A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of those Christmas stories that's been told many times and in many different ways. Today I'm going to talk about three versions of the story that fit nicely in the Franklin Mint world.

First up is Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)...


Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol was produced by the UPA animation studio and sponsored by Timex. It first aired on NBC on December 18, 1962. I find it interesting that they chose to tell the story like a Broadway theatre play. The show is divided into acts with an actual stage and curtain with Mister Magoo playing the lead of Scrooge. Of course in typical Magoo fashion, he demolishes the set before and after the play – due to his near-sightedness.



Here's the intro to Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol...



I've always loved the style of animation of Mister Magoo cartoons. Here's a few stills from Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol...


The next adaptation of A Christmas Carol I'd like to honor is Rich Little's Christmas Carol (1978)...


Rich Little's Christmas Carol is a guilty pleasure of mine because HBO used to air it a lot when I was a child and I'd watch it constantly with my friends. It's called Rich Little's Christmas Carol because Rich Little played all the major parts...but as other actors...because he's an impressionist (although all of his impressions sound a little like himself). A few of his characters were W.C. Fields as Scrooge, Paul Lynde as Bob Cratchit, Edith Bunker as Mrs. Cratchit, Humphrey Bogart as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Peter Falk as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Peter Sellers as the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come, Richard Nixon as Jacob Marley, Truman Capote as Tiny Tim, Groucho Marx as Fezziwig, Johnny Carson as Nephew Fred, and John Wayne and George Burns as businessmen, plus more.


Rich Little's Christmas Carol would've been a lot better without the laugh track but it's still fun to watch. Here's the scene where Scrooge first meets the ghost of Jacob Marley...Nixon...



Last but not least is Scrooged (1988), a modern day reinterpretation of A Christmas Carol...


Scrooged is directed by Richard Donner (of Superman fame) and has a strong cast including Bill Murray as Frank Cross in the Scrooge role, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Cane, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Robert Mitchum, and David Johansen, plus many more. Miles Davis even has a a cameo as a street busker, who Frank Cross suggests learned his instrument yesterday. Murray gives his usual great performance as Frank Cross, a TV executive with a bad temper and 0% Christmas spirit, making his crew work on Christmas Eve. But of course he meets the three ghosts before the night is through and changes his tune for the better.


The intro to Scrooged opens with a trailer for The Night the Reindeer Died, one of Frank Cross' productions. In it, Santa's workshop is invaded by terrorists and Lee Majors, the Six Million Dollar Man, saves the day. A couple of more trailers follow before Frank Cross presents his very own trailer of Christmas cheer...make that fear...




Bah humbug!