Christmas Carol: The Movie

Darcel, Pam etc are - or were - the Solid Gold Dancers ("Solid Gold" was an American pop music show in the 1980s); in the movie "Scrooged" six of them (guess which two were absent) made a cameo appearance as part of the cast of Bill Murray's TV version of the classic Charles Dickens story... and there's the biggest problem with "Christmas Carol: The Movie" right there. Not the presence of leggy, gorgeous American girls in skimpy attire - such a thing could only have benefitted this movie - but the stunningly definitive and frankly ignorant title; so all the other versions of the novel (and there have been quite a few down the years, featuring casts from Alastair Sim through Henry Winkler [in the TV movie "An American Christmas Carol"] to Michael Caine in "The Muppet Christmas Carol" - not to mention the musical "Scrooge," at least two animated versions, and countless episodes of TV shows borrowing the whole story, like "WKRP In Cincinnati" and "The Odd Couple" to name but two) don't count then?

For a movie to live up to such a title, it would have to be the best version ever, and this isn't. It isn't helped by having live-action bookends of the great man (played here by Simon Callow, also the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge) performing a dramatic reading of his book in Boston. Or by having a pair of mice throughout the movie as the closest things to soulmates the man has (cute animals should be left to Disney and Disney alone). Or by animation that's depressingly crude for the most part (it all looks like a poor 1970s TV show, with the exception of the journeys the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present take our "hero" on, where the movie really does come to life for a bit). Or by Piet Kroon and Robert "Kryten" Llewellyn's script, or Julian Nott's score (pains me to say it, but the songs from Kate Winslet and Charlotte Church are the highpoints).

And as for Nicolas Cage as Jacob Marley... not since the late lamented Lorenzo Music did Peter Venkman on "The Real Ghostbusters" has there been such a shockingly bad case of cartoon miscasting. And some people wonder why so many of us love Pixar.

Out of all the adaptations of this classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens, this is probably a really good one in my opinion! the story is really good though compared to the original novel; but of course in the novel Ebenezer Scrooge encounters Jacob Marley's ghost in his bedroom, but in this version it's in his office. plus the animation looks really decent and okay in my book though especially the backgrounds that look like something you see in a Christmas card or from Dicken's original illustrations to the novel that's based on the original novel, plus Simon Callow does a really good job voicing Scrooge and playing Charles Dickens in the live action segments as well as Nicolas Cage as Jacob Marley and kudos to Kate Winslet from Titanic (1997) voicing Scrooge's fiancé Belle. yet this movie has some dark moments along with some sad moments and I wouldn't call this a boring adaption, if your a fan to any adaptation to a Christmas Carol along with the Muppets version, check this one out if you have kids in your family!

Worthwhile adaptation about timeless and quintessential Christmas tale , it is definitely worth a look thanks to splendid animated images . It's fun , touching and different approach to the Christmas classic with acceptable effects by cartoon , dealing with the known story about an old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve . A Christmas Carol is an agreeable production , a wonderful and straight-forward approach to the Dickens's source material , being splendid but freely adapted . It stars with a live-action sequence set in Boston in 1857, the site of a live reading by renowned novelist Dickens played by Simon Callow. The production values & drawing are both adequate with just enough attractive to appeal to the tenderhearted , and with touching doses of horror , case of the potentially frightening elements the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future , adding sentiment ; all of them are blended into the mix , until , like a nice Christmas punch , the result appeals to all . Scrooge is a miserly old businessman in 1840's London . He displays no charity to mankind generally , and in particular , to his employee Bob Cratchett and his unfortunate son , Tiny Tim . One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of Marley, his dead business partner. He is warned that he must change his miserly ways or face damnation . Marley foretells that Scrooge will be visited by three spirits , each of whom will attempt to show Scrooge the error of his ways . In Just One Night, He Has Seen His Past, His Present, And His Future. And They've All Come Back To Haunt Him Will Scrooge reform his ways in time to celebrate Christmas? . To his delight, the spirits complete their visits in one night giving him the opportunity to mend his ways. The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past , shows Scrooge visions of his own past in which had spent much of his childhood neglected by his father over the holidays at boarding school until he was finally brought home by his loving sister Fan who died prematurely after giving birth to his nephew Fred . A past in which appears a young Scrooge and including a broken engagement to his girlfriend . In Just One Night , He Has Seen His Past, His Present, And His Future. And They've All Come Back To Haunt Him Will Scrooge reform his ways in time to celebrate Christmas? .

A marvelous recounting of a Christmas vintage classic , beginning with Dickens himself explains that the mouse, named Gabriel, carries a blaze of hope amidst the glaring co-existence of rich and poor in the streets of London in this retelling of Charles Dickens' immortal story . As throughout the subsequent unfolding of the famous tale a pair of mouse providing younger members of the audience with a point of childish style into the story . Decent and stirring rendition with top-notch animated drawings . Atmospherically, the movie is as comfortable and heartwarming as an old Christmas card , including potentially frightening aspects : the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future .The whole concept of looking at your life in the past, present and future is creative in and of itself . After watching the movie, you may look at your life from the same perspectives . And adding the pleasant voices from prestigious actors , such as : Simon Callow as Scrooge / Charles Dickens , Nicolas Cage , Kate Winslet , Jane Horrocks , Rhys Ifans , Juliet Stevenson , Robert Llewellyn and Michael Gambon who also played a Scrooge role in the Doctor Who (2005) episode and A Christmas Carol . Though most of us , if not all of us, have seen other adaptations in the past or read the story,and know already what to expect, director Jimmy Murakami manages to capture pure magic with this peculiar portrayal of main character Ebenezer Scrooge , and it is definitely worth a look . It's fun and different approach to the Christmas classic. A highly recommended film that nobody should miss it especially during Christmas time still ranks as one of the most enjoyable adaptations of the Dickens classic ever. This animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption will appeal to Charles Dickens novel fans .

The motion picture was well directed by Jimmy T. Murakami . He was born on June 5, 1933 in San Jose, California, USA as Teruaki Murakami and died in Dublín , 2014 . He is known for his work on Breath (1967), Humanoids from the Deep (1980) , Heavy Metal (1981) , The Christmas Story Keepers (1998) , The Easter Story Keepers (1998) and Kate Bush: King of the Mountain (2005) . And When the wind blows (1986) that was his greatest hit along with a Sci-Fi movie titled Battle beyond the stars produced by Roger Corman .

Other versions about this stunning story courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions are the following ones : The rather obscure 1935 version with Sir Seymour Hicks , the 1951 British production with Alastair Sim, Jack Warner , adaptation released by MGM in 1938 with Reginald Owen , Gene Lockhart , and the 1970 musical, with Albert Finney , Frank Finlay . Under the title of 'A Christmas Carol' a cartoon rendition (1997) by Stan Phillips and voiced by Tim Curry and another (1991) by Jimmy T Murakami with Simon Callow . The made-for-TV productions: 1984 with George C. Scott , 1999 with Patrick Stewart , Richard E. Grant , Saskia Reeves , Laura Fraser , Joel Grey and the 2004 musical, with Kelsey Grammer . Finally , ¨Robert Zemeckis's Christmas Carol¨ in which Jim Carrey demonstrates once again his versatility on screen ; it is given the full ¨Motion Capture¨ deluxe treatment in a superior film directed by Robert Zemeckis with Jim Carrey , Robin Wright , Colin Firth , Dominic West , adding stunning special effects with a nice little touch , but it is Carrey's interaction with the 'ghosts' and various characters that really steal the show ; including top-drawer effects by means of ¨Motion Capture¨, a technique developed by Robert Zemeckis in previous films as Beowulf and Polar Express .

There is nothing wrong with changing a story so long as you admit to it. So unlike many children's films where a classic is ruined and the child grows up in ignorance and never knows the difference, this film has the charming idea of having live action Charles Dickens go to America and tell the story to an audience explaining it isn't quite the same as how he wrote it in the book, thus growing curiosity and encouraging children to read the true classics of this world. The only real fault with this film is its ghastly title (and possible when the child of ignorance disintegrates, being too scary for children). I admit as a film student I had very low expectations of ANOTHER adaption of A Christmas Carol but was for once very pleasantly surprised and refreshingly, no one bursts into song and no animals talk in this film. The acting is very good and the voice talents obviously cared about this job. How Scrooge acts after the ghost of Christmas Future and how he makes the Christmas miracles are more realistic than I've seen in any adaption for a long time. Things don't happen with a snap of the fingers and this children's film truly does give hope to the most desperate of souls.

Bookended by Simon Callow as Charles Dickens on an American tour, we get an animated version of the novella with a fine cast that includes Callow as Scrooge, Kate Winslett, Nick Cage, Jane Harrocks, Michael Gambon, and Rhys Ifans.

Nothing is ever going to topple the 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Scrooge from the top of the pile (with the Mr. Magoo version a sentimental second, even with wazzlebewwy dwessing). This animated version tells its variation of the familiar tale well. Even so, there are numerous reasons why it did poorly at the box office. Most obvious among them is the choice of color palettes. For the first third of the film, through the journey of Scrooge into the past, we are confronted with a dull, brown wash to everything. The choice makes perfect sense on paper. It shows the world from Scrooge's viewpoint, and it is only the opening of his heart that brings light and color into his world. Nonetheless, it is dull, and twenty-five minutes of dullness is not a good way to begin anything, Cicero to the contrary.

The other issues are more personal. I have seen more than a dozen versions of the tale, so the beginning, with its air of mystery as to who Kate Winslett may be is no mystery to me. True, to someone seeing this as the first version of the tale, it may beguile. But that novitiate is not going to get the purpose of Callow as Dickens. The net result is that this is perfectly adequate, but not particularly telling.