In the Christmas Past segment, Scrooge's father going to prison and Scrooge working at the boot factory are taken from Charles Dickens' own childhood and not from 'A Christmas Carol.'
During the opening credits a top hatted urchin picks a gentleman's pocket, stealing his pocket watch. He then passes the watch off to a long coated man standing nearby. This is an obvious nod to the Artful Dodger and Fagin from Oliver Twist - also by Charles Dickens.
This version is based on a play that was performed in New York for a number of years before being filmed.
The boy that gets Scrooge the prized turkey is based on the appearance of the Artful Dodger especially with the top hat while the beadle seen at the Exchange is based on Mr Bumble. Both characters star in Oliver Twist another story written by Charles Dickens.
This version is unique in that Scrooge meets all three Christmas Ghosts in human form before meeting them as spirits. This situation is similar to the three Kansas farm workers, Miss Almira Gulch, and Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz (1939).