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A Christmas Carol

  • TV Short
  • 1971
  • 28m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
A Christmas Carol (1971)
Hand-Drawn AnimationHoliday AnimationHoliday FamilyAnimationDramaFamilyFantasyHolidayShort

An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.

  • Director
    • Richard Williams
  • Writer
    • Charles Dickens
  • Stars
    • Alastair Sim
    • Michael Redgrave
    • Melvyn Hayes
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    2.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Richard Williams
    • Writer
      • Charles Dickens
    • Stars
      • Alastair Sim
      • Michael Redgrave
      • Melvyn Hayes
    • 37User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 1 win total

    Photos6

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    Top cast12

    Edit
    Alastair Sim
    Alastair Sim
    • Ebenezer Scrooge
    • (voice)
    Michael Redgrave
    Michael Redgrave
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Melvyn Hayes
    Melvyn Hayes
    • Bob Cratchit
    • (voice)
    Michael Hordern
    Michael Hordern
    • Jacob Marley
    • (voice)
    Diana Quick
    Diana Quick
    • Ghost of Christmas Past
    • (voice)
    Felix Felton
    • Ghost of Christmas Present
    • (voice)
    • …
    David Tate
    • Fred
    • (voice)
    • …
    Paul Whitsun-Jones
    • Charity Man
    • (voice)
    • …
    Annie West
    • Belle
    • (voice)
    Joan Sims
    Joan Sims
    • Mrs. Cratchit
    • (voice)
    Mary Ellen Ray
    • Mrs. Dilber
    • (voice)
    Alexander Williams
    Alexander Williams
    • Tiny Tim
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Richard Williams
    • Writer
      • Charles Dickens
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews37

    7.62K
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    Featured reviews

    10greeneyedone-1

    Wow, where can we find this one!

    How can someone buy this film. My husband and I have been trying for two years but we can't find it. Is there a copy out there available, if so what is the price? It is not at all a cartoon but an excellent piece of Victorian art. The drawings evoke the sketches used in Dickens own time. There are moments that are intense, certainly frightening for young children.

    The pacing causes one to feel as though Scooge has very little time left to mend his ways. The ghost of Christmas Present is much darker than in other versions. Ignorance and Want are included in a very effective and horrific manner. Marley's ghost is not to be missed.

    This is anything but Mr Magoo or Mickey Mouse Dickens. Please post info as to where it can be found.
    9tavm

    Richard Williams' A Christmas Carol is a compelling if brief version

    I just saw Richard Williams' Oscar-winning but made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol on Google Video. Having seen and heard so many versions over the years, I find this the most beautifully animated version with its illustration-style renderings of London and its people in the 19th century. As compelling as the drawings are though, I find the story at 24 minutes a little too short for my tastes so the transformation of Scrooge at the end is not as complete as I would like it to be. That said, it was nice to hear Alastair Sim once again portray the lead character as he had done in the 1951 version. As the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim have said over and over again, "God bless us everyone."
    10dogpony

    Overlooked gem

    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.
    8Christmas-Reviewer

    Excellent Adaption Will Scare Small Children

    Review Date 3/26/2018

    I Have Reviewed OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES. On all Christmas movies BEWARE OF FAKE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. Many reviewers have only have ONE REVIEW. When it's a POSITIVE REVIEW chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. If its a negative review then they may have a huge grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

    I review them is to keep track of what "I have seen".

    This adaptation of A Christmas Carol has a distinctive look, created by multiple pans and zooms and by innovative, unexpected scene transitions. The visual style, which is unusually powerful, is inspired by 19th century engraved illustrations of the original story by John Leech and the pen and ink renderings by illustrator Milo Winter that graced 1930s editions of the book. The intended audience does not include young children, and the film's bleak mood and emphasis on darkness and shadows lead some to consider it the most frightening of the many dramatizations of the Dickens classic

    This is a well made cartoon version of the story. Small children will be afraid. This one of the animated adaptations of the Dickens Story. Worth seeking out!
    kissmekillyou

    Saw it as a kid - amazing

    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"?

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    Related interests

    Jodi Benson, Jason Marin, and Samuel E. Wright in The Little Mermaid (1989)
    Hand-Drawn Animation
    Boris Karloff in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
    Holiday Animation
    Phylicia Rashad in Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
    Holiday Family
    Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
    Animation
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy
    James Stewart, Donna Reed, Beulah Bondi, Carol Coombs, Karolyn Grimes, and Thomas Mitchell in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
    Holiday
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The only movie version of "A Christmas Carol" to win an Oscar.
    • Goofs
      Marley's Ghost says the third spirit will come "when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate." However, he actually appears on the FIRST stroke of twelve.
    • Quotes

      Ghost of Christmas Present: Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust.

    • Connections
      Featured in Anywhere But Here (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
      (uncredited)

      Traditional

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 21, 1971 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cuento de Navidad
    • Filming locations
      • London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
      • Chuck Jones Enterprises
      • Richard Williams Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 28m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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