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.
Melissa Sturm as Smurfette and the Smurf of Christmas Past
Fred Armisen as Brainy Smurf and the Smurf of Christmas Present
Gary Basaraba as Hefty Smurf and the Smurf of Christmas Future
Anton Yelchin as Clumsy Smurf
Hank Azaria as Gargamel
I will start out this post by saying I have no nostalgic feelings towards The Smurfs. The TV show aired from 1981-1989 and I knew about it but my family didn’t have a TV for spurts when I was young and most of the time I had chores on Saturday morning when it aired.
That said, I think the designs are cute. I went into the recent movies with an open mind as I always try to do and boy was I underwhelmed. I would rather watch Dinosaur, my lowest Disney canon film, than either Smurf film again.
What makes them so especially putrid is not the terrible animation, the horrible live action merging, dumb plot, or the cringe-worthy puns. All that is awful but the constant product placement for Sony products is so distasteful. I am aware that product placement has always been a part of children’s programming but I don’t recall anything being as overt and constant as in The Smurfs movies. It is in almost every scene.
Anyway, the Smurf movies will always go down as 2 of the worst movies I’ve ever seen because of all the horribleness and the product placement so naturally I wasn’t very excited to watch Smurfs Christmas Carol but at least it was short unlike movies 1 and 2.
And my friends it’s not very good but it is not as bad as the movies. This is what I like to call a Shoney movie. When I was a girl we would drive by this chain restaurant called Shoney’s and my grandma would say ‘Shoney’s, it’s not that bad’. We would all laugh because why go to a restuarant that is ‘not that bad’ when you can go some place that is actually good. Same with this movie. Why watch it when we’ve got great holiday films for kids like Muppets, Mickey, Charlie Brown etc.
But let’s talk about the short. There was one fascinating aspect to it. Recently I had a vigorous debate about the values of hand drawn animation vs computerized. I said that the variety we seem to be getting in plots, characters since the advent of CG makes me feel positive toward the movement. There are absolutely gorgeous CG films.
Here’s what Smurfs Christmas Carol taught me. Good CG can hold it’s own along with good hand drawn but bad CG is infinitely worse than bad hand drawn.
Differences- To say this is a lose adaptation of Dickens novel is being generous. There is no Cratchit’s, no Jacob Marley. The only similarity is a grumpy man and 3 ghosts.
We start out with Grouchy Smurf being upset with Christmas and he doesn’t want to put the star on the communal tree. This upsets all of smurfdom and Christmas appears to be ruined (although why someone named Grouchy surprises the smurfs when he is grouchy is a bit of a head scratcher). We learn that Grouchy has always wanted a hanglider but every year he gets a hat (which let’s be honest a white hat every year would make me grouchy!).
When Grouchy storms out he goes to his mushroom and Papa Smurf gathers with Brainy, Smurfette and others and makes a potion that will teach Grouchy a lesson. When Grouchy falls under the spell all of the sudden it turns into 2D and it looks a million times better. I don’t think I have seen a switchover like that in a long time and it was shocking.
Doesn’t this look so much better than the image above?
Smurfette is Past and we learn about Grouchy’s disappointment over the hats. The movie condemns him for this but why does he need a hat every year? But evidently this is an incredibly selfish desire on his part to want something different.
Smurfette Past and Grouchy
Brainy Smurf is Christmas Present and we learn that Papa Smurf actually individualizes the hats for each Smurf. So it is super selfish but it still doesn’t really seem selfish to me. It seems like a lazy gift giver to do the same thing every year.
Next is Heft Smurf as Christmas Future and this becomes oddly It’s a Wonderful Life where everything in Smurfdom is affected because Grouchy didn’t put the star on the tree. Gargamel has even captured everyone.
Gargamel is about to put Grouchy in his vat that will take way his smurf essence and as he enters the water he says ‘I’ll change’.
So everything is made right and we are back to ugly CG and it turns out Grouchy’s hat is a hang glider after all…Groan.
Strengths- Honestly seeing the difference in the hand drawn and CG was really interesting for me. 2 different studios did both parts and you could tell.
The animation is Shoney’s level at best but the Smurfs are cute so fans will probably enjoy seeing them.
The voicework is pretty good but other than that not much I can recommend. The story with the hats actually makes me feel sorry for Grouchy. Give him something else for goodness sakes. What kind of strange commune is this that every gift has to be the same every year?
Overall I recommend it only for Smurf fans. It’s Shoney level but there is so much better out there.
I mentioned in my last post I would like to organize these Scrooge reviews but the truth is they will end up being jumbled up because I get access to them at different times depending on when they air, are available from the library and other opportunities to watch come up.
So I had the 2004 musical version called A Christmas Carol: A Musical on my DVR and gave it a watch last night. It was my first time viewing this version. I’ve decided to not give grades for these movies but to just make note of the differences, strengths and weaknesses in each adaptation. So, let’s talk about what makes this version special!
2004 A Christmas Carol: The Musical
The trailer:
In this version we get a musical in the style of Oliver! Music is by Alan Menken with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and it is very solid songs.
Kelsey Grammer as Ebenezer Scrooge
Jane Krakowski as Ghost of Christmas Past/Lamplighter
Jesse L. Martin as Ghost of Christmas Present/Sandwich Board Man
Geraldine Chaplin as Ghost of Christmas Future/Blind Old Hag
Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley’s Ghost
Edward Gower as Bob Cratchit
Linzi Hateley as Mrs. Cratchit
Jacob Collier as Tiny Tim
Scrooge- Kelsey Grammar, he’s pretty good although the hunched over, old impression feels like something that would work better on the stage. His singing voice is very good.
Differences-
Opening sequence which is usually at the counting house is at the stock exchange.
Singing throughout not just the occasional song
The Jacob Marley scene is unique. Instead of just Jacob you have an array of ghosts that do a number similar to Tevye’s Dream in Fiddler on the Roof.
They also integrate the story of Dickens father going to the debtor prison as part of Scrooge’s story. There is a scene in a courtroom where Scrooge’s father tells his son after being convicted ‘save your pennies. Make your fortune and keep it’.
We see Scrooge working in a shoe factory as a child which no other version had done which I’ve seen and that actually makes sense.
They use the Cratchit’s less than other versions and have Scrooge’s mother say the ‘God Bless Us Everyone’ line.
Other differences are you see Marley die which I don’t recall in other versions. Scrooge actually seems upset by this.
This is the only version I know of where Ghost of Future is a woman and not a grim reaper type.
All of the ghosts are seen in earlier scenes interacting with Scrooge. Ghost of Present is very well played by Rent’s Jesse L Martin who has such a great bass voice. He is a showman who puts on a play (which he had invited Scrooge too earlier) as part of his demonstration to Scrooge
You can see in this shot how sunken in everyone’s eyes look. The makeup made everyone look very gaunt and sickly
Christmas Past is played by Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock fame and she shows Scrooge a book with the memories that they dive into, which is a unique take
Another difference is Scrooge refuses to give Fezziwig a loan just before his girl Emily (Jennifer Love Hewitt) breaks up with him. That was a very effective scene with Scrooge’s mentor realizing how cold his pupil has sunk.
Strengths- The music is a strength. I didn’t like every song but for the most part they are solid musical numbers that have the Menken flair (lyrics aren’t always great but it’s tough to be original with Christmas music).
All of the singing is excellent. Grammar has a lovely voice as well as Martin, Krakowski, and Gower. There is also a good chemistry amongst the cast. They all felt like a community, supporting one another (or not in the case of Scrooge). I surprisingly thought Jennifer Love Hewitt was effective in her brief scene as Emily.
The special effects with the ghosts, and various changes to the story with Scrooge’s father and refusing Fezziwig’s loan were interesting and effective. Also I thought the unique Ghost of Future was good. Nice to see some dialogue and personality in that character.
Weaknesses- Jason Alexander is miscast as Marley. I don’t know if it is just weird for me seeing George Costanza as Marley or if his performance is that off. It just didn’t quite gel.
Another issue is the makeup is very badly done and the lighting makes characters look kind of gaunt and pale, even Martin who is supposed to be alive and boisterous had sunken eyes and an emaciated look about him. It lessened the effects of Ignorance and Want because everyone already looked like them.
The finale is moving and it is nice to see Fran again but I missed the desperation and real intensity the scene normally has. It felt more like an inspirational group number than a pleading call for mercy.
Overall, I enjoyed the version. It has it’s technical issues with the makeup and lighting, but I thought the songs were good, performances pretty good and the changes in the story for the most part worked and were interesting. So, if it is on your dvr give it a watch.
I am excited to announce to all of you my next project. Consider it my Christmas gift to all of you wonderful readers. I have always loved Charles Dicken’s Christmas Carol. I see it at our local theater, Hale Center Theater Orem, every year and watch as many film versions as I can. This year I figured let’s hunt down some more unusual one’s, as well as the favorites and blog about it. This should cover everything from silent movies to animation to Muppets. I’m really excited!!
I won’t go through the basic plot for each review because they are all basically the same, but I will note different choices in each version, talk about the leads and each strength and weakness.
If you live under a rock and don’t know the story of A Christmas Carol it is about a Victorian banker named Ebeneezer Scrooge who has allowed his heart to grow hard over a fear of poverty. Dickens father was sent to debtor’s prison and it was a great fear of his and all of the Victorian era. You can get a real sense of this gloom in his novel Little Dorrit (if you like Christmas Carol I highly recommend reading it). Scrooge has allowed himself to turn fear into coldness towards his fellow humans. This is demonstrated through his hatred and disgust of Christmas. He has a beleaguered clerk Bob Cratchit who remains positive despite everything. Bob has a son named Tiny Tim who is on crutches and in failing health.
Scrooge also has a nephew of a sister who died in childbirth. Seeing his cheerful nephew is painful for Scrooge because of his sister’s memory. It is another event that has made him bitter and cold. One Christmas Eve Scrooge gets a visit from his departed partner Jacob Marley. Jacob was selfish and cold like Scrooge but he feels sorry for his friend and arranges a way for him to be rescued from purgatory. Scrooge will have to be visited by 3 spirits- the ghost of Christmas past, present and future.
Through seeing his past and what made him bitter, the present and what he should be grateful for, and the future that is to be dreaded, Scrooge is humbled and decides to change and embrace Christmas and joy in life.
Honestly I’ve yet to see a version of this story that I haven’t liked on some level. It just moves me (yes even Smurfs and Tori Spelling…). I love the story because it is about seemingly lost causes and the fact there aren’t any. Everyone has potential for redemption and hope.
I personally see that redemption through Jesus and His great gift at Christmas but even if you are not Christian the message of hope in Christmas Carol is something to share and never forget.
So consider this my gift to all of you and my attempt to spread some hope during the holidays!
Bah Humbug!! 🙂
I am not sure what order I am going to do the posts or how I will group them but here are the films I plan on taking a look at over the next month. It will probably depend on how soon I am able to get a hold of different versions.
