Every year I work with a friend of mine at Bitsy Creations to make a custom Christmas card and Valentine. This is what I came up with this year and I just wanted to share it with all of you. Thanks for giving this girl from Utah with a hurt knee something to work for. I hope you all enjoy Scrooge Month and have a Merry Christmas or a happy time no matter what you celebrate.
After being completely silly in my last entry let’s get to a legitimate version of Christmas Carol. Made in 1984 for television, A Christmas Carol, stars George C Scott as Scrooge surrounded by an excellent cast all around:
| George C. Scott – Ebenezer Scrooge | ||
| Frank Finlay – Marley’s Ghost | ||
| Angela Pleasence – Ghost of Christmas Past | ||
| Edward Woodward – Ghost of Christmas Present | ||
| Michael Carter – Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come | ||
| David Warner – Bob Cratchit | ||
| Susannah York – Mrs. Cratchit | ||
| Anthony Walters – Tiny Tim Crachit | ||
| Roger Rees – Fred Hollywell | ||
| Caroline Langrishe – Janet Hollywell | ||
| Lucy Gutteridge – Belle (Scrooge’s unappreciated fiancée) | ||
| Nigel Davenport – Silas Scrooge (Ebenezer’s and Fan’s cruel father) | ||
| Mark Strickson – Young Ebenezer Scrooge | ||
| Joanne Whalley – Fan Scrooge (Ebenezer’s beloved sister and Fred’s mother) | ||
| Timothy Bateson – Mr. Fezziwig |
Trailer: I couldn’t find a trailer probably because this was made for TV but this is a highlight reel:
Differences- This version is very good but it doesn’t take any risk. It keeps it pretty close to the book with no backstory or delving more into Scrooge’s choices and why he became the way he was (aside from the normal past stuff in the book). As I like the book I don’t have a problem with that. I’m fine either way.
The biggest difference is Scott is a very light hearted Scrooge. He laughs a lot more than other Scrooge’s I’ve seen. This is not in the book. As I shared in my Disney review Dickens describes Scrooge in very harsh terms:
” Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.”
I mean he has thin lips and rooms get colder when he enters them. The laughter is certainly mocking in tone so it is still wicked but in a lighter more subtle way than other versions. Here’s a screencap I took of the beginning of the movie when he is talking to Fred.
Looks like quite a jolly bloke. I realize he was smiling about the wrong things but it does seem to weaken his repentance at the end when he isn’t as bad to begin with. But I don’t mind it. It’s just different.
Strengths- All the performances are good. David Warner is great and warm as Cratchit and Frank Finlay is very scary and effective as Marley.
The other major strength is the sets. It feels like England. Every detail from the turkeys and geese that go as high as the building at the poulters to the street lamps and carolers. This attention to detail is particularly impressive considering it was made for TV (we saw in my last post the quality of made for TV nowdays…).
It is also very strict to the book as far as the plot. So if you are a purist you will enjoy it. I like traditional telling’s and more creative so this is great with me. And like I said with such likable performances it is easy to be engaged throughout.
Past, Present, and Future don’t really do anything new or take any risks with the story but it’s a great story so it isn’t needed.
The scenes with the Cratchit’s are particularly good and warm. It feels like an actual family and Mrs Cratchit and Tiny Tim are wonderful.
Scott is very good in the ending, both the penitence and the Crazy Scrooge segments. When Present leaves him he justifies his behavior for a few lines and then realizes he has been left alone and it seems to be the first time he has recognized his loneliness and it frightens him.
This is a Scrooge that is more misapplying his energy than a covetous sinner who is frightened by poverty. I always saw Scrooge as being more motivated by that fear but in this one it is more a love of business, being smarter than everyone else, and a lack of courage (he says that to Fred) that leads him to his unhappy lot. It’s a different and interesting take on the story.
Weaknesses- Well, there are two big weaknesses. Even though Scott is very good he is a very American Scrooge. He makes no attempt at a British accent and sounds like he should be leading Americans to war as Patton not giving orders at the stock exchange in London. Everyone around him is British including his young self so it is very distracting. He must have just not been able to do a convincing British accent.
It’s a little puzzling when they had any number of British actors they could have selected. They could have even had Laurence Olivier do it.
The other weakness is the music. It is very annoying and distracting with a sharp electronic sound to it (I’m talking about the score not the sections of carols). At certain scenes especially with Marley it is so loud and shrill I had to turn down the volume on my TV. It belongs in a thriller not an 19th century period piece. I realize Christmas Carol is a ghost story but it just didn’t work for me at all.
But those are two relatively minor quibbles to a very strong film. It is definitely in my top 5 versions and one I reach for every year when I just want the traditional version, no strings attached. I am sure you and your family will enjoy it too.
Today the Annie Award Nominees were released. These awards celebrate the best in animated films. I still say this has been an amazing year for animation. It’s certainly been one of my favorites that’s for sure. I have seen all of the nominees but 2- Song of the Sea comes out Dec 19th, and I will hopefully see it, and Cheatin I must admit I hadn’t heard of but it looks awesome.
Cheatin trailer (this is clearly an animated feature for adults but I’m ok with that. In fact, sometimes I prefer they go all adult instead of trying to make it appeal to kids and adults (ala Hunchback):
Anyway, the nominees are:
Cheatin’,
Song Of The Sea (here’s Song of the Sea trailer if you haven’t seen it yet. It looks amazing)
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.
What an impressive list. I LOVED Big Hero 6, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (even more than original), Lego Movie, Boxtrolls and Kaguya (gave A’s to all 5 of those!). Book of Life I really liked despite some problems (got a B). They are all so different it is tough to compare. But again what a great year especially when you consider no Pixar and some highly entertaining films didn’t even make the list (Mr Peabody and Sherman and Penguins of Madagascar were really fun comedies).
Well, what would you pick to win? I’d be happy with any of them winning but if I had to pick I’d go with The Lego Movie. I know all of you weren’t as crazy about it as I was but this is my blog and my opinion so for me it was the most creative, visually inventive, had heart, showed how kids play, their randomness and fun, and it made me laugh a lot. But I was really moved and dazzled by Big Hero 6 also, so I would love to see it win. Same with Kaguya, which was so beautiful, and The Boxtrolls, which had a great look, and a story that makes kids (and me!) think while charming them. How to Train Your Dragon was an epic adventure and dazzled me from beginning to end. Plus, I loved the flying sequences.
But push come to shove I would still pick Lego Movie. What was your favorite? (And remember there are no wrong answers it’s just an opinion)
I’m afraid I have a bit of a confession to make- I like cheesy made for TV movies. I can’t explain why because they are the junk food of the cinema world. What can I say every now and then I feel like some junk food movies! This is particularly true at Christmas. Most made for TV Christmas movies are syrupy and silly but overall pleasant. The kind of movies that used to be made all the time and are out of fashion by the bigger studios. There are times when I don’t want to be challenged but just enjoy a silly movie and romcoms in Hollywood have gotten so vulgar and crass these days that it’s very frustrating. But at least I still have my Hallmark and Lifetime movies to keep me goey and happy.
So with that said let’s talk about 2 made for TV versions of A Christmas Carol. I group them together because they are essentially the same movie- A Carol Christmas starring Tori Spelling and A Diva’s Christmas Carol by Vanessa Williams. They are both technically weak but I enjoy watching them. Of the two the Diva’s is better but mostly because I’d take a funny Kathy Griffin over Gary Coleman any day.
They are both the story of the Barbie Christmas Carol but that movie is a little more clever with details like mirrors for the Aunt Marley character and lots of traditional Christmas songs sung well. Plus at least Barbie has animation that while on a direct to DVD level is more interesting than any film-making in either of these TV movies.
So they are both about divas who have let fame get to their heads:
Vanessa Williams plays Ebony, a Whitney Houston type who has forgotten her past as a foster kid who was part of a trio and then became a star.
Tori Spelling plays Carol Cartman a TV Show host who’s aunt manipulated her career, forcing her to choose fame over friends (this one is really like the Barbie version).
Both of them are making their poor beleaguered staff work on Christmas Day and both say ‘bah humbug’ and order people around like slaves. (Must be nice to be a diva sometimes… 😉 ).
Both have assistants that are the Bob Cratchit’s. Vanessa’s is a man named Bob who she briefly dated but now has a son Tim who is dying. Tori has an assistant named Roberta who has a daughter named Lilly who’s ex is trying to take away from her because of all the hours she works for Tori.
So we get our Marley
For Vanessa she is an ex-bandmate named Marli who died in a car crash played by Chili from the band TLC. There are some special effects that are pretty good when she shows her ‘real’ face to Ebony. I also thought her chains were kind of clever.
Tori’s Marley is her Aunt Marla who Tori (Carol) always thought had her back but she tells Tori she was wrong. She comes alive in a picture first and then we see her. They could have done something more clever with her chains than just a few normal looking necklaces. 
Did Marla have Carol’s back or was she actually out for her own good? Hmmm…
Then we get Past
For Vanessa it is Kathy Griffin who has some funny lines like when her outfit is complimented “last year I had to show Tom Ford all of his Christmas”. That made me laugh.
Also when she see’s the shadows she tells Ebony “these aren’t real people. It’s like Los Angeles” That also made me laugh.
Another funny line is “Stop being so hauntable. You skinny witch. Did you say skinny?” Considering what she had to work with I thought it was pretty good.
We learn from Past that Ebony had a tough road with a mean father, and she was taken away from her brother on Christmas.
The Tori version we get the considerable downgrade to Gary Coleman. He’s actually fine but not as funny as Kathy Griffin.
He gets some jokes at his past. The main point of Past is to show Tori who her Aunt really was and how she caused her to end things with her philanthropic ex.
For Vanessa Present we get John Taylor playing a hard rocker that reminded me of Russell Brand in Get Him to the Greek.
He shows her the dumps her band is staying in and that Bob is about to quit to be with his son who is dying. He also shows her how Terri her former bandmate is doing.
In Tori’s version we have the great William Shatner as Present, and we see Tori’s ex is still doing good, and Roberta’s ex trying to take Lily away. We also look in on her sister’s family who Roberta buys nicer gifts than the $20 Tori gives her to spend.
We also learn that her aunt Marla’s cohort is trying to change the show to a Jerry Springer like program that focuses on Freaks because sincere stories don’t sell (tell that to Oprah…). Tori is horrified.
I thought Future was kind of clever in Vanessa’s version instead of having an actual ghost she stumbles upon a VH1 ‘Behind the Music’ program about the rise and fall of her life. She then watches as everyone from Bob to her crew hate on her and she finds out about her tragic death. Given the Diva’s Christmas Carol aired on VH1 I thought it was a funny in-joke and touch.
Tori’s Future is a definite letdown from Shatner and is a fairly generic limo driver. She see’s herself as a washed up has been who everyone hates.
Both films show the characters funerals with nobody attending but the Cratchit’s of the stories. The endings are also basically the same with them giving their Cratchit assistants raises and helping out the Tim’s. They both treat their cast and crew better and give money to charity. Tori ends up back with the ex (spoiler alert!).
Both of these movies fall into the category if my explanation sounds like something you will hate than you will hate them. If they sound like something you will enjoy than you will enjoy them. Movies like these are kind of like soap operas. We all know when watching a soap opera that it is stupid and the acting is terrible but if done with enough camp and silliness than they are entertaining. A guilty pleasure I guess.
So while I can’t recommend them, I must own that I enjoyed watching both of them. (I mean doing a strengths and weaknesses on these films is kind of ridiculous) It also probably helps that both leading ladies have reputations of being high maintenance and I’ve always liked Tori Spelling since 90210 days. Vanessa Williams also can sing which helps in those sections. Diva is definitely better than the Tori film but they are close.
Want a good laugh? Read this article of why Diva’s Christmas Carol is best holiday film ever. http://www.buzzfeed.com/lucaslascivious/why-a-divas-christmas-carol-is-the-best-holiday-54hg
I’m going to have to watch the silent films next to regain any kind of credibility I just lost from this review 😉
Also- the difference between these movies and the All Dogs Go to Heaven Christmas Carol which I hated so much is that wasn’t even fun. These movies know they are terrible and embrace it. You don’t cast Gary Coleman and William Shatner in your movie if you are trying to make a serious film. All Dogs is shrill, mean, obnoxious and stupid; whereas, these are just stupid and silly.
You know how I said it is impossible to do Christmas Carol wrong? Well, I was wrong. All Dogs Go to Heaven Christmas Carol did it. It’s a terrible movie. It makes the Smurfs look like Alistair Sims. It was shrill, mean, stupid, ugly and has a witch dog with demon spawn and a plan to hypnotize the dogs and destroy Christmas for some reason. That just screams Christmas Carol to me.
I wasn’t even going to review it but then I saw this video that sums it all up very well. If you like Nostalgia Critic style reviews of bad movies you might enjoy this . It certainly is better than the movie.
I want to keep this blog positive. It’s Christmas after all, so on to the next one.
I thought it would be fun to interrupt my Christmas Carol reviews and give you all a quick list. I am a huge sucker for holiday films, not just Christmas Carol. It is tough to make a Christmas movie I don’t like (4 Christmases and The Grinch I’m talking to you). Even more mediocre films like This Christmas and The Family Stone I found charming in their own way. I even watch the Hallmark Christmas movies every Saturday night. Yes they are completely cheesy and silly but I enjoy them.
So what are the films I make sure I catch every Christmas?
Here goes in no particular order.
White Chrsitmas- Classic cast, Bing Crosby singing White Christmas can’t be beat, great music and dance throughout. Completely cheesy love story but I don’t care a bit!
Christmas Story- Hilarious narration, love the imagination segments of a boy who just wants a red rider air rifle for Christmas, very funny but also has real heart, the scene with the bully is so well acted it moves me every time.
Elf- the male equivalent of Enchanted with a fairytale creature having to make it in big city NYC, Will Farrell is hilarious, great supporting cast including James Caan, and real heart with all the laughs
Muppets Christmas Carol- My personal favorite non-traditional take on the story, will have to wait for my review.
Christmas Carol 1984- A solid very faithful adaptation. Will have to wait for my review!
Christmas Carol 1951- Read the review
Charlie Brown Christmas- Our friend Charlie Brown overthinking Christmas again, worrying about the commercialization, ends up directing the pageant and picking the lowliest tree for the school, great jazz music by Vince Guaraldi, I love the ending when Charlie realizes it is all about the Babe in Bethlehem.
Joyeux Noel- A less well known holiday film that is absolutely lovely, about a truce between the fighting lines during a WW1 Christmas.
Arthur Christmas- Probably my favorite Santa film along with Elf. The North Pole has gone commercial! But Santa’s younger son Arthur still believes in the old ways and when he finds out a little girl is not going to get her present he is devastated. I love the elfs and the voicework and the heart. Great film.
It’s a Wonderful Life- What do you say about this wonderful Frank Capra film that hasn’t already been said. A moving reminder that we are all important.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated short)- What is it about the 60s that could make good versions of Dr Seuss that nobody can seem to follow today? I’ve hated, hated, hated, hated, hated every contemporary Dr Seuss retelling. This animated classic is everything the Jim Carrey version was not. It’s fun, bright, simple in its message with great music sung by Thurl Ravenscroft
Mickey’s Christmas Carol- Read the review
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (and other stop motion shorts)- These are just charming stop motion stories.
Home Alone- The first comedy I saw in the theaters and I remember laughing my head off. Watched it again a few years ago and it still makes me laugh. It would have been my dream to be left at home like Kevin! (I always wanted to do things on my own, in my own way).
Meet Me in St Louis- Judy Garland is my Hollywood idol. I just love her and this is certainly one of her best performances. It is not strictly a Christmas movie but we get “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and it is perfection.
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation- Family stressing you out during the holidays? Perfect film to watch and get a good laugh while you are at it. The scene with the squirrel gets me every time and when they say pledge of allegiance for grace. Ha!
Love Actually- Not every plotline works but most of them do. I love Colin Firth in almost everything and he is great here, same with Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Liam Nielsen, Kiera Knightly and more. I love a good romantic comedy and this is the Queen while still having real heart.
Shop Around the Corner/You’ve Got Mail- Anyone who follows my regular blog knows how important You’ve Got Mail is to me. I love Nora Ephron’s writing and think of her as my literary muse. People tend to discount it as fluff but not only is she incredibly witty but there is real heart their too. Shop Around the Corner is also lovely. Both are about people who hate each other in real life but in their writing they fall in love. Both are movies about work and change- 2 topics that always move me. If you think they are just another rom-com than I challenge you to watch them again and really pay attention to the writing. In the end, all I know is that I love them.
For a New Years movie I recommend When Harry Met Sally and The Apartment. Not that terrible Gary Marshall movie!
Trailer:
I already mentioned in my ‘Family Movies I Like that Others Do Not’ post that the Disney 2009 version of a Christmas Carol I really enjoy even though many others do not. Hopefully here I can explain a little bit more thoroughly why it works for me even if it is not perfect.
Differences-
The biggest difference is this is the only stop motion animated version so it has the feel of an animated film with the realism of live action. For what is basically a ghost story I think it works very well.
I think shots like this are beautiful
I love the scenes where we are flying through London although some go on a bit too long (As I have said I have a weakness for characters flying in movies. I almost always love it) .The colors are bright and the way it uses shadows and light is very beautiful.
Another big difference is this version tries to stay extremely close to the text. There are passages such as the men joyfully shoveling snow off the rooftops that is almost never included but it is here.
I also love in that same scene when they are flying past a steeple and cross we hear ‘hark the herald angels sing’ and Scrooge (in a direct quote from the book) justifies his lack of faith in Christ by asking the spirit about poor people on the sabbath day. (the same man who suggested workhouses and prisons is condemning the church for being closed on sabbath day! See he’s rationalized his lack of need for faith and Christ’s grace. It reminds me of how the Pharisee’s question Christ in the Bible)
““You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all,” said Scrooge. “Wouldn’t you?”
I have never seen a version that includes this but it is crucial to understanding the message I believe Dickens meant behind the story that not just shutting out Christmas, but rationalizing away Christ made Scrooge cold.
The Spirit says in response
““There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”
That is such an important moment in the story and almost never included.
Anyway, other differences is that 6 actors portray most of the characters Jim Carrey ( who plays Scrooge remarkably straight), Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn and Cary Elwes. All are very good in their differing roles. 
Another difference is it sticks close to the book in its portrayal of Scrooge. I went back and read the novella before starting the project and there is absolutely no attempt by Dickens to soften Scrooge or make him sarcastic. I don’t mind when versions do this but it is not canon. Listen to how Dickens describes Scrooge:
” Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.”
I mean the rooms get colder when he enters. He is a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” (again making the religious fall a part of his bitterness and anger). I actually think this version captures that Scrooge extremely well.
It is perhaps a more enjoyable movie when we think of it as telling a ghost story and less of a Christmas story. They include Marley’s jaw coming off and ignorance and want is dark and quite scary.
Strengths- As I said the closeness to the book is a real strength. I also like the performances and I know some hate the stop motion look but I think it is beautiful. The music by Alan Silvestri is wonderful including the closing credits song by Andrea Boceli- God Bless Us Everyone.
I wish more people had seen it because I would have loved to see what Zemeckis could have done with other classic stories like Jane Eyre using this medium.
There are many moments which the film gets right that few do.
I love that it is Tiny Tim’s declaration of Christ that first moves Scrooge. Nothing else has but as soon as he hears Bob talk of Tim he worries and begins to feel again.
“Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”
A lot of versions skip over this line trying to appeal to those of all faith but it is a loss in my opinion because can a nice pleasant holiday really be enough to get someone to change? No it is a higher religious conversion, a higher meaning to life and goodness, that prompts Scrooge to repent his ways.
I also like the way the appearance of all 3 spirits is very close to the descriptions in the book. This and the Muppets I believe come closest to the ethereal quality of Past. He looks like a candle, which is creative.
The ending is good when Scrooge see’s his body on the bed and is desperate for some sense of feeling at this death. Then we see the couple who is grateful the death gives them more time to pay back their loan (something often skipped) and then the Cratchit’s mourning the loss of Tim.
Weaknesses- Trying no doubt to appease modern viewers they do spend a bit too long in segments zipping through London. Particularly at the end when they are chased by black horses carrying a hearse it goes on too long and gets old. I typically fast forward that segment.
Also I don’t see why for the pawn shop scene Scrooge needs to be shrunken down with a high pitched voice. Another ploy I suppose to appease modern viewers.
It can be pretty dark and scary for kids so it will depend on your child’s tolerance for those kinds of films. The scene where Present dies is like no other version. It is very scary but I think it is cool. Like I said if you look at it as a ghost story (which it is) like Corpse Bride or something like that than it is less upsetting. But it is the area where the movie takes chances. It embraces Christmas Carol as the ‘scary ghost stories and tales of the glory of Christmases long, long ago’.
And I know for some who aren’t as in love with the book as I am the strict adherence may be a problem. They want a more nuanced, softer Scrooge than the book gives us. It quotes a lot from the text and makes no attempt like in Muppets or other versions to explain things in a modern way.
So all in all, I know it isn’t perfect but I really like it. It’s a definite part of my holiday viewing and I appreciate all the hard work which went into making it accurate, heart felt and visually captivating. Others do not care for it but that’s their opinion and this is mine. 🙂
Before beginning this project I asked around social media and my friends what their favorite version of Christmas Carol is. Some mentioned Muppets, Scrooged or other alternative versions but as far as traditional tellings Alistair Sim’s 1951 version came up the most. It is without a doubt the most critically lauded and with good cause. I would certainly rank it in my top 5.
Trailer:
Cast:
| Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge | |||
| Kathleen Harrison as Mrs. Dilber | |||
| Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit | |||
| Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Cratchit | |||
| Michael Hordern as Jacob Marley/Marley’s Ghost | |||
| George Cole as Young Ebenezer Scrooge | |||
| John Charlesworth as Peter Cratchit | |||
| Michael Dolan as The Ghost of Christmas Past | |||
| Francis de Wolff as The Ghost of Christmas Present | |||
| C. Konarski as Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come | |||
| Rona Anderson as Alice (Belle) | |||
| Carol Marsh as Fan | |||
| Brian Worth as Fred | |||
| Miles Malleson as Old Joe | |||
| Ernest Thesiger as the Undertaker | |||
| Glyn Dearman as Tiny Tim | |||
| Roddy Hughes as Fezziwig | |||
| Hattie Jacques as Mrs. Fezziwig | |||
| Louise Hampton as Laundress | |||
| Peter Bull as First Businessman, Narrator | |||
| Eliot Makeham as Mr. Snedrig | |||
| Hugh Dempster as Mr. Groper | |||
| Richard Pearson as Mr. Tupper | |||
| Jack Warner as Mr. Jorkin | |||
Before beginning the review I wanted to speak out against the colorized version I saw at my local library. Those colorized versions of classic black and white films are an absolute atrocity. It looks terrible, like a pastel crayon was put to the film and ruin the gorgeous lighting and shadows we only get with black and white. I’d rather you not watch the movie at all than watch a colorized version.
Moving on.
Scrooge- As I said Alistair Sim is Scrooge in this version. He was a comedic British actor and evidently at the time Dickens films were all the rage. Leonard Maltin does a fascinating introduction to the version I watched where he said David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Old Curiosity Shop and more had all been done and are considered masterpieces. I will definitely be looking up those films because the shots looked gorgeous.
A comedic, yet still serious, actor like Sim is perfect for Scrooge because it creates a subtle performance that is hard to get when it is just anger, no wit behind the barbs and attacks. He is excellent at resisting yet being moved by the visits all the way till Future. He feels he is too old to change and should just be done away with rather than try. That felt like a very human response.
Differences-
Now we have to remember that the original text is a novella and so when taken to the big screen it is going to need some fleshing out in certain sections. Each version adds to it in different ways and so far I haven’t seen a version that felt outrageous or so off keeping with the story that it angered me.
In this version we spend a lot of time with Past played by Michael Dolan. We see Fan who is older than Scrooge in this version. Scrooge’s Mother died in childbirth, which is why his father hates the sight of him. There is a moment when Scrooge realizes he has done this same thing to Fan’s son and it is devastating. We see Fan rescue Scrooge and then on her deathbed Scrooge storms out before he can hear her pleading with him to watch over her boy. Again, another devastating moment very well portrayed by Sim.
We also get the Fezziwig’s and the girlfriend this time named Alice. Some do not care for a man named Mr Jorkin played by Jack Warner. He woes Scrooge away from Fezziwig and then embezzles money from the company, only to have Scrooge and Marley rescue the business and claim 51% of ownership as a result making ‘Scrooge and Marley.
The reason I do not have a problem with this is because the book does not tell you how Scrooge went from Fezziwig to losing Belle and being consumed with money. We just know a new love has captured his heart and that he ‘fears the world too much’. Something had to happen to have made him fearful.
He was a businessman so it is natural to assume he did business with all kinds of unsavory characters, especially the further down the line he got. In fact, he compromises his judgement working with Jorkin once and as is often the case once leads to another, to another. He alone is still responsible for becoming the man he becomes. There are after all other men including Fezziwig who chose to not take the Jorkin bait.
So no that doesn’t bother me. In fact, I found it an interesting take on the story. Like I said something has to have happened to have made him grow cold to the world.
The rest of the tale is pretty standard. They do make a bigger deal of Mrs Dilber who is his charmwoman (servant). She is one of the women who sells his things in the pawn shop scene and was played by a well known actress Kathleen Harrison who is very funny in the crazy scrooge segments (and so is Sim).
Strengths- All the acting is wonderful . Sim is great. I love Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit, and Michael Hordem is my favorite Marley. The scene of Marley’s ghost is so well done. The music by Richard Addinsell is perfectly paced to build momentum towards our reveal. The special effects of the era still look good and I love the way Marley looks tired and worn down. It’s like every word is an effort.
This version also remembers the Christian element to the novella. To Dickens, Scrooge just hasn’t ignored a pleasant holiday but he has ignored Jesus Christ and His gift. At least to me, the book is so clear that Tiny Tim remembers who died on the cross and his foil Scrooge does not.
Present tells Scrooge “‘the child born in bethlehem. He does not live in men’s heart one day a year but in all the days . You have chosen not to seek him in your heart; therefore, you shall come with me and seek him in the hearts of men of goodwill”. That’s a message so often forgotten in most versions.
Because of the religious themes there is a real sense of repentance not just remorse at the end. As a Christian I find the ending very moving and definitely puts this version at the top of my watch list every season.
The cinematography is uniformly strong with gorgeous shadows ,lighting and atmosphere. They never go for the easy angle or uninteresting shot. It reminds me of watching a Hitchcock film, that rich in cinematography and direction. The acting is great all around and like I said the music is one of the best with carols coming at just the right moments (to emphasize the religious themes of repentance and atonement of Christ using carols).
Weaknesses- There aren’t that many. But if I had to nitpick the past section maybe goes on a bit too long but it’s only an 86 minute movie so not really. The Cratchit’s are great. Tiny Tim is great. The scene with Alice as an adult at the poorhouse is very moving.
I guess it is not the most kid friendly version with a lot of dialogue and definite scares but I don’t see that as a weakness because there are so many that are kid friendly (as my recent entries have shown!)
All in all a definite holiday classic that is a favorite of most film lovers and casual holiday moviewatchers alike and for good reason.
So I have made it my mission to watch all the major animated theatrical releases this year and as we are nearing December there were only 2 left in the docket- Penguins of Madagascar and Song of the Sea (which hopefully will play by me in December).
I debated whether to see Penguins because I actually have not seen any of the previous Madagascar films. The first one came out when I was just home from my Mormon mission and wasn’t really in a movie-going mode yet. Then I didn’t hear great things and so I never bothered to see any of them. (I am not a big Chris Rock fan and I really dislike the Shrek movies so not much appeal.
But I had set the goal to see all the animated movies and my favorite critics over at What the Flick said they laughed their heads off so I decided to go and check it out.
And you know what? It’s actually really funny. It reminded me of the first Naked Gun movie. Just one joke after another and they all made me laugh.
It’s not as inventive or creative as Lego or Mr Peabody and Sherman which also made me laugh but I was thoroughly entertained by the film and the kids around me were laughing long and hard.
Like I said, it is a spoof on spy movies with the penguins Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (Conrad Vernon) and Private (Christopher Knights) on the case to track down an Octopus named Dave (John Malcovich) who is trying to kidnap the penguins because all the zoo patrons think they are so cute.
Our intrepid crew is aided by a band of high tech super spies called the North Wind led by a wolf named Classified who is voiced brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch (not that many celebrity voices in this, which was refreshing).
They go through all kinds of hijinks but the plot is really secondary as is the animation, which does the job it needs to do.
With a movie like this you either think it’s funny and laugh or you don’t. Everyone has a different sense of humor, so all I can say is that I laughed a lot. So job well done!
It also doesn’t have any of that cheeky ‘wink wink’ tawdry humor other Dreamworks films have (like Shrek). I really hate that. Most of the jokes are word humor like when they make fun of Dave’s ordinary name for a super-villain or when Dave skypes in and his audio doesn’t work. It’s a very tightly written funny script.
I’d be curious to know if you all found it funny. Like I said, humor is so subjective and there isn’t a ton else to recommend this film. Let me know what you think!
Overall Grade- B (I’d give Peabody and Sherman a B+ and Lego Movie an A+ because both made me laugh a lot and were more visually inventive than Penguins but they are all great fun!)
This makes it the 12 animated film I’ve seen out of 2014 and so far I’d rate them- Lego Movie, Tale of Princess Kaguya, Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Mr Peabody and Sherman, Book of Life, Penguins of Madagascar, Rio 2, Planes: Search and Rescue, The Nut Job, Legends of Oz. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the year! Only 2 I didn’t enjoy on some level. Hope you have too.