It’s that time of year when we watch our favorite Christmas classics on TV, video, or otherwise. One of those is A Christmas Carol that has been adapted in many forms over the years. Below are some of my favorite variations of this timeless classic, including a new take that I hope catches on into the future.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol – 1983
This is one of my favorite animated traditions to watch featuring an actual Disney character called Scrooge McDuck which was created back in 1947. It’s not a very long version but enough to get the story across. Mickey Mouse plays Bob Cratchit. Donald Duck plays Scrooge’s nephew and the list goes one. It’s very family friendly and one that the kids can see.
The Muppet Christmas Carol – 1992
This is a Christmas classic more than ever. One of the reasons is simple: it’s The Muppets. The movie has a lot of heart, great music and your typical zany Muppet antics here and there. It took me a bit to get into this one, and over time it has grown on me.
A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey – 2009
This version of the story is probably one not a lot of people have seen or are aware of. It’s not only an interesting animation, but a very different Jim Carrey movie. Jim Carrey’s voice acting is great and he really brings a lot to the movie. If you’ve ever seen The Polar Express, you’ll get the same kind of vibes here with it’s detail and emotional expression of the characters.
Who Killed Ebeneezer Scrooge? – A Murder Mystery Musical – 2024
The world premiere of this stage show happed in early December 2024. Put on by the Spotlight Players of the Cherry Hill Village Theater in Canton, Michigan, this take on A Christmas Carol asks the following question: What if you made the story into a murder mystery with audience participation and some singing and dancing? Intriguing right? I thought so and let me tell you, the formula works. You’ll be taken off guard a lot but in a tongue-and-cheeky way. This stage play is a Michigan original based on the book by Christopher R. Johnson and began as a simple dinner theater show to what it was revised to be. I am hoping in the up-and-coming years it will become a classic on stage and hopefully on a movie screen.
No matter the version of A Christmas Carol, the messages of the story are always the same:
- Be grateful for what you have.
- Even the meanest and coldest person still has a heart.
- Our past can ruin us if we let it.
- Greed can make us lonely fools
Here is another interesting article on the topic of A Christmas Carol I found during my research:
8 Unexpected Things to Learn about Writing from Charles Dickens & Ebenezer Scrooge
About Susan
Susan is a fan of music and culture and kind of considers herself that way. To get to know a little more about her, as well as future updates, you can find her at the links below:
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