A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1997)

One of the most magical Christmas experiences that I've ever had growing up as a kid was seeing "A Christmas Carol" at Madison Square Garden. I saw the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" as well at a very young age prior to it, and grew to admire it as I got older, but as a kid, I didn't care for it in the slightest. I actually used to loathe it for having no real story, being way too off the charts cheery, and having so much singing and dancing with very little breaks from it that it was unbearable. When I saw "A Christmas Carol" as my next Christmas musical in New York City, I was absolutely in love with it! It hit me on all the emotions that I'm supposed to feel; the changes that were made for the musical were fascinating and creative; the use of special effects for on stage and off stage stunned me; and I was dazzled by every single song and dance sequence than being annoyed by them. However, the number 1 reason why it became so special to me was that it starred an actor who I loved at that age, and that was Tim Curry who was casted in the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge, who fit the role so perfectly that I never once in my young mind at the time thought that this was the very same guy who I'd always have a blast watching in films like "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York", and "Muppet Treasure Island". As happy as I am to have the memory of the show, apart from him appearing at the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" with the rest of the cast from the play, I was never able to find footage of Tim Curry acting as Scrooge in the play or so much as a cast recording of it, which has disappointed me over the years because I've wanted to look closely at how Curry played the role after catching onto to his Curryisms as the years went by since I've seen him in the show. The closest that I could ever find myself watching Tim Curry playing Scrooge over and over, even as a small boy who was still getting goosebumps from the play, was in a straight-to-video animated musical film distributed by "DIC Entertainment".

I was first introduced to this film through my brother Jesse who saw it at his school (we were both in two different schools at the time) and he decided to show it to me after coming across it at "Blockbuster". The main appeal in the movie for us was Tim Curry as Scrooge, and his pet dog Debit (my brother was at the age when he was obsessed with owning a dog). We've rented the film once or twice after, to eventually owning a copy of a film. I have yet to revisit the film since my late elementary school years, so given the nostalgia factor for the cartoon and my love for Tim Curry; I chose this obscure animated feature of "A Christmas Carol" to cap off my holiday reviews. Please note that due to the lack of images I could find, this will be a picture-less review.

EBENEEZER SCROOGE

Out of the many qualities that Tim Curry provides as an actor is no matter what role he's given, he always puts on a show. It doesn't matter if he plays his role too over the top or is given a role that is so poorly written or in the film very little, because he always manages to entertain and bring as much life to his character as he possibly can. I say this because if there's one strong element in this cartoon that makes it worth seeing, its Tim Curry’s performance. His portrayal as nasty old Scrooge in the first 14 minutes of the film is simply fantastic on all levels of the character. He nails his cold and bitter personality down effortlessly by making his presence come off as intimidating, while also playing some moments up for a few laughs that don't feel out of character for how it stays true to the personality of Scrooge; like how he dismissively bids his nephew Fred "Good Afternoon" after being offered to join his family for dinner on Christmas, where his tone and mannerisms would shift to annoyed, to loud and cranky when Fred keeps on talking to him as he's about to leave. Curry doesn't make Scrooge appear to be completely bitter who just shouts "Bah Humbug", when he talks about Christmas being a time of year where people act like hypocrites, he sounds legitimately disgusted with the idea, feeling that he's the only honest person in the city who's not by pretending to be something that he's not for a certain time of year. However, Scrooge at one point does show a tiny bit of remorse when he sees Tiny Tim coming to pick-up his Father after almost nearly assaulting him, who is surprised at how tiny he is and that Cratchit is a family man. I do feel it’s way too early to be showing a bit of a sensitive side to this character, because the beauty of his encounter with the ghosts is we become more attached to him for how much we've learned about him and his life and see him act more and more sensitive through his life-changing experience that is incredibly different to the man we met earlier. I can't say that this moment is out of character because we know deep down inside that he isn't that heartless, I just find this kind of moment at this time to be very unnecessary.

Tim Curry's performance aside, there's nothing that I can say different about the portrayal of supporting characters that we meet here like Fred, the Portly Gentlemen, or Bob Cratchit (Michael York) that I haven't said about them in the past. Nothing about them that stands-out as anything different. The only supporting character who brings something new is Scrooge’s pet dog Debit (that sounds like he's shouting "Damn it" every time he angrily shouts the dog's name), a character not from the original story who was only created for the film because other animation studios big and small were trying to cash-in on the animal side-kick characters that Disney was doing at the time. And let's not forget that the famous Grinch who hated Christmas as much as Scrooge does had a dog for a side-kick too. However, unlike most pointless side-kicks in films not animated by Disney, I'll admit that it's a bit intriguing to see Scrooge have some kind of company at his side that isn't an object that he values. He (exactly like the Grinch) clearly doesn't show love for his dog either, he treats him just as nasty as the people he encounters, but seeing that dogs don't have the same capability as human's do and are trainable to meet his standards, he forces him to act as cruel as he is and uses him as his enforcer to frighten people away (like children and the Portly Gentlemen). Debit isn't entirely cruel because when Tiny Tim begins to play with him, he shows some actual happiness implying that he is a softie underneath his vicious tough bulldog image, however he must obey his master's commands and stick to what he's been taught to think and behave in order to eat and have a roof over his head. I'm not implying that Debit's presence is warranted, but for what they did (in this part of the film anyway), they didn't do a bad job. At least the film didn't go out of the way to make him look cutesy, that would lose all kinds of interest given to the character that would undoubtedly make him stand-out as a Max knock-off.

Tim Curry's Scrooge and Debit isn’t the only thing that prevent the scenes taken from the book to be new and interesting, some of the choices made from Scrooge's encounter with the people who visit him at his counting house add to the drama and character of the people interacting with Scrooge. For example, when Scrooge gives his infamous hate speech towards Christmas, he says it while scaring a mouse half-to death; and when Fred offers his merry views on the holiday, he says as it as he revives the mouse, which is a nice visual way of showing how both characters differ in their beliefs towards Christmas. There are indeed some little welcoming alterations to classic scenes that take place outside of the counting house during this portion. For instance one of Bob Cratchit's most memorable moments in the story showing his child-like innocence and glee for Christmas is when he goes sliding down frozen ice with a couple of kids. This cartoon nicely enhances that moment by this time having Bob sliding with Tiny Tim on his shoulders pretending to be horse, which also shows what a playful Father he is to his son. Of course there are plenty of moments during these scenes that add some comedy that range from boringly forced slapstick, to something as silly as Scrooge ordering Cratchit to "fetch" the coal he threw to scare a begger away as if he forgot that he has a dog, to having fitting character based jokes; and yet there are still one or two grim moments that I wasn't expecting from a straight-to-video animated film. They're not as excessively dark as say the "Christmas Carol" film with Jim Carrey, it's just Scrooge's treatment towards children and a homeless woman carrying a crying baby in the bitter cold are very harsh moments that don't go violent or overboard with the darkness of Scrooge's empty heart, they're handled rather maturely believe it or not.

It should be no surprise that the animation isn't going to be anything grand, given its home video quality status and being made by an animation studio that specializes in creating Saturday Morning Cartoons. Gazing at its quality right at the beginning, it feels like a combination of watching an animated TV show, and a Christmas film made from "Goodtimes Entertainment". It has some nice designs, pretty Christmas colors, and neat looking backgrounds, however the movements at times look uncanny to the point where’s it’s a bit off-putting, and the overall look is pretty generic. It's not boring to look at; it just looks ordinary with very little flair to make it visually interesting.

Let's not forget another trope in 90s animation films that tried to be like Disney films. I covered how this film forcefully gives Scrooge an animal side-kick, but a 90s animated film won't be complete without shoehorning in a few songs. To play on the whimsy of Christmas, the film opens up with narration from York that proceeds to a musical number called "Tell Me a Tale" sung by an off-screen chorus. It's really not bad way to get pulled into the film's atmosphere because it's nicely sung, the environment itself seems full of Christmas cheer, and we're experiencing it all with an orphan boy who will later encounter Scrooge's cruel nature towards children. The song itself even dives into the topics of wanting to hear a story and a song that ties into the title and where the story was adapted from, as Scrooge is mentioned in the middle of it resulting with our first glimpse of the miserable old miser. I can't say that the song itself is anything special, because it does feel like any typical chorus song to open up an animated musical (another trope that this film takes from Disney). Still I can't say that it didn't do its job getting me into the Christmas spirit. Let me put it to you this way, I won't be remembering this song as openers like "Virginia Company" in “Pocahontas", or "Frozen Heart" in "Frozen".

The second song "Random Acts of Kindness" takes place in a tavern where Scrooge and Debit dine at to eat the cheapest meal on the menu that's led by the waitress serving them. This is one of the very few songs that I remember from the film, that's has an uplifting feel through the passion from the people around Scrooge singing about doing kindness for people on Christmas, that is until Scrooge interrupts them criticizing their phoniness as he insults a homeless man warming by the fire causing the song to take a bit of a downbeat turn. After his solo it then becomes a bit of a battle between Scrooge and the patrons through their beliefs, the patrons tell him to change, as Scrooge angrily defends himself. Scrooge's conflict with other people who love Christmas is already perfectly established, almost making this sequence unnecessary, but the points that Scrooge makes through Tim Curry's frustrated delivery in an environment where everyone is giddy around him add a few more layers to the character that give us a better understanding of why he can't stand the sudden change of heart that people have at this one time of year.

MARLEY'S GHOST

The opening to the film seemed promising (if you are forgiving for its Saturday Morning Cartoon look, and unneeded animal companion) until we see Scrooge's encounter with Marley at his door. At first glance the sequence looks chilling. It's quiet, the animation is darkened a bit, and the music is fitting. Then Marley's face appears on the door replacing the lion knocker who is given the same bright yellow color as the stoned animal, with a face that looks eerie. But that all gets ruined when Marley quietly scares Scrooge by saying "Boo" after Scrooge exclaims his name as if he just casually ran into him on the street, leading to Scrooge taking a very comical fall. The silliness doesn't stop there, if anything it’s just warming up. Following after the scene is Scrooge walking up the stairs in his dark home as the sound of chains are quietly rattling and a whisper of Scrooge's name is being heard. It sounds haunting, except that Scrooge isn't hearing any of this, his dog is the one mugging the screen reacting to it in a cutesy comical fashion. It's at that point where I start to find Debit's presence a bit annoying for how the focus of a scene to build tension is not on the character who should be witnessing this. The build-up gets even worse where it starts to get unintentionally funny. Marley's face appears again this time on one of the tiles around Scrooge's fireplace, and unlike before where his face was still, his face is constantly stretching as if we're looking at Marley in a funhouse mirror, with silly expressions that are meant to be scary, and a voice that's supposed to sound ghostly but instead sounds unbearably corny for how phoned in it is. Apparently Scrooge himself isn't fazed by this silly imagery either, he keeps hitting it with a book to the shut the spirit up that only adds to the unintentional comedy of this scene. Through a cheesy green lightning effect that seems like that Marley is going to rock n roll for how much it looks like a laser light show, we see the ghost in full. How does Scrooge react to it, he has Debit sick him, and comments how he has no heart when he puts his hand right through his chest. Those jokes aren't bad for how they fit the tone of the scene, but after already getting enough comedy both intentional and unintentional, it seems a bit of overkill at this point. I’ll admit that I do kind of like that Curry’s Scrooge acts a bit of a badass for refusing to put up with Marley’s hocus pocus, it’s only too bad that it only helps ruin the emotion that we’re supposed to get out of this scene.

Voicing Marley's specter is Ed Asner who's usually a good actor, but here he gives by far the weakest Jacob Marley performance I've ever seen. When he's not phoning in that silly ghostly voice, he gives a rather dull performance. He for the most part doesn't come off as a spirit who's in pain and is determined to intimidate his partner to help him change; he sounds exhausted, bored with everything, and is barely trying to frighten Scrooge to give him his attention. The moment when Marley screams is usually terrifying for the amount of anger and sorrow he has, but his scream in this film unfortunately is very soft as if Asner was told to tone it down to not scare the kids watching this. I can't be too hard on Asner's performance though, because when he talks about Scrooge's fate he does sound intimidating from his loud gravelly voice. And during his speech about the after-life there's a very chilling and depressing bit where two ghosts outside are trying to help the homeless woman and baby that we saw earlier only to find out that they can't because they are dead and aren't able to perform good deeds for the living. That whole bit in the middle is carried out effectively for how it builds fear in the fate that awaits Scrooge, but after that he's back to being dull and sounding silly again. Marley's design isn't anything special either. Usually Marley's design is very zombie-like for how frail, weak, and ghastly he appears, Asner's Marley doesn't look that way at all, if anything Scrooge looks more like a corpse than Marley himself does. 

THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

As boring as Marley's design is, it at least stays mostly true to the character, unlike the Ghost of Christmas Past. Out of all ghosts in the Christmas Carol film adaptations, the Ghost of Christmas Past is the one who's always reimagined, while the other ghosts mostly remain the same in terms of design. In most portrayals this particular ghost would have it look like an actual specter that is humbly soft-spoken with tons of wisdom. And sometimes this spirit would be given a child-like design. This version is one of those cases where the spirit takes the form of a child with the voice talents of Kath Soucie. This isn't unexpected since films and specials of the story that were aimed for kids like "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" and "The Muppet Christmas Carol" did a great job at handling the concept by giving the spirit dignity. However, as those versions showed how to handle the ghost right when making it resembles and sound-like a kid, this version is a prime example of how to not to handle this concept. The spirit doesn't appear ghostly like the other adaptations I just mentioned, he's just a kid dressed in bright blue Christmas clothing (that's for some reason red on the cover), waves around his magic stick with holly on the tip of it like a wand, and fly in midair. There's hardly anything about this design that makes him appear ghostly. And his personality doesn't make-up for it neither because he's nothing more than a mischievous little boy who loves to fool around and mock Scrooge. This character can pass as a Christmas version of Peter Pan than as a wise supernatural being.

The first trip in Scrooge's Christmas past is his childhood at a boarding school. Like some of the best Scrooge's out there who have captured the character's nostalgia, joy, and despair when being reminded of his gloomy Christmas memories, Curry is no exception. He sounds completely fascinated and overjoyed to relive his childhood, right down to admiring the smell of his old classroom being the way he remembered it. That is until he sees his young self alone on Christmas because his Father didn't want him home, which sounds and looks soul crushing from Scrooge's tears and Curry's mournful delivery. The scene depicting young Scrooge's lonely Christmas years even takes an interesting turn. Scrooge was once obsessed with the storybook character Robinson Crusoe, and as he sits alone reading his book he sees a specter in the form of him greeting him to then suddenly vanishing right before his eyes, as the scene clearly suggests that he's been visited by spirits before, that's a little out of nowhere but still a sweet little moment playing on young Scrooge's isolation from people around him, and how fiction is his only escapism. After his brief encounter we are then given a song from young Scrooge of how he's not alone when he sees his shadow that make him feel like he's with somebody as he can also use his imagination to interact with them, until the fire dies down. It's a bittersweet sequence that's enchanting for how the shadows are animated to look like his fantasy's coming to life, but you're constantly aware of the reality surrounding this poor boy. I can't say that this sequence is as memorably depressing as "I'm All Alone in the World" from "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" because the song itself though it's sung nice, is as bland as the song "Where are you Christmas?" from the live action "Grinch", and "When Christmas Comes to Town" from "The Polar Express". Nothing about it stands-out except for what he's singing about. Young Scrooge's design is also very odd. Rather than appearing as a small boy, he looks like a small man in his late 20s and early 30s, and hearing a small child's voice come out of his mouth simply doesn't at all jell together.

Flashing forward to when Scrooge is near his adulthood, we see him still alone on Christmas holding his favorite book. Only instead of being depressed where only his fantasies can help him, he angrily tosses the book, and paces around the room with frustration being fed up with his surroundings on Christmas indicating that he has lost all sense of imagination, an excellent way of showing how much Scrooge has changed after all these years that says a lot in only a few seconds. This moment suddenly leads to the arrival of Scrooge's little sister Fan to bring him home for Christmas. Kath Soucie voices her as well, and usually she's perfect for voicing little cutesy characters, but her voice for Fan sounds so much like the other voices she puts on for most of those types of characters (like Lil from "The Rugrats") that it's distracting. Still I find it ambitious that a straight-to-video cartoon from “DIC” decided to talk about her death when giving birth to Fred, and how she still lives in him. I don't see too many versions aimed for little kids touch upon this part of the story.

Through a cheesy computer animated dissolve effect, we are launched to a Christmas party hosted by Scrooge's former boss Fezziwig. The scene plays-out as festive as the other versions that capture this scene, and Tim Curry's delivery of expressing what a great boss he is, only to discover that he himself is the total opposite of him is touching; however there are still a couple of problems that prevent this sequence from being great. When people think of Fezziwig they think of a fat jolly man wearing a powdered-wig, Fezziwig in this version is Santa Claus. I'm serious he looks like jolly old Saint Nick as if he didn't wear his red suit and hat, and cut off his white beard to grow a big mustache (he's not even wearing his traditional powdered wig). The actor voicing him gives a performance very similar to Asner's performance of Jacob Marley, for how half-baked and phoned in the character's jolly personality is. The animation for the people clapping and dancing gets very clunky at times as well due to how unnatural half of the movements are, as the editing and angles’ trying to make it look lively and upbeat just enhances the strangeness of how the people move. Scrooge doesn't encounter Belle at the party either. It's just glanced over. 

Let's talk about Debit for a minute. Debit's presence in Marley's sequence kills the suspense leading up to his presence, and doesn't add anything to the scene that feels important. Debit's uselessness gets more annoying than before because all he does is try to interact with the shadows only to continuously discover that they aren't real, leading up to useless slapstick. It's not full of those moments thankfully, but these bits don't feel needed and aren't as funny and clever as say how Gonzo and Rizzo interacted in the past in "A Muppet Christmas Carol", that the film at one point rips from by having Debit being transported to the past with Scrooge by holding on to him as he flies away. There's only one bit involving Debit and Scrooge's relationship that was intriguing, and that's when Debit thinks he's going to be hit by his master only to discover that he's being gently petted for a change. It's moments like this that keep me from wishing that Debit wasn't in the film altogether at this point.

As usual, ending Scrooge's visit in the past is when he and his lover Belle break-up, that seems out of the blue since we never had a chance to see the two interact together as a happy couple, or at all. With that said, the scene is still downbeat. When young adult Scrooge (now voiced by Curry, whose voice doesn't match this past version of Scrooge's design either) tells Belle what he has for her, she thinks it’s a wedding ring from how he describes it, but is soon let down when she finds out it’s a gold coin after receiving his first business profit. Given how it’s almost a law to have Belle singing her farewells to Scrooge in most versions of the story aimed for families that take a musical route, we get a song sequence that suffers from the same amount of pros and cons that the last song had. It's wonderful to hear Tim Curry sing a duet with Jodi Benson for how their singing fits with the emotions that the characters are feelings, as the bridge that their standing on beautifully symbolizes the struggles of their relationship if they should cross-it together or not. But the song itself is generically forgettable. It's not on the same level of unemotionally boring as "When Love is Gone" from "A Muppet Christmas Carol", nor is it as emotionally devastating as "Winter Was Warm" from "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol", it's just very middle of the road.

THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT

In most versions of "A Christmas Carol" the Ghost of Christmas Present is portrayed as a gigantic fat and jolly man with a long beard (pretty much like Santa), wearing a bright green robe. This version the spirit is a sassy black woman voiced by Whoopi Goldberg (who for some strange reason the ghost is white on the cover, which had always bothered me even as a kid) with a Christmas tree shaped hairdo. I'm not at all against this change of having the spirit being played by a woman, because the character's festive personality and wise nature is still kept within the character's alteration. And given how there have been so many alterations to the spirits in each adaptation, I'd say its about time that we had something different to this ghost as opposed to seeing the usual design that's been done to death. The only problem with the spirit is Goldberg's voice acting, that I find disappointing knowing how well she can play comical characters. The jolly personality that Goldberg brings to the character feels phoned-in for how lacking of energy and passion that she provides for the role. Most of that maybe because she sounds more concerned with getting her British accent right for how poor it is. Sometimes she'll even put on a Caribbean accent as well, almost as if she's still searching for the right voice to give to this character. It's so bad that it honestly kept me laughing at how awkward her delivery and constant change of accent is. The only times when Goldberg turns in a legitimately good performance is when she speaks about serious stuff in an old and frail voice as we see her slowly age through Scrooge's visit in Christmas Present. It sounds less goofy and very unsettling when she quotes Scrooge and speaks about the fate of Tiny Tim and herself.

The scene when Scrooge is taken to see Bob Cratchit's family at first plays out as it normally would, only at a rushed paced. After having dinner leading to Bob to make a toast for Scrooge, they take part in a (you guessed it) a musical number that's a reprise of "Random Acts of Kindness", that's okay but lacks heart and energy for how quickly it goes by. The song portion as well contains by far the freakest imagery I've seen in the film that only lasts for a millisecond, and it’s how Cratchit's children suddenly move their faces right close onto the screen with their unnatural happy faces asking "how". Nothing in the scene moved me as anything special, until when Tim heads on over to the fireplace to read a book. This image causes Scrooge to painfully remember his lonely years as a boy, until he sees that Tim is reading his favorite book that excites him so much that he begins interacting with Tim not caring if he can't see or hear him. This heartwarming moment expressing Scrooge's childish side immediately leads to him discovering Tim's sickness causing him to feel guilty for the things he said about people who are in need. This is by far the most emotional moment in the entire film because it flows at a nice pace to let all the different emotions sink in that Tim Curry magnificently sells.

Scrooge wishing that he had a family like Bob's smoothly transitions to his visit to his nephew’s Christmas party. Like the scene with the Craitchit's, it plays out normally with Fred and the guests mocking Scrooge that of course hurts him and wishes to leave until the spirit forces him to stay. Scrooge then discovers that Fred doesn't hate his Uncle but actually defends him because his Mother loved Scrooge very dearly believing that it’s his greed that has corrupted him, and will continue to invite Scrooge to his Christmas parties in memory of Fan. Scrooge becomes so touched by his nephew's unconditional love for him that he starts to see how much of Fan is inside him, making himself feel hurt about his treatment towards him as if he was doing this to his own sister. Again, another bittersweet heartwarming moment that feels touching through the pacing, writing, and the actor's delivery. Afterwards we get another musical sequence involving Fred and his guests singing a song that Scrooge and Fan loved singing when their Father wasn't around (I'm beginning to wonder how he knows all this about his Mother since she wasn't alive to raise him) "Santa's Sooty Suit" (You know, I expect Gonzo the Great at this point to randomly pop-in and whisper to Fred that Santa in Britain is really Father Christmas). This along with “Random Acts of Kindness” is the only two songs I remember from the movie. I remember "Santa's Sooty Suit" for how fast, catchy, and festive it is, as well as Scrooge's enjoyment for the song and laughs he used to have singing it with Fan. The animation unfortunately shines at its worst here. There are times when everybody's happy faces and movements (especially Scrooge's) get a little too happy and energized as if they are possessed; the CGI for the ornaments on the tree showing the reflections of the characters looks like the animation for a menu screen on an old DVD; and the animation bits of Scrooge clapping along and stomping are obviously recycled animation from Fezziwig's party.

At this point I'm sure your wondering what Debit is doing during this visit to the present, the short answer is nothing. The long answer is he's back at Scrooge's home munching on a turkey leg given to him by the spirit. It's as if the writers at this point didn't know how to work in Debit for the rest of the encounters with the ghosts, and decided to just leave him out for a while rather than cutting the character out altogether. This sudden action of sidelining Scrooge's Kanine companion fully emphasizes his uselessness to the film. At first he was interesting, but overall he (big shock) has little to no relevance to the entire story where he only exists as the forced comic relief as bate for kids who love dogs (very much like in "Scrooged" when Robert Mitchum forcefully threw in door mice to attract the cats watching the televised showing of "A Christmas Carol").

THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS YET-TO-COME

After the death of the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge is surrounded in total darkness full of fear, and meets the final spirit "The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come". The spirit's appearance is the traditional grim reaper design who doesn't say a word. However, while being faithful to the source material, the ghost’s animated design in this film isn't scary. It looks like a typical Saturday Morning cartoon villain then it does as a legitimately frightening spirit. When I look at its body shape, color scheme, and movements that seem suitable for TV, I keep expecting to see Skeletor's face to pop-out at any second. Look I get that this is a cartoon for kids made on a smaller budget, but the spirit's design looks very standard. Try comparing this design to another Christmas Carol cartoon with limited animation that's meant for kids "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol". The ghost's design doesn't look like any other design from a cartoon made at the 60s for how eerie and gothic it appears as opposed to being part of a typical over the top scheming villain who always gets foiled. It looks terrifying, and whenever it does certain movements we hear the sound of loud kettle drums to give its presence a ton of weight to indicate that the shadows of things to that may come are grimmer than Scrooge can imagine. There's nothing within this ghost's design or presence that seems different for how generically safe it is.

The first shadow of the future that Scrooge sees is two men at the business exchange talking about a diseased colleague of theirs, that pretty much follows the source material word for word, except for when Scrooge tries to ask one of them of who died. Then we have the charwoman and the undertaker (I think) stealing the possessions from Scrooge's corpse. The voice acting for these two characters is a bit too goofy for a scene that's playing itself as serious, and does water the scene down a notch for how hard it is to take seriously (the Muppets take it more seriously than this). Still I give props for this family friendly cartoon for showing them stealing from Scrooge's body, as Scrooge himself is afraid to uncover the sheets on top of the body to see it who it is. It's a dark part of the story that I don't see too often in most adaptations that are aimed towards kids. Usually it just goes to the aftermath when they trade-in the stolen goods to Old Joe (a character I wished to see in this version).

Scrooge makes another visit to the Cratchit's house to find himself discovering that Tiny Tim has died. The way the scene plays out in this version is hit and miss. The dialogue from Mrs. Cratchit (also voiced by Kath Soucie, only this time her voice is unrecognizable) of how Bob carrying Tiny Tim was no trouble in response to the sister exclaiming how slow her father walks is a bit of a tear-jerker. However it's not as tear-jerking when Scrooge not only sees "a vacant seat, and a crutch tenderly reserved" by the fireplace where Tim once sat, but the "Robinson Crusoe" book he read that made Scrooge so happy, now on top of his chair, suggesting that this was his favorite story too, adding more to Scrooge's regret. The misses from the scene mainly come from the voice acting, particularly from York as an emotionally shattered Bob. When he talks about the place where Tim is buried he sounds sad, but when he quickly starts breaking out in tears sobbing over his loss, the pacing for it feels forcefully rushed as York sounds like he's pretending to be sad rather than actually broken-up by all of this.

After being disappointed of how lacking of terror from the ghostly appearances of Marley and the last ghost, I was quite impressed with the design of the graveyard where Scrooge is taken too. Though the TV quality animation is still present, it’s use of colors, backgrounds, and music creates a bit of a surreal nightmarish environment that's so foreboding that it doesn't come across as a safe and generic creepy atmosphere as "DIC" would usually show. Just the reveal of the place alone instantly gave me the heebie jeebies for how sudden and subtly it appears. We then get to see Curry perform Scrooge's break-down when he sees his future tombstone that isn't played out as big as one would think. When many of us think of Tim Curry, we think of him as an actor who loves to play things big, whether it being for drama or comedy. This is one of those times when he plays his emotions softly. He's not dramatically pleaing towards the spirit to take him back to the present, he sounds weak and humble where you're still able feel all the guilt and pain he feels inside him that feels as if Curry is given a bit of a Shakespearean performance.

CHRISTMAS DAY

When Curry plays the reformed Scrooge by sounding happy and giddy, it’s not played up as over the top silly as Curry would usually do when playing as an eccentric character either. As he's expressing all this joy, he comes off as warm, sweet, and gentle, almost if you want to hug him. I was quite impressed how this version of Scrooge's change of heart doesn't try to go for some kind of exaggerated comedy given its target demographic. He does however get a song that's a reprise of the first song heard in the opening, which again isn't anything memorable but Curry does sell-it for his singing and sweet sentimental connection to Christmas that feels genuinely earned.

Before entering Cratchit's house to aid his family, we have the usual scenes from this part of the story, such as Scrooge paying the kid to get him the biggest turkey at the butcher shop, and paying the Portly Gentlemen after apologizing to them, with a few added material to make them different. For instance, the orphan boy that we saw in the very beginning of the film who Scrooged frightened away would later be paid to get Scrooge the turkey. This isn't necessarily the first time that the boy that Scrooge would meet on Christmas day would be someone he wronged in the past (remember Bean Benny in "The Muppet Christmas Carol"?), but I'm glad that this idea is being used in other versions, and here I like that they build a bit of a connection as the kid starts out hesitant and runs away from Scrooge after recognizing him, to then stopping when Scrooge kindly asks him to come back (as he for some reason teleports in front of his house after running out of sight and halting dead in his tracks without turning around). Unfortunately if you’re expecting to witness Scrooge interacting with the poor woman and her baby, or the waitress at the tavern, well they’re just as tossed aside as victims for Scrooge’s cruelty as the orphan carolers in “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol”.

The final scene that takes place at the Cratchit's home doesn't only involve Scrooge's relationship with Bob and his family, because this version decides to have Scrooge embrace Fred as he's embracing the Cratchit's. I'm not against the idea of Fred spending time with Scrooge and the Cratchit's (again, like in a "A Muppet Christmas Carol" that this version likes to steal a lot from) since Scrooge pretty much adopts the Cratchit's as part of his family. I just wish that Scrooge asking for his forgiveness was its own individual scene, because with these two relationships combined in one scene it would be more than likely that one relationship is going to be focused more than the other, and that's certainly the case here. Most of the focus in that scene is Scrooge connecting with Bob's family, as we get only one short scene of Scrooge connecting with Fred. That doesn't mean nothing is felt when Scrooge apologizes to Fred because we were still able to form attachment to him for his kindness and how much we sympathized with Scrooge for realizing how wrong he was to treat him. It just would've been so much powerful if this scene played out on its own and had Scrooge later asking Fred to show-up at the Cratchit's house for their big surprise. But for what we have as a final scene, it isn't bad at all. It captures its message of the spirit of giving and good will towards men enchantingly well, where Scrooge does more than provide a turkey, a better income, and good health for Tim. He provides a violin player to recreate the same festive atmosphere that his old boss used to do on Christmas, inviting the orphan boy in to join the party and hand-out toys, and promises to teach the kids his sister's favorite song with Fred. The film closes with Tim and Scrooge saying the most iconic line from the story, York provides the closing narration as we gaze at the city of London, and we head to the credits that look so much like the end credits to the cartoon "Madeline" that I'm anxiously waiting to hear Madeline and friends sing "There isn't any more".

OVERALL THOUGHTS

It doesn't shock me why this version is usually overlooked and is often regarded as one of the mediocre adaptation to the story for how generic it is, and forced a lot of elements in it are. The animation from "DIC" is very average looking that at times can head into uncanny valley from the strange movement of the characters and derp facial expressions; the songs though are sung nicely and have some really good ideas, feel like they weren't given the time to fully bloom into something as special as they could've been; the ghosts are disappointing by either having a boring design, an annoying personality, or bad voice acting; some of the scenes and acting feels rushed and hokey; the comedy doesn't overall fit with the film's tone for how serious it usually takes itself; and the addition of giving Scrooge a dog is so annoyingly pointless that it's no wonder why we don't see Scrooge have some kind of side-kick in other versions. That doesn't mean there's nothing to enjoy from it because there are. There are enough times where it can come across as emotional; I like that "DIC" doesn't completely sanitize this film by showing some of the dark stuff that isn't in most versions for kids; and I love the "Robinson Crusoe" motif to play on Scrooge's child-like joys and innocence that he still has deep inside him that help him connect and sympathize for Tim. But if there's one thing in this movie that makes it worth seeing, it's definitely Tim Curry as Scrooge! Not caring if it’s animated on a low budget or not, Curry gives it his all, who doesn't feel like he's just quoting lines from the book in a different voice, or trying to phone-in the character's emotions where it feels corny or over the top. You feel practically everything he says and feels (with the exception of a few poorly directed and paced scenes, mainly regarding his encounter with Marley’s ghost), for how much effort he puts into it without feeling the need to play it as big and loud as he usual does, making him to be one of the best overlooked Scrooges out there. The film is overall as hit and miss as the 1935 film with Seymour Hicks, and the Zemeckis motion-capture film with Jim Carrey; but if you want to see Tim Curry play one of the most famous Christmas characters of all-time, than you'll enjoy the film fine, if not walking out loving it or amazed by it. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!