ZogHogg Studios’ A Christmas Carol has been available for barely over a year, released in December of 2018. It’s been available to purchase digitally or to rent as a stream. This is the first time its been included on the yearly blog.
This adaptation takes place mostly in Scotland, thus giving us the first live-action Scottish Ebenezer Scrooge. If we want to be nit-picky, the first Scottish Scrooge was the animated character Scrooge McDuck in Disney’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol. It joins the growing list of modern-day adaptations. Like many of the non-traditional adaptations, it attempts to put some twists to some characters and/or situations. The musical score is by Queen’s Roger Taylor.
Ebenezer Scrooge (Stuart Brennan) owns a whiskey distillery in Scotland that employs many local townspeople. He has messy hair that includes a messy man-bun. Later in the movie we learn it’s an “online distillery” that allows customers to “mix their own whiskey.” Scrooge is a young man that is more interested in making money and “crunching numbers.” His assistant is a woman named Bob Cratchit (Sarina Taylor). We are never given an explanation why she has the name “Bob,” such as it’s short for another name or some type of nickname. We learn that Bob’s husband is Tim (not her child) and is very sick. On Christmas Eve, he tells Bob to send out the layoff notices for 500 employees on Christmas Day. Because of current profit, Scrooge is upset when Bob reminds him that he’s obligated to give Christmas bonuses to all employees. The bonuses amount to over £250,000. Scrooge actually gives a donation to the charity collectors when they visit his office; he decides to give the employees bonuses to the charity collectors. By doing so, he increased profit by writing it off as tax while not having to give his employees a bonus.
The uncle-nephew relationship is reversed in this version. Scrooge is visited in his office by his uncle Fred (Alec Westwood) who partially raised him. When Uncle Fred visits Scrooge, he is in formal Highland dress. As expected, uncle invites nephew to Christmas with him; nephew declines. We learn from Uncle Fred that Scrooge used to know how to enjoy himself.
The ghost of Marley (Mark Paul Wake), Scrooge’s dead close friend and business partner, appears to Scrooge while he’s being driven home in his car. Marley tells Scrooge he will be visited by three ghosts. Marley never appears to be suffering and never gives a clear reason why this is happening beyond the insinuations Scrooge used to be a different person. Before he is even visited by the other ghosts, Scrooge blames Marley for his becoming a hard person and is angry Marley died.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a young woman in an outfit that looks like a figure skater’s in an ice show. Scrooge relives losing his parents when he was in school and being taken in by his uncle. There is a twist with Scrooge’s past love, named Nell (Bonnie Wright of all Harry Potter movies) instead of Bell. In the past, Scrooge has slightly less messy hair with a slightly less messy man-bun. It is revealed she died a year after she broke up with Scrooge. Scrooge and Marley first run their business in Philadelphia, PA in the U.S. where they have a partying friend named Fezziwig. Scrooge learns from Marley how to be harsh when running the business. Scrooge convinces Marley to move the business back home to Scotland.
The next ghost calls himself the “Goose” of Christmas Present. Scrooge is shown the Cratchit family during Christmas, learning about Tim Cratchit’s cancer. He views various townspeople and his Uncle Fred at Christmas while learning what people actually think of him.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is not visible. Scrooge seems to be aware of the Ghost’s presence. Instead of being seen, the Ghost is occasionally heard in strong whispers.
The problem that Marley, the Ghosts, and those that have known Scrooge for a long time seem most concerned with is that Scrooge used to know how to enjoy himself and have a good time. Everything will be resolved once he learns to loosen up again.
