Right now I am trying to figure out what to do this Christmas, since the family tradition is a-tremor. The thought of being alone on Christmas deeply saddens me, and I think it goes back to seeing little Ebenezar Scrooge left behind in boarding school while all the other kids had families to go home to for Christmas.
I cried just like Mr. Magoo's older Scrooge did when he saw himself as a kid singing:
When you're alone, alone in the world When you're alone in the world Blown-away leaves get blown in the world Swirled-away leaves get swirled
A hand for each hand was planned for the world Why don't my fingers reach? Millions of grains of sand in the world Why's mine a lonely beach?
Where are the heels to click to my clack? Where is the voice to answer mine back? I'm all alone in the WOOOOORLD!!!
None of the other versions caught this scene the way this one does. Not Bugs Bunny, Bill Murray, Albert Finney, Mickey Mouse. Maybe Alistair Sim, sort of.
Simplistic, yes, but it's the scene that still sticks in my throat as I choke back an adult tear. It's the scene that makes this version, truly unique, all alone in the world.