Scrooge 24: Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol

December 11, 2014December 11, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

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.

Scrooge 23: 3 Sesame Street Holiday Films

December 11, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

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.

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So let’s talk about 3 Sesame Street Movies

First our Christmas Carol movie-

A Sesame Street Christmas Carol

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.

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Christmas Eve on Sesame Street-

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.

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A Muppet Family Christmas

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.

Christmas_Song_in_Muppet_Family_Christmas — Hilarious segment when Swedish Chef tries to cook Big Bird for Christmas dinner.

staltler and waldorf — Totally epic to have Statler and Waldorf with Cookie Monster. Mind blown!

bert and ernie play — Bert, Ernie, and Grover put on the Night Before Christmas

MuppetFamilyChristmas-MuppetBabies — They watch a family movie of the Muppet Babies

jim henson — We 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!!

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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!

Have a great evening!

Scrooge 21: An American Christmas Carol

December 9, 2014December 10, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

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.

anamericanchristmascarol-04

Scrooge 20: Stingiest Man in Town 1978

December 9, 2014December 9, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

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!

Scrooge 19: Scrooge- Albert Finney

December 8, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

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.

Scrooge 18: A Christmas Carol (Patrick Stewart)

December 6, 2014December 6, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Like your Dickens by the book? Then this is the version for you! Even more than the Disney this version starring Patrick Stewart from 1999 is incredibly faithful to the source material even including segments never shown in other versions. It was made for TNT (kind of amazing it wasn’t even a network) but it has the look of a PBS film for their Masterpiece Theater series. It is incredibly well cast and all in all I kind of love it.

Trailer:

The Cast:

Patrick Stewart – Ebenezer Scrooge
Richard E. Grant – Bob Cratchit
Joel Grey – Ghost of Christmas Past
Ian McNeice – Albert Fezziwig
Saskia Reeves – Mrs. Cratchit
Desmond Barrit – Ghost of Christmas Present
Bernard Lloyd – Jacob Marley
Dominic West – Fred
Trevor Peacock – Old Joe
Liz Smith – Mrs. Dilber
Elizabeth Spriggs – Mrs. Riggs
Kenny Doughty – Young Ebenezer Scrooge
Laura Fraser – Belle
Celia Imrie – Mrs. Bennett
Claire Slater – Martha Cratchit
Tim Potter – Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Scrooge- Aside from the Jim Carrey version Patrick Stewart looks the most like Scrooge in the book. He is supposed to have a pointed noise and for me the bald head screams a low maintenance cold Scrooge. In the book Scrooge is described as:

“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, 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.

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect.”

For me Stewart has the pointed nose, shrivelled cheeks, stiff gait and grating voice. It’s so much fun to see something so close to Dickens original vision. I like that he does seem to love his work but there is no attempt to soften him. This makes the redemption feel all the more real and palatable, like a true conversion. My favorite Scrooge’s are one’s that mirror the conversion of Paul in the Bible. He may be my favorite Scrooge…

Differences- Honestly there aren’t any differences from the book. They even include the lighthouse scene that I don’t believe is in any other Christmas Carol movie. I’ve always thought it was a shame because it is one of the most poetic parts of the book”

“The Spirit did not tarry here, but bade Scrooge hold his robe, and passing on above the moor, sped—whither? Not to sea? To sea. To Scrooge’s horror, looking back, he saw the last of the land, a frightful range of rocks, behind them; and his ears were deafened by the thundering of water, as it rolled and roared, and raged among the dreadful caverns it had worn, and fiercely tried to undermine the earth.

Built upon a dismal reef of sunken rocks, some league or so from shore, on which the waters chafed and dashed, the wild year through, there stood a solitary lighthouse. Great heaps of sea-weed clung to its base, and storm-birds—born of the wind one might suppose, as sea-weed of the water—rose and fell about it, like the waves they skimmed.

But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire, that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea. Joining their horny hands over the rough table at which they sat, they wished each other Merry Christmas in their can of grog; and one of them: the elder, too, with his face all damaged and scarred with hard weather, as the figure-head of an old ship might be: struck up a sturdy song that was like a Gale in itself”

That’s just beautiful and they do it in such a touching way here. Tim starts singing Silent Night and then we see the lighthouse men singing Silent Night, men on a ship, coal miners. I wish I could find a clip because I really love it.

Aside from that everything is straight from the book.

Strengths- It reminds me in it’s look and feel of the great BBC miniseries North and South (my favorite book), Little Dorrit, Great Expectations and more. The lighting, costumes, sets are a beautiful palate and it’s just a pleasant picture to look at.

The cast is uniformly strong with the Cratchit family being one of my favorites of any version. It feels like a poor family (unlike say the Reginald Owens version) but it feels like an actual family. They have chemistry together and there is a great warmth to the scenes.

Belle is very pretty. At the party she has a beautiful yellow dress and then when the break up happens we see the change in her and she is no longer in bright clothing. At the party she is dancing in the snow happy and then she says goodbye in a snowstorm and it is just so lovingly shot and acted.

Dominic West is very good as Fred and there again is a warmth to him that seems hard to resist. He’s not as perfectly perky as some versions.

There is a beautiful moment when Fred and friends are playing their games and Present wants to leave but Scrooge looks at it longingly ‘can we stay another moment. I haven’t played a game in so long’. I found that very real and touching almost like a kid looking in a shop window longing for the great toys inside. It reminds me of the men who dine with Christ not knowing it is Him and they plead with Him to tarry with them a little bit longer.

The ending feels like a real religious conversion. And Stewart laughs the way a man would probably laugh at such a moment. Most Crazy Scrooge’s don’t feel natural to the character but this does. Almost more like a sneeze that he can’t help but let out.

Scrooge goes to church at the end which I always appreciate because it shows it was not just a conversion to a pleasant holiday but that Scrooge has accepted the proclamation of Tiny Tim and embraced Christ. It’s hard to believe this was a made for cable TV movie in 90s. It looks much better than that.

The score by Stephen Warbeck is perfect. One of my favorites. It’s not trying to be a horror movie with over the top slides and scales but just a subtle, simple score punctuated by First Noel and God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman (and Silent Night as I mentioned) at just the right moments.

Weaknesses- The Fezziwig scene is not my favorite. It reminds me more of the Thénardiers in Les Mis than Fezziwigs. They aren’t evil like Thenardiers but just their costumes and boisterousness is overdone. The dancing in the scene is great but just not my favorite Fezziwig’s. A little too foppish. This is after all supposed to be a successful businessman.

Past and Future could have been better. Future is your standard grim reaper puppet character and Past by Joel Gray just feels off to me. A little too cold and collected. Maybe even too soft spoken.

But all of that are small quibbles in an extremely satisfying picture. Bravo to all involved for creating something truly memorable and that is a favorite of many people. If you want to get a feel for the book without reading it this is the best one by a long shot in that regard.

Scrooge 17: Christmas Carol 1938 Reginald Owen

December 6, 2014December 6, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Other than Alistair Sim this version with Reginald Owen of Christmas Carol is probably the most well known traditional retelling. It’s a fine version but not one of my favorites mostly for a few odd choices it makes.

You guys know I am pretty open minded when it comes to interpretations of this story. It’s a novella so every filmmaker is going to make it their own but in this case I feel the changes slow down the picture and even though it is only an hour and 9 minutes it feels long.

Trailer: (Introduction by Lionel Barrymore who was famous for his Scrooge on Broadway and originally offered the part )

Cast:

Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge
Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit
Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit
Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim Cratchit
Barry MacKay as Fred (Scrooge’s Nephew)
Lynne Carver as Bess (Fred’s fiance)
Bunny Beatty as Martha Cratchit (uncredited)
June Lockhart as Belinda Cratchit (uncredited)
John O’Day as Peter Cratchit (uncredited)
Leo G. Carroll as Marley’s Ghost
Ann Rutherford as Spirit of Christmas Past
Lionel Braham as Spirit of Christmas Present
D’Arcy Corrigan as Spirit of Christmas Future

Scrooge- Reginald Owen is fine as Scrooge. He is kind of like the Scott version, a bit softer than the best versions in my opinion but perfectly fine performance.

Differences: (There are a lot in this one)

It takes a long time to get to the spirits. Again it’s only 69 minutes and it takes almost 30 to get to Past.

Big difference is Scrooge fires Cratchit because of a snowball fight and his wanting the day off. Cratchit then spends the rest of the movie overcompensating to his family and lying about it. I wonder if this was a Depression era influence? Losing your job may have seemed like a tougher thing than having a terrible one?

We also learn that Fred and his girl Bess are not married because of financial worries. They hope Scrooge will help them to be married. This doesn’t really make sense as he is the only child and surely some money from Scrooge’s father would have gone to Fan? Given Bess is a simple girl with no dowry I don’t see why marriage would have been a problem. It seems a strange problem to create for the story.

Another difference is when Marley comes he waves at 3 men to come and get the intruder. Again this just stalls the story and hurts the momentum.

Past takes Scrooge to see his childhood self, a part which can be skipped on occasion. And we actually see Scrooge crying for a long bit, which I found moving (it’s only like 5 seconds but it feels long and heart wrenching).

Then we get to Fezziwig’s and Scrooge is still a young lad so there is no Belle romance, no betrayal. Again a strange choice. In this film Scrooge’s betrayal is to Fred and Bess not to a love of his life. Not quite as compelling.

Present comes and instead of going to Cratchit’s or Fred’s right away we go to church. I normally like when the religious elements of the story are highlighted but this scene doesn’t really add anything but for Scrooge to see that Bess and Fred really are in love and to get some pretty music (a great boys choir sings).

Then we have Fred and boys skating outside the church and more with Fred and Bess.

And Present takes him to the Cratchit’s where we get a long sequence of them getting the goose, cooking, eating, talking. Cratchit tells Martha he has been sacked. It just feels slow.

The last major difference is after Present instead of immediately meeting Future Scrooge is back in his bed smiling and there is a montage of his daydreams about Christmas and how wonderful it is.

This feels too soon and makes the final victory at the cemetery less convincing because he already seemed converted a few minutes earlier. If he has already decided to change and embrace Christmas than why make him go to the cemetery?

Strengths- I don’t want to be too hard on it because it’s not unwatchable by any means. The acting is good, it is shot well and the restoration is clear and crisp in the version I saw.

The music is fine, all the sets look good and it has a pleasant feel about it. I enjoyed watching it but it just isn’t my favorite.

The Tiny Tim is excellent and has a beautiful singing voice and there is really only one song ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ sung at the church and I enjoyed the number.

Reginald Owens pours his heart into the role and he is fine as Scrooge.

Weaknesses- I said most of them. They just added the wrong things which make it feel slow even though it is not a long movie. Losing Belle in favor of Bess and Fred doesn’t work and makes the conversion feel less personal to Scrooge.

Like I said you can tell it is a lovingly produced film. They took some chances and I respect that but for me most of them didn’t quite work. Still, if you end up watching it you won’t be miserable. You’ll enjoy it just fine.

Scrooge 16: Scrooged

December 5, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

I always say with comedies you either think something is funny and laugh or you don’t. Comedy is so subjective and I’ve had too many experiences to count where I thought something was hilarious and shown it to a friend and get only an awkward courtesy laugh from them in response. You’d think what is humorous would be more universal but I have found that to be almost never the case.

So here we have the most comedic take on Christmas Carol, the anti-Carol, you might say- 1988’s Scrooged staring Bill Murray. I think it is a very funny movie. It lags in a few spots but it keeps me laughing consistently for a hearty recommendation. If you don’t find it funny there isn’t much else to recommend about the film.

Trailer:

Cast:

This movie has some of the most hilarious cameos of any movie I’ve seen. Some of the best laughs are people not on the official cast list.

Bill Murray as Francis Xavier “Frank” Cross
Karen Allen as Claire Phillips
John Forsythe as Lew Hayward
John Glover as Brice Cummings
Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk
David Johansen as the Ghost of Christmas Past
Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present
Robert Mitchum as Preston Rhinelander
Nicholas Phillips as Calvin Cooley
Michael J. Pollard as Herman
Alfre Woodard as Grace Cooley
Mabel King as Gramma
John Murray as James Cross
Wendie Malick as Wendie Cross
Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Cross, Frank and James’s father
Joel Murray as Guest

Scrooge: Bill Murray plays Scrooge who goes by the name of Frank Cross in this and he is great as always. He pulls off the grumpy corporate executive probably better than the more tender scenes but his deadpan delivery is very funny.

Differences- This is definitely a lose adaptation designed to get laughs but there is 3 spirits, a Marley figure, a grumpy Scrooge character and a beleaguered assistant, so some elements remain in the story.

John Forsythe is actually pretty creepy as Lew Hayward with some decent special effects. They use the elevator very cleverly in the movie and Murray is filming a telecast of Christmas Carol while his own version is occurring, which brought some good laughs. My personal favorite scene is when the censor objects to a wardrobe in the telecast. Then there is a running gag where she gets hit in the head by various items and as someone who finds Hollywood’s attempt to censor itself with the MPAA to be a total joke I found it very funny.

Christmas Past is a cab driver played by David Johansen and he is nuts but in a humorous way.

Christmas Present is my favorite played by Carol Kane and she finds ways of injuring Scrooge both on purpose and by accident. Haven’t we all wanted to slap Scrooge in the face in one version or another? And it’s always funny when someone who sounds sweet and looks cute actually has a temper. She talks all sweet and then slaps him as hard as she can and that’s just funny.

Karen Allen from Raiders of the Lost Arc plays the Belle character who wants to serve others while Frank only thinks of himself. They had good chemistry together and I bought them as a couple.

Christmas Future isn’t an actor but a prop from the production going on that ends up in the elevator. He has Ignorance and Want inside his belly in a creative way.

In this version Fred is actually Frank’s Brother John and Alfre Woodard (who I always like) is the Cratchit character named Grace Cooley. She has a son who is a mute and refuses to talk to anyone.

But my favorite performance is Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk. He is fired by Frank after offering some timid criticism of his rather grisly Scrooge promo. He comes back to get vengeance on Frank and it is hilarious. It feels like a rif on Die Hard but that came out the same year so I guess it is just making fun of all the over-the-top action movies of the 80s.

Strengths- As I said the interweaving stories of the production and Frank’s visitations are very clever. Most of the gags made me laugh so I guess that means it’s a successful comedy!

Eliot Loudermilk, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, David Johansen and John Forsythe are all great fun.

Murray is a funny as always and it’s all directed competently by Richard Donner of Superman fame.

Weakness- I guess a weakness is it doesn’t really give much to enjoy if you don’t find it funny but not all movies can be everything. It’s definitely non-traditional and a few of the jokes are more designed for an 80s audience and are perhaps a bit dated.

Other than that I really enjoyed it. So bah humbug and have some good laughs!

Scrooge 15: Flintstones Christmas Carol

December 5, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

We’ve done 4 more serious Scrooge versions in a row so let’s take a quick minute to talk about a silly one- Flintstones Christmas Carol.

It’s not good per say but I didn’t think it was awful either. I think if someone said ‘you are in charge of making a Flintstones Christmas Carol’ I don’t think I could have come up with something this good and there is something to be said for that.

Scrooge- The gimmick behind this version is that Bedrock Community Players is putting on a play and the whole town is involved including Fred who is has let his lead role go to his head .

You kind of have to go with the world of Flintstones and assume that Christmas would exist (and there is a line about Jesus) even though Jesus clearly would not have lived in caveman times. Just go with it.

So Fred is obsessed with the play and forgets Wilma and Pebbles . At the same time we see the actual play and it is a pretty faithful narration and the animation isn’t terrible.

Mr Slate plays Marley and then when others get sick Wilma ends up playing Past and Belle making Fred realize what a Scrooge he is being.

Differences- Like I said we are in Flintstone world and there is a play of Christmas Carol within the movie.

Strengths- It does contain a fair amount of content from the story. The voicework is pretty good. The animation is bright and colorful. This isn’t that bad. Is it good? No but I’ve seen worse. (Better than Smurfs and All Dogs but worse than Disney or Mickey).

Weakneses- The world is just too goofy for Christmas Carol. It probably shouldn’t have even been attempted and it is strange that they still tried to the sets Victorian for the play. This is caveman. how would they know what that all looked like? I know overthinking it but it is sort of strange.

My advice is put on Mickey or Muppets instead but this isn’t terrible if your kids end up watching it. I haven’t seen much Flintsones. Is it worth watching?