm and Alone in the World sung by the young Scrooge.
The Pawn Shop scene is also fully included with Old Joe, the Char Woman, Undertaker and Laundress selling Scrooge’s things. That was very well done with the song ‘We’re Despicable’.
The Ringle Ringle song isn’t my favorite abour Razzleberry dressing and the introduction as a play isn’t really necessary. Why not just start it with the Scrooge story?
Other than that. I really liked it. I am surprised how much I enjoyed it. The animation is pretty good, with good music and it stays pretty close to the feel of the book. Aside from the Disney, this is probably my favorite animated feature length version I’ve seen.
