Friday 23 December 2011

A Christmas Carol: my favourite movie versions!


Dear reader,

Well as I am exceedingly bored at work as there is no one calling or e-mailing us I decided to write another blogpost! As Christmas is rapidly nearing, what could possibly be a better topic to write about than Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? Ever since I was a child I have been a huge fan of this story. Not only have I read the book, but I have also see quite a few different movie versions. I thought it would be fun to write a blogpost with recommendations on the different movie versions that I really like.


The first time I came into contact with the story of A Christmas Carol was through the Disney movie, Mickey’s Christmas Carol. This is still in my top three of all time favourite Christmas movies. Even though the movie itself is rather short and does not always faithful to the original story (which is not entirely illogical as some parts of the story are quite eerie) it is definitely worth watching. Especially the scene in which Scrooge discovers that Tiny Tim has passed away is extremely touching, perhaps even more so than in the original story. In the actual novel Bob Cratchit comes home and informs his wife about the grave he picked out for Tiny Tim and goes upstairs to the room in which the body of the little boy is laid out. In the Disney movie, however, we see Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit (Mickey and Minnie) standing on a hill top in front of a little grave on top of a hill. A tear rolls down Mickey’s eye as he reluctantly places Tim’s crutch against the little gravestone. This scene still makes me want to cry. 

Another movie version which I really think is great is the 1999 tv-movie A Christmas Carol with Patrick Steward as Scrooge. I still believe that this is one of the best movies they have made of the novel, as the acting is superb and it is true to the original work. Yes I even believe this one to be better than the bbc version that was made. Though that is probably only because the bbc version, made in 1977, is severely outdated. I would really love it if they would do a remake on that one, especially since next year will be ‘Dickens year’ in England as it will be the author’s 200th birthday (for more information please see: www.dickens2012.org) Anyway, back to the 1999 version: Steward is without a doubt the most convincing Scrooge that I have thus far encountered. At the start of the movie he is so cold hearted that you really believe that he is capable of thing but cruelty. Had I not know the story, his conversion would definitely seemed like a miracle. I know for a fact that most of you have seen this version.. if not: goodness, you have been missing out. I suggest you download it a.s.a.p.

My all time favourite version of A Christmas Carol has to be A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. It’s the perfect mix: Dickens, Muppets and some really fun songs! I even ended up downloading the soundtrack; the songs are really catchy! The movie features Micheal Cane as Scrooge. Even though his performance is nowhere near as good as that of Steward, he is definitely the most adorable Scrooge ever. This is definitely a feel good movie and you cannot help but feel cheerful after watching this movie. Honestly, if this does not get you in the Christmas spirit, then you might as well give up and start to use the word ‘humbug’ as often as you possibly can. 

As a little treat to you: One more sleep till Christmas from A Muppets Christmas Carol! 


This blogpost would not be complete if it did not incorporate Disney’s latest addition to the movie corpus, namely the Christmas Carol animation with Jim Carrey. I quite liked this movie as it has a bit of everything; Christmas spirit, cheerfulness, sadness, eeriness. However, I do believe that the insertion of the carriage set after Scrooge by the ghost of Christmas past was a bit too much. The only purpose for this seen seemed to have been to scare the viewer and to add in some extra 3D effects. Never the less, it is still fun to watch! I still prefer Mickey’s Christmas Carol over this one though, but perhaps that is because I grew up with it.

I will conclude this blogpost with a movie which I bet none of my readers has seen. Barbie in A Christmas Carol. Yes, Barbie…. I hate to admit it, but even though I was never a Barbie doll fan, I really quite like most of the Barbie movies (I have a fair collection of them at home haha). At first I was a bit weary, as I was scared that they would have mutilated the story, but after watching it online, I decided to purchase it. To be honest, although it is NOTHING like the original story I actually kind of like it. The story is about the snobbish young opera star, Eden. Focused only on her job, she forbids the theatre group that she performs with to take a day off. Will her best friend and the ghosts (or well… they seem more like fairies) of Christmas past, present and future be able to make her change her ways?
I do not want to give away too much, as the story really differs quite a lot from the original, but I do want to comment on the ghost of Christmas future. Unlike in all the other movie versions this ghost is not scary… instead she is an elegant and wise woman. To be honest, although I would normally have been outraged, I really liked this twist. It fits in surprisingly well with the rest of the story and is perhaps a bit more compatible with our current mentality.
So if you a little daughter (or boy… that’s of course also possible) who is a big Barbie fan, or, like me, are not so little anymore but still a child at heart, I highly recommend this movie, just because it is fun to watch. But do not expect it to be anything like the original story though, because you will definitely be disappointed.

Well I hope you have liked my blog on the movie versions of A Christmas Carol that I like. If you know of a different version that is also definitely worth watching feel free to share it in a comment! ;)

Love,
Blacky

2 comments:

Ayaka said...

I luver them all, <.< I am a big fan of Jim Carry so I likes his a lot, but my old time fav is the one with mickey. That's for sure.

Blackcat said...

Well I suppose that that is partly because we both grew up with it. I think that was one of the first Disney movies I ever saw haha.