Sunday, December 06, 2009

A Christmas Carol

Today's topic is another Christmas classic: A Christmas Carol.

For those of you who don't know A Christmas Carol WAS originally a book penned by author Charles Dickens. And probably the shortest thing he ever wrote. But most people don't know the story of Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas that way. Especially with Disney's new adaptation now in theaters. By the way, has anyone seen it yet? I want to know if it's worth seeing.

But back on topic. I wasn't an exception to this stereotype. And today's post isn't going to talk abut the book either. Instead we're going to discuss my experience with A Christmas Carol. It wasn't until middle school that I learned A Christmas Carol originally was a book. My first interaction was with this:



That's right, it's Mickey's Christmas Carol. Hey, you guys already know I'm a Disney nut, we're you surprised? This was my first Christmas Carol and it remains one of my favorites. I loved seeing all my favorite Disney characters pop up in this one. Although Pete as the Ghost of Christmas Future still creeps me out, and it gave me nightmares as a kid. I would fast forward through that part to the end until I was about 8 years old. I know, I'm a sissy. But at least I'm an unscared sissy!

It's a very kid-friendly adaptation (despite creepy Pete) for those of you who haven't seen it. And the good news is that it is now available on DVD as part of Disney Animation Collection 7: Mickey's Christmas Carol. I just ordered my copy and it should be here any day now!

Now, for those of you who are observant, you'll notice I didn't say Mickey's Christmas Carol was my all-time favorite version. Nope, that spot is reserved for A Muppet Christmas Carol:


Can I just say that Michael Caine as Scrooge is downright scary in this beginning? He was a perfect choice for the part. A Muppet Christmas Carol is everything you could wish for in a Muppet movie. It tells a lot more of the story (including the sad bits), but you have a lot of zany Muppet fun to break up the story and make it not so sad/scary. And I love the music too. And lets face it. Statler and Waldorf make pretty scary Marley ghosts.

This is by far one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Although I do occasionally miss some of my other Christmas movies each year, this is one I always watch. And sometimes multiple times. It's probably time for me to break down and buy the The Muppet Christmas Carol - Kermit's 50th Anniversary EditionDVD, since my old VHS tape is pretty much shot.

In closing, I leave you with one of my favorite parts of A Muppet Christmas Carol (if you're reading this in a feed you might need to click over to view it):

6 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

My favorite is a toss-up between the 1970 musical Scrooge and A Muppet Christmas Carol. Both are musicals with wonderful songs and Michael Caine does make one spectacular Scrooge (it takes a lot of comedic talent and screen presence to hold one's own with muppets!), but Albert Finney is also a remarkable Scrooge and I adore how giddy he gets when drinking The Milk of Human Kindness. I have also had the pleasure of seeing a theater adaptation and it was stunning!

(Reposted using the correct account this time; I need to watch that.)

Alyssa F said...

Yeah, I've done that before. It gets confusing!

Cecelia said...

Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite version, too! My whole family loves it and watches it every year before Christmas. Great post!

Jenny N. said...

Its amazing how you can remember all the different experiences you had with this movie. I know I must have watched a version of A Christmas Carol before but have no idea which or how old I was when I did.

Alessandra said...

I used to watch Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol, too! When I was a kid, we usually spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents'. They always aired The Sword in the Rock, for some reason (it doesn't strike me as particularly Christmas-related, but who knows?). Then for a few years they aired Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol. I have no idea what has been on television the night of Dec 24 these last years, though.