My 5 Favourite Christmas Carol Adaptations

Who doesn't love A Christmas Carol?

Written by Charles Dickens and released in 1843, A Christmas Carol is unquestionably the most famous Christmas story ever written. It's been adapted and parodied to death in media and is probably only rivaled by Twas the Night Before Christmas in that department. The book is well known for being so easily adaptable to the point you can tell ANY kind of story with it (Winnie the Pooh even did an Easter themed version of the story and there have also been Halloween versions of it) and is also credited for reinventing how we celebrate Christmas to this day.

And because there are so many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, naturally we all have our favourites. I myself have at least five favourites. But which ones are they? Which ones make the count? Well, that's what you're here for. ;)

Let's take a walk with the Three Spirits of Christmas and countdown my Top 5 Favourite Christmas Carol adaptations...

Number 5: The Muppets Christmas Carol

I won't talk too much about this one as I did review it a couple of years ago. For full details, see mine and Jacob Coad's review here.

As is, I can give an abridged version of my thoughts and why I consider this among my favourite adaptations of A Christmas Carol. I love how they told the story with a Muppets twist and still made it a faithful adaptation. Despite the Muppets being there, the story never got too goofy or silly and the Muppets didn't detract from the adaptation. On the contrary, their presence enhanced the experience and made this adaptation more unique in its execution compared to other versions. Also, the writing has some VERY clever ideas on how it tells the story of A Christmas Carol such as Christmas Past being a child and Christmas Present being forgetful, but having one of the Muppets characters (Gonzo) telling the story while posing as the Charles Dickens was by far the best idea the movie had. It allowed for some prose from the book to make it into the movie, thus providing wonderful fan-service for Charles Dickens fans without it being distracting for casual viewers.

Being a Muppets movie, naturally there's a lot of great jokes throughout the movie and of course, fantastic musical numbers. Every song in the movie is memorable and fun to sing along to, and they add that extra level of enjoyment to the movie. Unlike that 2023 Scrooge movie where its tone was all over the place and making it a musical just felt gimmicky and overly silly, the musical moments in this movie come at the right moments and don't feel out-of-place or silly at all. Combine all that with Sir Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, and you have one of the most enjoyable adaptations of A Christmas Carol to date.

The Muppets Christmas Carol: I will hold this movie close with a Thankful Heart, always.

Number 4: A Christmas Carol 1984

You can't really go wrong with A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott, can you?

This version of A Christmas Carol is another very faithful adaptation, and I believe it's often ranked up there as one of the most beloved versions. I even consider it among the best adaptations out there, and it's why it has a spot on the list. The 1984 Christmas Carol adaptation tells the story very faithfully, while also expanding on the source material in ways that feel natural and unintrusive. Case in point, we actually see Scrooge's father during his visit to the past, unlike other versions where we never see him. We even see a scene of Belle with her new family after she dumped Scrooge, which I thought was a neat idea. I can't really think of any other adaptations of the story where we see Belle's post-Scrooge life, so that was neat.

I also found this version of Scrooge one of the most fascinating takes on the character, and maybe one of the most realistic too. This Scrooge is a tougher nut to crack than other Scrooges, which only made his interactions with the spirits more challenging for them and also more compelling for us as we see this Scrooge isn't so easily swayed, or at least is more able to hide it. All of that plus George C. Scott's marvellous performance definitely makes for one of the most compelling Scrooges ever put to film. He's not the only great actor in this of course, for David Warner is a surprisingly convincing Bob Cratchit despite his career usually consisting of him playing villains. The actors playing Jacob Marley and the spirits are all great too, and Marley himself is depicted with some fantastic make-up work to truly make him look scary. The film itself looks pretty good for a low-budget TV movie made in the 80's with some of the cinematography helping set the mood for the darker and more emotional moments of the story. I also like how it was filmed in Britain too, which helps the setting look more authentic and truer to the story.

This adaptation is a great version of A Christmas Carol that tells the story faithfully, while also adding some of its own elements to make the story even stronger, and has a solid cast and direction that truly brings the classic Dickens novel to laugh. There's nothing humbug about this version of the story...

Number 3: A Christmas Carol 1999

An adaptation of A Christmas Carol starring SIR PATRICK STEWART is Ebenezer Scrooge?! YES PLEASE! :D

Funny enough, Patrick Stewart has actually performed one-man shows of A Christmas Carol, so I guess it was inevitable that he would be in an actual adaptation of the novel. And lo and behold, this version of the story is another one of my favourites. This version of A Christmas Carol is yet another made-for-TV movie that takes advantage of what it has to give us a great version of the story. The cinematography, while basic, is still solid and even has some pretty good effects by 1990's TV standards. While yes, Christmas-Yet-To-Come can look a bit goofy with its glowing Jawa-eyes, I still think they did a good job on the costumes and the practical effects for the movie. Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Scrooge especially look great onscreen here, and they really did make Jacob look like a real ghost in this. The setting, the filming locations and the costume work also sell that this is a Victorian England and truly make it feel like we've been transported back in time to the days of old.

The cast are on top-form here, which is to be expected when you have big names like Patrick Stewart, Dominic Lewis, Richard E. Grant and more in it. They play their roles perfectly and give us solid takes on these classic characters. Patrick Stewart's Scrooge especially is one of my favourite takes on the character ever, as is Richard E. Grant's take on Bob Cratchit. I also like the soundtrack to this movie. The music is well done and fits the scenes perfectly, as well as being pleasant to listen to. When I watch this movie, one of my favourite scenes to watch tends to be the dinner scene with the Cratchits. Not sure why, I just always enjoy watching that scene in this version. When it comes to how faithfully it adapts the story, this Christmas Carol movie actually keeps Christmas Present's speech he gives to Scrooge that most versions leave out, but it also adds its own twist to the story by having the movie open up with Marley's funeral. Not many versions do that, so that was a neat new addition, as is showing Scrooge going to church to join some singers for singing hymns on Christmas Day.

This version of A Christmas Carol might not be the most unique adaptation of the story, but it is one of the most solid takes out there with its faithful adaptation of the source material, great choice of actors to play the characters and some surprisingly good practical effects for the time.

Number 2: Blackadder's Christmas Carol

Blackadder is often hailed as among the greatest British sitcoms of all time. I'm inclined to agree as I find the show to be a damn funny series from beginning to end with Blackadder Goes Forth especially being when the show's comedy truly peaked. So naturally, their take on A Christmas Carol is among the funniest adaptations of the story.

The thing that makes this version of A Christmas Carol so funny is that it's a twist on the story. While doing a twist on the classic tale is nothing unique, this version still does it in a way that's so funny and makes it stand out from other Christmas Carol adaptations. The story is essentially "A Christmas Carol, but Scrooge is nice and turns nasty after a visit from the spirits". That's SUCH a funny idea, and the execution is pitch perfect. The writers, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, deserve all the praise here for their sharp comedic writing and witty dialogue, but the comical line delivery and performances from Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson and more are also the icing on the cake for this special. Everybody was on top form here and are the reason why this special is such a laugh-out-loud riot. There's a lot of memorable and quotable lines here and some really great gags that you'll be laughing at. I dare not spoil any of them for you as the special won't be as funny otherwise. While the story is basically "A Christmas Carol flipped on its head", the story does get more creative with the idea than just being a straight adaptation. For example, we only see one spirit instead of three, Christmas future is depicted as this sci-fi meets Ancient Rome style world and the visions are all of Blackadder's ancestors, so we get flashbacks of his selves from previous Blackadder seasons. Those parts are neat bits of fan-service for Blackadder fans as we get to see the Blackadders of Seasons 2 and 3 again, but it's not fan-service just for the sake of it. It's done in a way that makes sense for the story, so it's not intrusive or awkward, nor overly pandering to fans.

Speaking of fans, I can say that while this special IS accessible to non-fans of Blackadder, I DO recommend watching the show beforehand as it makes the scenes of Blackadder being nice even funnier when you know the character he usually is. Still, if I were to recommend a stand-alone Blackadder episode that people can watch without getting lost, this would be it. It's a fun Christmas special with a lot of great humour, hilarious performances from the cast and a comedic spin on A Christmas Carol that only Blackadder could provide.

Blackadder's Christmas Carol: A story that will go down in Blackadder's family history as one of his funniest adventures ever...

And My Number 1 Favourite A Christmas Carol Adaptation is: A Christmas Carol 2009

I'm sure many people are looking at me weird and asking "Seriously? You're naming THIS version as your favourite?"

I'm aware the 2009 Christmas Carol movie has a mixed reception amongst fans of the story with some either thinking its great or thinking its a poor adaptation. I can easily nitpick some of the weird choices they made with the story, such as some unnecessary comedy that kills the mood or how we have an entire chase scene between Christmas Future and Scrooge that clearly exists just to show off how pretty the animation is, and also the motion capture animation does look a tad dated. Unlike those that dislike this adaptation however, I can still enjoy this movie in spite of its flaws.

This version of A Christmas Carol feels like one of the most faithful adaptations (extra scenes not withstanding) out there. Tonally, it's the truest to the book and even the depiction of the Three Spirits is straight out of the book, something that live-action adaptations couldn't pull off due to their limitations. This movie also takes full advantage of the fact its animated with a lot of fun action scenes and visuals that we don't get in other versions of the story. The way Christmas Present would travel London especially was such a creative and cool visual and I love watching it every time I pop this on. I also love how this version gave us the creepiest version of Christmas-Yet-To-Come with how its literally depicted as a shadow that stalks Scrooge wherever he goes and can interact with the physical world. That's so cool and creepy.

One of the best new things this movie gave us of course, is that gut-wrenching moment where Scrooge is forced to stare into the grief-stricken face of Jacob Marley as he cries for his lost son. That was such a powerful moment, and I feel all Christmas Carol adaptations should include it.

And of course, I have to talk about the cast. Who'd have thought that Jim Freaking Carrey of all people would be a really good Scrooge? Seriously, on paper it sounds like a terrible casting choice, but in execution, he nailed it! He even plays all the spirits too, which was a fun casting choice and leaves to interesting interpretations that maybe the ghosts are all parts of Scrooge trying to aid in his redemption, or something. Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright-Penn and Bob Hoskins also deliver solid performances as their characters too, and considering most of the cast here get multiple roles to play, it really gives them a chance to show off their acting chops.

Fantastic acting, great direction from Robert Zemeckis, a faithful adaptation of the book that's the truest in spirit, eye-catching animation that gives us one of the most unique looking versions of the story and so much more is why I consider this one of the best adaptations of A Christmas Carol and my overall favourite version of the famous story. I've watched it many times at Christmas time, and will continue to watch it for many more Christmases.

A Christmas Carol 2009, my Number 1 Favourite Adaptation of A Christmas Carol...

And that's it for this list. I hope you enjoyed it, and I invite you all to share your comments down below. Which Christmas Carol adaptation is YOUR favourite? Do tell me.

Next week, I'll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Polar Express by listing 20 facts about it. See you then media fans!