Animated Mindsâ Guide To Making a Christmas Carol Knockoff (Or remake, or whatever)
Iâm back, after months, even years, of inaction. And I plan to post more and more in the future, but first a capper on the holiday season with one of my favorite stories.
One of my holiday traditions, maybe even my only personal tradition just on my own, is A Christmas Carol. I love the story, a classic story of redemption. I love watching different takes on it, all those different version be they weird and strange or rigid and traditional. Every year, when they come back on tv, I try to watch at least a few.
But like most stories that are remade over and over again by Hollywood, thereâs going to be some clunkers and not-so-good versions. The Christmas Carol in particular seems to attract copycats, which isnât on itâs own a bad thing, but if youâre copying a story yet donât get what makes the story work⊠well⊠letâs just say thereâs a few versions out there that screw it up. Sturgeonâs Law and all: 10% of most things is great, the rest is better left to Christmas past.
So, mostly for fun, I decided to put together my own little list of things that most poor versions of the story mess up on, and why they shouldnât be messed up. Even great versions do some of these, but theyâre some of my favorite things about the story when done right. This is obviously pretty nerdy, and itâs going to get a bit nitpicky Iâm sure, but bear with me. Itâs the details that make the story great.
* First and foremost: this is in no way about me slamming anyone making weird and niche versions of the story. Itâs one of the most applicable stories out there - if you can fit it to the characters you want, more power to you. Just make sure it works. If you want it to be funny rather than meaningful, just make sure the jokes land. If you want it to be as silly as possible, own it. Just keep the heart there. If these things get changed, even stuff Iâm about to say, thatâs Rule #1:l it only ever needs is to be replaced with something that works just as well.
* That said, letâs move on. The biggest note here that instantly proves a poor version: Scrooge is not on trial just for hating Christmas, nor for being irritable. Heâs not even specifically on trial just for not being charitable. Heâs being judged because his greed and indifference are actively harmful to both himself and the people around him. If you donât do that, then the whole thing feels like itâs undeserved.
* Context is important for that. As a greedy money lender and landlord in the Victorian era, his negative impact on the world around him is obvious if you know the context (remember that A Christmas Carol was in large part an indictment of the society of Dickensâ time), but that context isnât as well known to people nowadays. That leads sometimes to viewers assuming Scrooge is being indicted simply for moralistic reasons. If you have to add a scene or two to make the fact that Scrooge actively makes life worse for the people he affects clearer to the audience, go ahead. The 1984 version, for example, adds a nice part where Scrooge trades in essential goods (specifically, the only cheap foodstuffs that the poor can afford), but gouges the price horribly until those who pay it are well out of pocket. Thatâs the kind of thing heâs being judged for.
* As a note, donât overdo it with âbah, humbug.â Yes, itâs an iconic line. No, Scrooge doesnât actually say it all that much. Dial it back. Looking at you specifically, 2018.
* Bob Cratchit is there to show the effects Scroogeâs ignorance: Scrooge is the richest man in the setting, yet his most essential employee can barely make it by or take care of his family despite all the toil he puts in. Do try not to portray Bob as a bumpkin or a lazy bum.
* People donât really screw up Marley that often, so I donât really have to say anything about him.
* Scrooge is not being scared into changing. Yes, Marley is scary. Yes, Yet to Come is unnerving. But heâs changing because he wants to. Each of the ghosts contributes to this want, and Scroogeâs temperament should generally shift in three ways, at least imo:
** In meeting the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge should come realize/acknowledge that he has made mistakes.
** In meeting the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge should come to realize that he wants to change, even if heâs not sure how.
** In meeting the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, Scrooge then should realize that he needs to change.
* On that note, the spirits are all kind - yes, even Yet To Come. They are there to help Scrooge. That doesnât necessarily mean they like him. Donât be afraid to not pull punches or try too hard to make them too saintly, unless of course thatâs the kind of story you want.
* Scroogeâs nephew Fred is there to show that Scrooge could have love and tenderness in his life if he so chose: he doesnât have to be alone, and in fact being with others is easy for him, yet he rejects it. His later scenes are often cut, which loses something. HIs scene in the Present shows that yes, thereâs happiness going on and Scrooge is missing out. Itâs not just about Fred making fun of Scrooge because he rejected him (pretty much my single, sole complaint about the Muppet version).
* On that note, donât forget about Fen. I think a lot of filmmakers decide sheâs superfluous with Scroogeâs fiancĂ©e also in the mix, and to an extent thereâs a point there (films can only have so much space) but the hypocrisy of Scrooge fondly remembering her but being a jackass to her son is a good thing to keep.
* Speaking of which, another thing often cut out is the scenes in Present and Future showing regular folk not of the main set of characters, either enjoying or suffering on Christmas. A prevailing theme throughout is that Scroogeâs actions, and his world, have effects on far more than just himself, and that mankind is his business: again, the time constraints of film are noted, but try to add at least one scene of a poor family eking by, or one of Scroogeâs downtrodden clients celebrating that heâs dead. Scroogeâs change hits more if the world reacts to it.
* The Ghost of Christmas Present is jolly, yes. Heâs not Santa Claus. Donât portray him as Santa Claus unless youâre doing it on purpose and dedicating the entirety of the segment to the tenderness Scrooge is missing (this is what the Muppets did for instance, and it works well there because that version of the story is written around it). Otherwise, the Clive Donner version - jolly, compassionate and loving to those, yet stern, sarcastic and utterly pitiless to Scrooge himself - is the golden example.
* On that note, donât forget about Ignorance and Want. The worst image of humanityâs sins, and all that. Itâs a shocking moment thatâs meant to sum up what Scrooge leans in the Present segment.
* It bears repeating that the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come isnât evil, and isnât actually trying to kill Scrooge. Heâs only showing things that Scrooge has done to himself and others. If given the choice, having Scrooge fall onto his grave himself is always better than having the spirit throw him there.
* Do not cut out the part where Scroogeâs home has been ransacked (by his housekeeper, but even the best versions cut that detail out) and his possessions cruelly sold off. Also, as I said before keep at least one scene where someone speaks of how happy or uncaring they is that heâs dead. The atmosphere around Scroogeâs ignominious fate, and his denial about how people think of him after death, is what the entire part is actually about.
* This pretty great Books Vs Movies comparison on Youtube makes a good point about the order of events. As I said, the segment is about Scrooge and what happens to him after death: start with that, and interrupt that with the news that Tiny Tim is dead. Thatâs supposed to be the capper: Scrooge looks for an escape from the truth, and only finds more awful even when itâs not specifically about him.
* The âScrooge has changedâ segment is pretty by numbers, so I donât have much nitpicking about it. Just always follow up with stuff that happened in the beginning.
* This is less something that bugs me about some versions and more something that I love about some versions: my favorite part of the âScrooge has changedâ scenes in any version is the bit in the Muppets version where the collectors for the poor (played by Beaker and Honeydew) give him a gift and almost move Scrooge to tears. Followed closely by a really small moment in the Clive Donner version where Fred and his wife make it clear that Scrooge being with them has made them happy. Scrooge realizing how good it feels not just to give love, but to share love and have it shared with you, can make a very wonderful moment - even the original story doesnât really focus on that towards the end.
And thatâs it. Probably a few things I missed, but meh. I wanted to get this out before the New Year, lol. Hope I brought up a few things that people might notice and love as well next year.
I was able to see a few versions this season. Mostly my two favorites: the Clive Donner / George Scott version, and the Muppet version. Didnât get around to seeing Scrooged though - itâs my favorite modernization.
As for new versions, I caught the one that came out this year by Zoghogg Studios, and Iâd more or less recommend it to those who like the story. Itâs a modernization that puts it into present day Scotland (or at least within the last few years), and I found myself liking almost everything about it - a bit heavy handed at times, but the atmosphere, the scenes and how they chose to adapt them, the new things they added, most of it was pretty great - except the guy playing Scrooge. Be it the writing, the acting, or most likely some combination of both, he just didnât work: instead of talking like a person, he basically just yelled BAH HUMBUG at everything and incessantly bragged about how rich he was. And while everyone elseâs dialogue was modernized well and very casual, his speech was all over the place, heâs the only one with original Dickens lines and so sometimes sounds like heâs reciting while people are talking regularly, that is when he isnât screaming at the top of his lungs. He felt like a parody, except the whole thing was totally serious.
But otherwise, Iâd watch it again. It had a fun twist where Scrooge was actually a young(ish) man, and the ânephew) was actually his Uncle, giving him the potential to find love again and changing the kind of man he is in the backstory, which is a neat idea more versions should do.
But thatâs just me rambling on. Hope you guys had a wonderful holiday season and are set to be hopeful this New Year, as always. Itâd be cliche to end on Tiny Tim, so I wonât. Iâll just say, letâs all walk among our fellow men and women and everything in between this year, if we can help it.