Media Essays: A Humbug Comparison (Animated) Part 1

Written by Captain Conroy

Right, we’ve looked at some live action ones, let’s take a look at some of the animated ones shall we?

Version 1:

From: A Christmas Carol (1982)

Voiced By: Ron Haddrick (9th April 1929 – 2020)

Distributor: Burbank Films Australia

First Released: 22 December 1982 via Nine Network

So, to kick-start talking about the animated ones, there’s always a good chance you may not have heard of this one and I’ll be frank, I didn’t either until I just ended up discovering it on YouTube one day, and the rest as they say is history. But still, this is a version which came from 1982 and was made by Burbank Films Australia – funnily enough I was already familiar with them because of an adaptation of Black Beauty they made, and I happened to have it on video – however I think I’ll save that for another post. This one is about Scrooge after all and Scrooge you came to read about, so here we go.

We first see him in the film’s opening minding his own business and naturally not stopping to tip any carol singers or saying Merry Christmas to anyone, which is to be expected. But one thing which already says a lot about this Scrooge compared to most is that when a boy stealing bread bumps into him, Scrooge doesn’t raise his cane at him but he outright grabs the boy and shakes him.

Not afraid to get full hands on, is he? I mean even if he doesn’t out right hit him, it’s still enough to say about him that he gets physical with any child who bumps into him. So, we already know that he keeps to himself, never says Merry Christmas and even dogs avoid him and that he gets hands on with children, which is a good establishment of his character as it tells us all we need to know about him in a few minutes as most good adaptations do. However, we do get to something which does have a reoccurring theme with at least some animated adaptations, not all of them, just some and that is that some of them really like to really emphasise or over exaggerate is how cheap he is. When we first see him at work, Bob Cratchit has already got a fire going, goodness knows how much coal he used but when Scrooge adds to it, he only takes one piece of coal.

And furthermore it of course doesn’t add much to the fire but Scrooge just eyes Cratchit and then settles down at his desk ready to work as if it’ll make do. He even says later to Jacob Marley how coal’s too expensive – but of course this is to be expected of someone like Scrooge where he has a lot of money but clearly doesn’t like spending it as he doesn’t even bother to make himself comfortable with it a lot of the time. But if anything else, this Scrooge really shuts off from Christmas as once he shoos a carol singer away, he sees a wreath on his door and wonders what it’s for as he’s not dead.

“What’s this wreath for? I’m not dead!”

One would think he had never seen a Christmas wreath before given he’s asking what it’s for – I genuinely don’t know whether to laugh at this Scrooge or feel sorry for him. But it certainly says a lot, doesn’t it? Similar to Alastair Sim’s version – we even get to see Scrooge at an inn but not making rather merry as of course Scrooge’s merriment comes later.

Goodness knows what he could possibly be drinking – probably whatever was the cheapest drink to get a hold of at the time - especially if he’s anything like Sim’s version where he won’t pay as little as a ha’penny extra for more bread. But once Jacob Marley’s ghost comes and goes and Christmas Past comes to see him, we at least begin to see the start of Scrooge’s change as not only does he shed a little tear of nostalgia, but he outright cries a little at having seen himself as a child.

I’ve seen harder Scrooges where they don’t cry at seeing themselves as a child alone but to see this Scrooge do it makes for an interesting turn in his character. Especially when the vision of himself as a child reminds him of the boy who was singing outside his door and he remorsefully admits to Past that he didn’t give him some money. More interesting still is that when he reminisces about Fezziwig’s party while reliving this moment, he starts dancing and is quick to criticise Past for having no sense of fun which Past throws back at him with a witty comment.

And before anybody asks, no – I have no idea why Christmas Past looks like a character from Greek folklore. But the point stands, this Scrooge is quite a bit of a hypocrite isn’t he? But he doesn’t deny Past when he comments he was quite the dancer and he adds to it by saying he was a dancer and a half. Full of himself isn’t he? However as hypocritical as it was of him to say that Past has no sense of fun – he is quick to release how he has the power to make Bob Cratchit happy or unhappy when he’s saying to Past that Fezziwig had the power to do the same and that the money spent doesn’t matter.

“It was at this moment when Scrooge realised he ****ed up.”

But the most interesting thing for me going through this Scrooge’s past is that Christmas Past comments how much older he looks and even saying how he looked 35 at one point when Scrooge said he was 25 and that he was busy making his way in the world.

Talk about how one’s life flashes before their eyes am I right? And after the breakup with Belle, he gets to see what he could have had much like George C. Scott’s version of the character did – however before he gets to see Christmas Past takes him over and during the journey, he swats at Past to let him go and he does – while they’re flying!

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he? Ah well, at least there was a nice lot of soft snow to catch him or else that would have buggered his redemption. But even so, his redemption is still a bit of a rocky road as to start he doesn’t seem to get much point in Present’s visit and when Present asks him what he likes when he said that he doesn’t like turkey or pheasant that he likes cold toast and a cup of tea – once again it is not unheard of for animated versions to exaggerate Scrooge’s cheapness.

And yes – laugh, Present looks like Santa Claus and Past looks like a Greek Hero – what are they doing with these character designs? Goodness knows. But all in all midway through Present’s visit – we do at least get the signs of him changing feeling for Tiny Tim and actually turning away his cold toast and a cup of tea when Present offers him something to eat during watching the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner. But my favourite part is when Present asks him how much he pays Bob and he seriously needs a moment to think about it and when he does, he has to repeat his answer as he seemed a little bit embarrassed to admit it.

But he does at least say to Bob he’s sorry, even if he can’t hear him which, is another hint of his redemption beginning to take shape. But afterwards he says he isn’t having Christmas dinner as he hasn’t got a family – at least until Present reminds him he has Fred, but he declined every invitation to dine with him. Once he’s witnessed Fred’s happy scene and learns about ignorance and want, Christmas Yet To Come takes over as usual to show him the final key steps to making Scrooge a better man.

And yes, Christmas Yet To Come looks like a Grim Reaper, these character designs, right?

“But Conroy, that’s how he usually looks!”

Ah yes, silly me. But while Scrooge’s path to redemption is showcased here – this Scrooge continues to not be a particularly bright Scrooge as he gets hints like someone is sat in his usual place at the usual time at the inn instead of him and outright somebody else working in his office instead of him – this reminds me a little of Sim’s version once again when he realises that he’s not there at his usual place at the usual time. But he does of course see on the gravestone and he goes out into the world to make good with himself and for others like usual. It gets interesting the next day however when instead of looking like he’s about to fire Bob for being late, he takes the inquisitive approach by asking him about what caused the merriment along with additional questions like if he and his family enjoyed the turkey and so forth. To be honest I’m surprised that Bob didn’t latch on sooner as the careful observer will note not only did Scrooge never take much time to even talk to Bob, but that he does not appear angry with him as he says it.

But after telling Bob he’ll raise his salary, orders him to put coal on the fire and then they’ll discuss his affairs, the movie just ends there which makes it come across like they rushed it as opposed to finishing it off properly. Regardless of this and any other faults the movie has – this is a pretty decent take on Scrooge in general.

The character design is befitting for Scrooge, one could say he looks rather stereotypical as far as designs go for him, but it at least works and in animated works, it’s not unheard of for Scrooge to have either a balding head of grey hair – sometimes white hair, a big nose or both. But one thing I can’t help but notice is that even before redemption, this Scrooge doesn’t seem to mind wearing brighter colours going for a blue frock coat and breeches with a green waistcoat and stockings with a light brownish cravat with his scarf being a similar colour with the only black things being his top hat and shoes. I don’t know why they did this, but I love it.

As far as his voice goes, he is voiced by the late Ron Haddrick. I mean no disrespect to him and I’m sure he did have some damn good acting credits under his belt but the voice he gives Scrooge sounds very put on – it doesn’t sound completely natural, and it bothers me personally. It just sounds like someone pretending to be a grumpy old man – to which you could say “Well duh, that’s what acting is about!”, but if you’re going to have an Ebenezer Scrooge, he shouldn’t sound like someone pretending to be a grumpy old man, he should sound more natural like some of the other entries we’ll be looking at. However, it is interesting to note that Ron voiced Scrooge prior in an adaptation from 1969.

Some things never change eh? It’s even funny how similar these two Scrooges look – but this does feed into what I was saying earlier about how in animated adaptations Scrooge has a habit of looking like a grumpy, balding old man with grey or white hair and a big nose. But that draws this entry to close and while this version of the story is nothing to write home about – this Scrooge is a decent take on the character and is still a good adaptation in general.

Version 2:

From: A Christmas Carol (1997)

Voiced By: Tim Curry (Born 19th April 1946: Aged 78 years at the time of writing)

Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

First Released: 11 October 1997 via Video

Right then, now we have one from a different kind of adaptation as this one is a direct-to-video, and thus along with it, of course we need a Scrooge. The main question here though is that despite this being a direct-to-video adaptation, does this skimp on the classic tale as a whole? Let alone its leading man? Let’s take a look, shall we?

This version of the story is a musical and it’s during the opening song that we see our miserable old miser for the first time, and already a lot is established. You get the usual, he’s grumpy, he hates Christmas, he’s a loner and all of that. However things quickly establish further as once the song number is over we see Bob Cratchit working and happily humming until Scrooge tells him to stop, and then we see something else which is by far one of the most interesting things about any Scrooge there is. And that is that yes, he’s a miserable old skinflint, but yet – he’s not so cheap as to not own a dog.

Appropriately enough, he has a money themed name – Debit. It shouldn’t come off as much surprise though that Scrooge is not very nice to him, which makes you wonder up until we see hints of his redemption coming and once his redemption has come as to why he even bothers to have a dog if he only calls him names and treats him like a liability. Naturally, Debit embraces acts of kindness such as when he meets Tiny Tim while Scrooge doesn’t bother to show him any.

But that brings us to how like George C. Scott’s version – Scrooge meets Tim before the visits, mistaking him for a beggar and outright is ready to strike him with a cane until Bob stops him. And when he does, he’s surprised Bob even has a family and chooses his words hesitantly and carefully, which is one of those very rare occasions Scrooge remembers his manners.

Of course, his manners don’t last long as he is quick to resent Cratchit and reluctantly allow him the day off, shakes his head at the sight of him and Tim sliding down the hill on the ice together and makes a not so polite request of a plate of hash and scraps for Debit. During the musical number – A Random Act Of Kindness though – it looks like Scrooge was given Debit’s scraps and Debit was given his meal, but he just makes do with it.

Come on Scrooge, I know you don’t usually bother to make yourself comfortable with your wealth, but you’ve really made a dog’s dinner out of it this time, haven’t you? (I’m here all night lol). I did say earlier though how animated versions like exaggerating Scrooge’s cheapness and mean side. This shows the cheap side and earlier showcased a mean side by throwing coal at a boy at his step and making Bob fetch it all back in, and is quick to tell him off for only bringing back five lumps of coal when he threw six. Heck, even mice are unfortunate enough to suffer from his nastiness.

“Now come on Scwooge, you wouldn’t hurt an innocent wickle Mousey would you?” Don’t worry about him though folks, he gets away and it briefly turns into a Tom and Jerry cartoon as Debit chases him and crashes into the Mouse Hole.

Like some Scrooges, this one is a tough nut to crack as it takes a fair while for the Ghosts to properly get through to him and make him see the error of his ways and thus offer him the chance to escape Marley’s fate for sure. Yet nothing stops him from being one of the more emotional Scrooges out there as during the visits to the past, present and future, he does cry a few times.

See what I mean? There are no escaping tears for this Scrooge be it past, present or future, be it haunting memories, uncertain futures or genuine feelings of remorse. Which is always quite the something whenever this Scrooge is capable of feeling anything other than a cold, unfeeling attitude towards others because of how quick he is to dismiss his own feelings and some of Past and Present’s teachings even going so far as to dismiss Christmas as a selfish time of year.

“Yes – of course it is, and I’m the King Of France.” Present even drops him and saves him to show an act of selflessness but yet Scrooge is quick to dismiss it as only saving him so she could annoy him even further. Remember what I said about him being a tough nut to crack? Present even calls him a tough old walnut.

But it’s not all bad as out of all the Scrooges I’ve seen – this one seems to care the most about his break up with Belle as they share a song moment on the bridge. However it would have been executed better had a little more been established as he shows Belle the profit from his first business venture and then they have their duet. It would have worked so much better if they had got to talk first and have the usual say of how a golden idle has displaced her and how he believes that nothing is more cruel on the world than poverty. Heck, we don’t even see him meet Belle at Fezziwig’s party which makes Past’s visit seem rather incomplete. And only is it by the time Present grows really old and her time is up before Scrooge starts to know the feeling of enjoyment and that the lessons are finally beginning to be learnt.

I mean yes, during Past’s visit he gets to have a little dance, but this enjoyment is not to last and yes, he has a little dance and gets to join in the musical number Santa’s Sooty Suit but because of his hardness, his redemption doesn’t feel quite as well earned as the other Scrooges. And yes, he does start to take the lessons on and well and truly does take them in the end, but it was because of how long it took as to why I feel this way. I’m not saying it isn’t well earned – just not to the same extent as the others as some Scrooges begin to take on good points as early as Past and it’s usually by Present’s visit, he starts to learn and certainly benefits the most from.

But once his redemption comes – things do take another interesting turn how Scrooge arranges to meet Fred at Bob’s house, and he is able to showcase his redemption to them both at once as opposed to what usual adaptations do when he shows Fred first and then Bob the next day. Could this too be seen as being rushed? To be honest, not really as the way the scene is played out showcasing everything we need to see, like Scrooge seeming unchanged to showing he’s changed and planning things to do with the Cratchits and finally reconciling with Fred which was honestly a sweet scene by itself.

So, this Scrooge’s road to redemption was a pretty rocky one, but do first impressions turn into lasting ones though? I’ll say they do as this Scrooge is voiced by Tim Curry, and given that it’s Tim Curry, you can bet your high horses he gave a performance that was not to be less expected from him. Tim was perfect in this role and voiced Scrooge so well and it helped that he had the versatility to go along with it to display Scrooge’s character from hard and unfeeling to joyful and pleasant, and as always Tim’s voice is a treat to listen to. Furthermore, someone must either have liked him enough as an actor or had seen this and liked him enough in it as he played the role again in 2001 for the Madison Square Garden and participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and performed God Bless Us Everyone in the same year.

Like so.

And this Scrooge has the kind of character design one would expect from an animated adaptation as I said earlier when talking about the Burbank one. Big nose, blading grey hair and he certainly isn’t done up too badly either. I like how the jacket is black, and the trousers are grey pinstriped and the waistcoat is dark red, it says a lot about Scrooge doesn’t it when he’s wearing most of the dark colours compared to everyone else. Outdoors the colours continue in the same way as we have the black top hat, the red scarf and the long grey overcoat in this case – I guess it was made grey to show the black contrast in the cuffs.

Overall, this Scrooge along with the adaptation he’s from are O.K, they’re nothing spectacular compared to the bigger adaptations, but it's fine in its own way and Tim Curry largely helped with bringing out the best side of him. But it still says a lot when we have a Scrooge who owns a dog and it says a lot about the way he’s treated when he criticises him for his lack of help when Christmas Past is taking him off and during Past’s visit when Scrooge strokes him, he seems to be expecting a blow at first before he realizes it’s O.K as Scrooge isn’t abusing him.

          “You’re no help Debit! Let go!”                        “Aw hell no, I ain’t letting go!”

But for the rocky road to Scrooge’s redemption here and this adaptation may not be a whole lot to write home about expect for its cast – I’ll still take it over the last entry we have to talk about on this comparison in Part 2. But of course, for the next part, we’ll take a look at the penultimate entry on this essay as there’s certainly lots to talk about with this one and he’s even one of my favourites to which I’ll do my best to express why this is…

Continued in Part 2...