My Review of Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

 

Written by Burny Mattinson And Tony L. Marino And Ed Gombert And Don Griffith And Alan Young And Alan Dinehart

Directed by Burny Mattinson

Marley: "Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits. Listen to 'em. Do what they say, or your chains will be heavier than mine. Farewell, Ebenezer. Farewell..."

I had to get in at least one more version of A Christmas Carol in before the big event next week and this popped up on my social media feeds due to it's anniversary this week. It's been forty two years.

Now we all know the story but let's have the Disney version. In this one we get Scrooge McDuck (Alan Young) as Ebenezer Scrooge and it's true to form. He's not particularly enthusiastic about Christmas and wasn't best thrilled that his long suffering employee Bob Cratchit (Wayne Allwine) aka Mickey Mouse wanted time off for Christmas Day. 

On top of that, Scrooge also had a way of rationalising not giving money to the poor and being openly scornful of his cheery nephew, Fred (Clarence Nash) aka Donald Duck. The only person that Scrooge seemed to admire was his deceased partner, Jacob Marley (Hal Smith) aka Goofy. There's a lesson to be learned from the former Jacob Marley as Scrooge was about to find out.

The lesson came in the form of three Ghosts - Christmas Past/Jiminy Cricket (Eddie O'Carroll), Christmas Present/Willie the Giant (Will Ryan) and of course, Christmas Future/Pete (Will Ryan). This meant getting glimpses of Scrooge's past, including a lost love named Isabelle/Daisy Duck (Patricia Parris), the potential death of Tiny Tim (Dick Billingsley) and his own demise.

Of course it did end as these adaptations normally do. Scrooge had a change of heart, rewarded the poor while promoting Bob Cratchit and giving toys to Tiny Tim and his siblings. It's a very sweet ending to a rather brisk adaptation of the most popular Christmas story.

- Minnie Mouse appeared as Mrs Cratchit while the Weasels were gravediggers. Ratty and Moley collected for the poor.

- This was released with a reissue of The Rescuers (1977).

- Standout music: Oh, What A Merry Christmas Day used at the start and end of the film.

- Chronology: 1800s Christmas Eve and Day. 

It's been a long while since I've seen Mickey's Christmas Carol but for a movie that's shorter than half an hour, it's a lot of fun. Great use of the characters, some funny lines and a heartwarming ending.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of A Christmas Carol (1938)

 

Written by Hugo Butler

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

Christmas Present: "No! You don't like Christmas!"

Scrooge: "Yes! Yes I do! I like Christmas! I LOVE Christmas!"

Spoiler alert: This isn't the first time I've reviewed something in relation to A Christmas Carol and it might be the last time either in 2025 either. We'll see. However this version was a first time viewing for me, so there's that.

Taking on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge was Reginald Owen. While it's not my favourite version, it's still a pretty great performance nonetheless as Ebenezer was the most miserly of men in Victorian London.

The film started with him berating loyal employee Bob Cratchit (Gene Lockhart) for wanting Christmas Day off to spend with his family. On top of that, Scrooge then fired Cratchit for a harmless snowball first. Cratchit was too embarrassed to admit that he had been sacked, even though his daughter got it out of him.

Keeping with tradition, of course there were the three Ghosts. Christmas Past (Ann Rutherford) showed a time when Ebenezer was a more considerate person who was close to his sister, Fan (Elvira Stevens) as well as his early days in business.

Christmas Present (Lionel Braham) appeared to show Scrooge a look into his nephew Fred (Barry MacKay) and his fiancée Bess (Lynne Carver) enjoying their engagement party without Scrooge ruining the mood for everyone as well as a look into the Cratchit household and death for Tiny Tim (Terry Kilburn).

Christmas Yet To Come (D'Arcy Corrigan) presented Scrooge with the harshest lesson if the latter wouldn't change for the better. If course, it worked and Scrooge changed for the better and Tiny Tim didn't die. 

- Marley's Ghost was played by Leo G. Carroll. Other prominent cast members included June Lockhart, Ronald Sinclair and Forrester Harvey to name a few.

- Lionel Barrymore was originally set to start as Scrooge but had to drop out due to arthritis.

- Standout music: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, O Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night, Holy Night.

- Chronology: Christmas Eve and Day in Victorian London.

You know what, for a first time, this was great. It's a short but lovely version of A Christmas Carol and I do think Reginald Owen did a great job as Scrooge. It's just lovely.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)

Written by Richard Curtis & Ben Elton
Directed by Richard Boden

Ebenezer Blackadder: "So, let's get this straight: If I was bad, my descendants would rule the entire universe!"
Spirit of Christmas: "Maybe... Maybe... But would you be happy? Being ruler of the universe is not all it's cracked up to be - there's the long hours... I mean, you wave at people the whole time. You're no longer your own boss."

There have been many adaptations of A Christmas Carol and essentially, it's always the same in each version. The Scrooge of the piece is shown the error of his ways and is scared into changing for the better. Except this version has a somewhat different take on the situation.

For Ebenerzer Scrooge (Rowan Atkinson) is already the most generous man in all of Victorian London, so much so that between his shrieking niece Millicent (Nicola Bryant) and Mrs Scratchit Pauline Melville) and everyone else, he's often taken to be a complete mug during the Christmas period with only Baldrick (Tony Robinson) being the one person who doesn't outsmart him.

Ebenezer is then visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) who gives Blackadder a glimpse into the past of his ancestors Lord Blackadder and Mr. E. Blackadder, Esq, giving the current Blackadder the idea that perhaps being so generous is a fault. However it's when the Spirit decides to show Blackadder a rather galactic future, which includes appearances from Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie that Ebenezer is compelling to change his good ways.

It's a predictable change of events but one that is rather delightful as poor Baldrick suffers the brunt of Blackadder's newly acquired mean streak but even he somewhat fares better compared to a visiting Queen Victoria (Miriam Margolyes) and Prince Albert (Jim Broadbent) as the latter's newfound rudeness seems losing out on a reward for good measure.

- The bit about the dog in the nativity scene has been edited in some versions but I've seen it in recent repeats on television.
- This and Blackadder Back & Forth are the only time we've seen previous roles reprised.
- You could see an influence for Hagrid's look here with the Spirit of Christmas's attire and bit of Blake's 7 for Blackadder's galactic descendant.

Probably one of the funniest and memorable adaptation of a classic tale. Blackaddet's Christmas Carol is also for me the best installment of that particular comedy franchise. It might be a little mean spirited but it's also a festive treat to catch over the next few days as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of A Christmas Carol

Written by Charles Dickens
Released in 1843

I was debating about what to review on this particular day and then it struck me - how about the most influential book of all time? I've always liked A Christmas Carol and it's becoming a tradition for me to actually read it during this time of year, so it seemed perfect to actually review as well.

The story at this point is known to every generation - miserly Ebenezer Scrooge doesn't like Christmas and especially seems to take exception to anyone who embraces it (his nephew in particular) and throughout the course of the book (or five staves), he's visited by three spirits to change his whole stance on the matter after former business partner and friend Jacob Marley urged him to change his ways.

The first spirit - Ghost Of Christmas Past gave us a great insight into Scrooge's younger years. It's actually hard not to feel sorry for Scrooge throughout this story, especially when you see how lonely he actually is as both a child and an adult. Sure, a lot of it is self inflicted, but I still find myself feeling bad for the guy from time to time in this book.

The second spirit - Ghost Of Christmas Present only adds to some of the sympathy I actually feel for Scrooge. Seeing his own nephew speak of him in a pitying way definitely leaves a sting, even if the moment where Scrooge encountered two starving children did feel a little much in parts but still worked well.

The third and last spirit - Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come needed to be the bleakest one of the bunch. It showed Scrooge his fate if he didn't change his ways it naturally led to the miser having an epiphany and becoming more embracing of the festive period. When he wasn't helping a poor kid named Tiny Tim as well as spending time with his actual family for good measure.

Overall for a book that's been around for 170 years, it's one that still holds up and it's one that has gone to deserve the iconic status awarded to it over the years. A wonderful, timelessly entertaining and beautiful book. If you don't own it, you really should.

Rating: 10 out of 10