It's December, that time of year we all start to put on our favourite Holiday classics. Rudolph, The Grinch, Charlie Brown, Home Alone, maybe you're one of those people who watches Die Hard on Christmas, I don't judge, but everyone has at least one Christmas Carol movie in their holiday rotation. Maybe it's The Muppets version, maybe it's the Mickey Mouse version, maybe it's the one with Alastair Sim or George C. Scott. Plenty of classic Holiday movies to enjoy, and Netflix has released yet another holiday movie that may or may not be a classic. You know, I'll be honest, though I had my issues with Klaus, I thought it was still pretty solid, so will this adaptation of A Christmas Carol fall into the same line? or is this the one to break Netflix's winning streak of 2022?
First and foremost, I must be real, do not treat this as a straight forward adaptation. The iconic story is still intact, but it is very clearly its own interpretation. While dialogue is definitely based on the book, it is not lifted from the book word for word. I actually quite enjoy this change, and while I'll miss some iconic lines, at the end of the day, it is nice to see a much more unique take on the story. It is not just another retelling, it takes some liberties, it makes some changes, it becomes its own thing. It's not just A Christmas Carol but with The Muppets, it's not just A Christmas Carol but with some extra scenes, it is not just A Christmas Carol but traumatic, it is its own version of the story, and I do have to respect and admire that. I feel that if you are going to adapt a story like A Christmas Carol, an old story that has a countless number of adaptations, at some point you are going to want to deviate from the book in some new ways, and the ways they did were interesting.
One of my favourite changes was The Ghost of Christmas Past, they kept the candle motif, but they gave her a very snarky personality and I absolutely loved it. The Ghost from the original story was always typically portrayed as ethereally distant, a straight-laced "Here are the facts" kind of person. Here, she is a lot more enjoyable to watch and they do have fun with her being a candle made of wax, having her shapeshift. They also change the Ghost of Christmas Present a bit, he feels a bit more like the Muppets version where he is just a bundle of good cheerful vibes, but at the end instead of him just dying, they actually make him become the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, now that is ingenious, I genuinely thought that was an excellent idea.
I also think the characterizations are good. Scrooge is a bit tricky to get right, but they definitely got close with this version. He is a bit like the Michael Caine portrayal, where he is the good man buried underneath years of pain, though with Caine it came out a bit stronger since we actually saw his character arc. We see him go through his past and then he's cracking jokes with Christmas Present, he has his awkward dance and is excited to see the festivities of the holiday. This one feels a bit like Caine mixed with George C. Scott. I should give special mention to Luke Evans, who managed to be a good casting choice for Scrooge despite me never thinking he could pull it off. Somehow this movie succeeded where the 2009 adaptation failed.
I mean that in more ways than one too. The 2009 version tried to be thrilling by amplifying the darker aspects of the story, to the point where it became too dark and the pleasant moments failed to balance out properly. Here, the thrilling stuff they added was well done, could be much for a young child but not too much. It is that kind of cool sort of creepy where you're scared, but you can't quite take your eyes away. The 2009 version was also just unpleasant all around, the spirits genuinely felt spiteful and angry, but here, they feel very playful, and their jabs at Scrooge feel like, well playful jabs. While there are some dark moments in this movie, it never gets as dark as the 2009 version, so I do think this is good to show kids, it fits in with kids movies from like the early nineties.
So, is this one of the greatest versions of A Christmas Carol of all time? Well... no, there are some things that do hold it back. The technical aspects are a bit lacking, the animation is kind of that generic looking CG, but when you don't have the budget or expectations of a studio like Disney or DreamWorks you do get a bit of leeway. The songs are pretty hit and miss, the opening song and the song in Christmas Future are a bit lacking, and The Ghost of Christmas Present's song number is lyrically lacking, but gets by on just being a vibe, it's not an "It Feels Like Christmas", but it's in the same ballpark, to be fair the rest of the songs range from "Not great but hits to notes" to genuinely really good. Then we get the stuff that I also could have done without, namely the flashbacks. Throughout the movie, there are small scenes that show stuff we have previously seen, usually to connect what happened in Scrooge's past to what happens in Scrooge's present. I feel like this is unnecessary, kids are much smarter than we give them credit for and I do think they could make the connection with something familiar, especially within the same movie.
That all being said, I actually quite enjoyed this movie. I think I would rank it as my fourth favourite adaptation of the story. The Muppets is first, than Alastair Sim, than George C. Scott, then this one. Mickey's Christmas Carol follows closely, it's a good short, but it is a bit too condensed for my liking. I do feel like this one tries to be its own version of the story and succeeds at trying. If you want a straight forward adaptation, I'd go for one of the big three, but if you are getting tired of the straight forward adaptations and want to try something that is, identifiably A Christmas Carol, but not trying to be a true adaptation, I say give this one a go. I really have to say this, Netflix you have been on a winning streak for animated movies this year, you do have some duds, but overall, I'm impressed with your output.
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