Advent Blog Day 28: A Christmas Carol - Animated

I like cartoons. I like animated movies. I always loved Disney. And Disney stepped its toe into the Christmas Carol. So here we go, animated versions of a Christmas Carol. But first - it's the fourth day of Christmas. So four calling birds complete with cell phones.

And now on with the shows!

Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol 1962

Not everyone may be familiar with Mr. Magoo. He was a regular cartoon character when I was a kid. Jim Backus voiced him. Jim was the millionaire on Gilligan's Island. The point of Mr. Magoo is that he badly needs glasses but won't wear them so he ends up in strange situations because he can't see. It's politically incorrect now - but it was great amusement in the 60's. So here Mr Magoo plays Mr Magoo playing Scrooge in a play. I could have put this in the musical category. You can read my review here.

The Stingiest Man in Town 1978 Walter Matthew voices Scrooge in this version done by Rankin and Bass. Yes, that Rankin and Bass responsible for our much loved Christmas specials, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and others that was so much a part of my childhood Christmas. This too is a musical. I guess cartoons and musicals just go together.

Mickey's Christmas Carol 1983

Now who else from the Disney troupe would play Scrooge other than Scrooge McDuck? Mickey takes the supporting role of Bob Cratchit, Goofy is Marley, and Donald plays Scrooge's nephew Fred. No one has noticed the oddity of naming the movie after Mickey when Scrooge is the star. According to Wikipedia, it's Mickey's first appearance in theaters in thirty years.

A Flintstones Christmas Carol 1994

The Flintstone was an evening cartoon in the 60's meant for the amusement of adults as well as kids. I have to ask though - how can a prehistoric family celebrate the birth of a babe not due for several thousand more years? In this story, the gang is in the play A Christmas Carol and Fred has the lead role. So it cuts back and forth between the play and the back stage shenanigans.

Christmas Carol The Movie 2001

Simon Callow voices Ebenezer, Kate Winslet is Belle and Nicholas Cage is Marley. In this version, Ebenezer gets a second chance with Belle, and he's a slightly younger character.

I know pretty much nothing about this one. I included it because of Kate Winslet and Nicholas Cage.

Disney's A Christmas Carol 2009

If you're going to watch an animated version - this is the one. Jim Carey takes on the role of Ebenezer in this visually stunning movie from the same guy that did Polar Express. It received mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it. There were things in the movie that were in the book that other movies didn't do.

Jim plays four parts. He's Scrooge but he's actually the ghosts as well which is an interesting psychological study. It's like he's telling himself to change. For my review on this movie you can read it here.

On to part 4 of this series tomorrow!