A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1997) is an animated tale. I love this cast. Tim Curry as Scrooge, Michael York as Cratchit, Whoopi Goldberg as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ed Asner as Marley. Sort of inspired casting.
But this version doesn’t work for me. Maybe it is because it is geared for children, and (in my opinion) dumbed down a little in the process. The flowery prose of Dickens is replaced with plainer language. While I miss the language, children likely appreciate the explanation of what “the power for good” means, and that every nuance is explained. But THE MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL is for children as well, and still has the Dickensian tone.
This CHRISTMAS CAROL isn’t scary. At all. And call me crazy, but a ghost story should be a little scary. Even a cartoon can be scary. This is also a musical. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t have issues with musical versions. However these musical numbers aren’t toe tapping, with the exception of “Sooty Santa”.
The ending is different (Fred and his wife show up at the Cratchits) and it ties everything up in a neat bow. Which is fine, but I like my CHRISTMAS CAROLS with a little grime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVI37GAUl1Q
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