It’s the second day of Christmas which means I can watch different adaptations of A Christmas Carol without feeling out of season!  I missed yesterday’s entry as it was actually Christmas Day and I was “making rather merry” as Bob Cratchit would say.  Though I watched one of my favorite versions of A Christmas Carol, I didn’t put a post.  I’ll put one up soon for the one I watched last evening.

Today is the 1997 animated movie.  1997’s animated version is a mediocre tidbit: not particularly good, but not so bad that I’d say to ignore it.  This was done the same year as the live-action Ms. Scrooge.

The setting and adaptation are traditional. It is a musical with eight songs though I don’t think of it as a full-blown musical. I find the songs to be adequate and unmemorable save for Santa’s Sooty Suit; though the song is catchy despite its silly lyrics, it’s very out of place for A Christmas Carol.  This is probably the only musical ACC for which I don’t care for the score.

This is another example of an ACC adaptation that should have been better but once again missed the mark. When it was first released, I was excited about the big name featured actors, all I admired, performing the various roles.

Although this is a traditional adaption, the dialogue is weak and undeserving of the talents of its voice cast.

We start with our traditional story with Scrooge voiced by the great Tim Curry. Scrooge is not alone, however. Scrooge has a dog that is named Debit. That’s right…a dog! Though the dog has some of his own “funny” bits, he is mercifully left out of many scenes. Michael York voices Bob Cratchit. Talents like Curry and York deserve much better material instead of this bland affair that doesn’t allow them to shine.

Jacob Marley, voiced by Ed Asner, has a green glow making him more suitable as a member of the Green Lantern Corp. And interesting innovation is when Marley talks about his chains.: he points out what some specific links are what particular acts (or lack of charity) earned them. This version has the wandering spirits but they are converted to the most kid-friendly versions to ever; they appear as kindly spirits trying to act charitable but are unseen by those they try to help.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the most varied ghost among all adaptions: male, female, old, and young. This one is a first. The Ghost of Christmas Past appears as a young boy. Unfortunately, he appears as a mischievous, young boy who also happens to be a pearly (including bad cockney accent)! This is one of the most unlikable past ghosts, ever. Scrooge’s dog, Debit, accompanies them to the shadows of the past.  In the past, Belle is performed by Jodi Benson (Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid).  A wasted talent in this endeavor.

This has a rare female Ghost of Christmas Present (Whoopie Goldberg). It would have been the first if 1995’s Ebbie hadn’t beaten it by two years. It is at this point that Scrooge’s dog is thankfully left behind and is kept out of the next two ghostly visits.

There is nothing different or innovative (thankfully) with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. I can’t say as much for the visit, itself. The familiar scenario of Scrooge’s covered corpse is simultaneously present with the rogues’ scene. In this version there is only Mrs. Diler and Old Joe. A very odd action is actually seeing Mrs. Dilber steal the slippers off Scrooge’s body with Old Joe present.

Everything is as expected with the reformed Scrooge. This is a version where Scrooge goes to the Cratchit house instead of his nephew’s, but he sent a message to his nephew to meet him there and we get a happy ending with everyone present. The gathering of everyone at the Cratchit house is reminiscent of the 1938 MGM version.