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outdated.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
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2 comments:
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.
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.
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