Un villancico

This is the best animated version of the hoary old Dickens tale ever brought to the screen. This is no assembly-line cartoon; this is a Victorian lithograph brought to life. Splendid artwork, dizzying camera angles, magnificent and painstaking animation at its best. There are master craftsmen at work here; no shortcuts or sloppy work. The only criticism I could make of it is that it's too short. I sure wish that Santa had given them an unlimited budget to work with. Probably not suitable for younger children, as some of the images are a little terrifying (the children under the robe of the second spirit send chills up my spine every time I see it). I first saw it on PBS back in 1972, I think, and it has haunted me ever since. I was fortunate enough to find a copy on eBay, and it was as good as I had remembered from 30 years back. It's a rotten shame that it's been neglected by the networks ("A Christmas Story" and "Miracle on 34th Street" are great films, but they flog them to death every Christmas). If you want to get in the Christmas spirit, do yourself a favor and beg, borrow or steal a copy of this film.

I wish someone would release this lost gem on DVD or even video. So much garbage is shown at Christmas I just don't know what goes on in the minds of television programming staff that they won't show this masterpiece. It looks beautiful and the writing, directing and acting are superb. I last remember seeing it on regular old commercial television when I was a child back in 1977. I also remember that during a commercial break they showed a 7-UP commercial starring Jeffrey Holder. I have never forgotten it. Truthfully, this version is better than any of the live action versions that I have seen except perhaps the 1951 production entitled "Scrooge" starring Alastair Simm who reprises the role of Scrooge in this version. Simm is the best Scrooge ever. If you like "A Christmas Carol" email the programming people at Turner Classic Movies, American Movie Classics and Cartoon Network and beg them and harass them to show this wonderful film.

This scared the bejabbers out of me as kid in the '70's. If it wasn't listed on the imdb I'd think was just a bad dream. No other version has ever compared since. You ever notice there is no surer endorsement of a movie than "it scared the bejabbaers out of me when I was a kid"?

This little gem is something I saw on ABC, waaaaay back around '71 or '72. I know it aired several times in those days,around Christmases('71-'74)in prime time, and on their experimental but short-lived "Wide World of Entertainment".(At the time, there were two animated versions of this story. One was the CBS version which was an hour and, had traditional open-line art for the animation, including a skull-faced Jacob Marley.) This version miraculously managed to squeeze the entire story into 30 minutes and was out and out scary. The animation looked like an old etching, come to life with lines moving everywhere to indicate shadow and form. London became a creepy, Gormenghast-like city with spires, and arches, all sort of in this weird forced perspective. I remember the gap-mouthed Marley with his jaw dropping down to the middle of his chest as he screamed at Scrooge, and the eerie candle-headed Ghost of Christmas Past whom he forced back into a large cone that one would put candles out with in those days(but smaller). Creepy stuff even for it's time. Worth finding.

This is by far the best animated version of the Dickens classic. The renderings and animation are dark and mysteriously sketch-like, with none of the shiny flatness that mars most commercial animation. And the script is amazingly faithful in tone to the original.

It's sometimes difficult to find on videotape, but it is well worth the effort.