Dickensblog

TCM alerts

David Copperfield (1935) airs at noon Eastern today, and A Tale of Two Cities (1935) airs at 6 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday.

Thoughts on 'Scrooge: A Christmas Carol' (2022)

I hate to go all bah humbug about any version of A Christmas Carol, but I'm afraid I didn't find much to enjoy about the new animated film on Netflix. It gave me the impression that someone had forced several cases of Red Bull down the throats of a bunch of animators, locked them in a room, and told them to go to town. The film is frenetic in the extreme. Fireballs streak through the air, surfaces ice over and play videos like a Christmasy Victorian MTV, people and objects float through the air, and honestly, the whole thing is exhausting.

Also, Scrooge has a dog. No, I don't get it either. She's a sweet dog, and a good foil for him, but why Scrooge would have a dog -- or why Marley, from whom he inherited her, would have had a dog -- is a question that's never addressed adequately, and so it just ends up adding to the general air of "What the heck?"

Award-winning composer Leslie Bricusse made significant contributions to the film before he passed away in October of last year. In addition to repurposing songs from his own earlier version, Scrooge (1970), he wrote new songs, in addition to writing the screenplay. His involvement makes me even sadder about my lack of enthusiasm. But most of the re-arranged songs, in this hectic atmosphere, fail to bring with them their old charm, and the new ones don't stand out at all. And there's nothing in the script -- no especially interesting new twists or backstory or flourishes -- to justify this adaptation. As far as the basic story goes, it doesn't really stray all that far from the original (aside from a few inexplicable departures, like the dog), but the sheer busyness of the film makes it look as if it didn't trust its own source material and was relying on distractions.

If there's a plus to this film at all, it's the fine vocal work of the cast, particularly Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, and the other leads. But they're so overly talkative, especially Colman as the Ghost of Christmas Past, that even that gets wearying. This was one version of the Carol that I probably won't be watching again.

Dickens on British TV

Acclaimed actress Miriam Margolyes is not a fan of Christmas, but she is famously a fan of Dickens. So she "has agreed to see if she can warm to the season through her love of Charles Dickens," in a Channel 4 special called "Miriam's Dickensian Christmas." The special airs Tuesday night, and Margolyes talks about it here. Lucinda Dickens Hawksley also worked on the special, and she discusses it here.

In other British television news, Mark Gatiss's filmed stage production of A Christmas Carol, which was recently in cinemas, will air on BBC Four (and BBC iPlayer) on Christmas Day.

Where to find 'A Christmas Carol' this month

I'm concentrating more on streaming services in this year's schedule, but I've still got good old-fashioned TV channels in there as well! Please let me know if you catch any mistakes or have any additions. 

• Scrooge (1935, starring Seymour Hicks): Streaming on Plex, Redbox, Tubi, PlutoTV, Freevee, and Philo. Available for rent on Apple+ and YouTube.
• A Christmas Carol (1938, starring Reginald Owen): Airing on TCM, December 18. Streaming on HBO Max, Prime, Paramount+, Sling TV, and YouTube. Available for rent on Apple+, Redbox, and Vudu.
• The Christmas Carol (1949, starring Taylor Holmes and Vincent Price): Streaming on Peacock.
• Scrooge, a.k.a. A Christmas Carol (1951, starring Alastair Sim): Airing on Movies! TV Network, December 6. Airing on FXM December 24 and 25. Streaming on Plex. Available for rent on Prime.
• Scrooge (1970, starring Albert Finney): Streaming on Paramount+, Plex, and Philo. Available for rent on Prime, Apple+, and Vudu.
• Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983): Streaming on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, Apple+, Redbox, and YouTube.
• A Christmas Carol (1984, starring George C. Scott): Airing on Epix and Epix2 beginning December 10. Streaming on Prime, YouTube, Sling TV, Philo, Tubi, and the Roku Channel. Available for rent on Apple+, Redbox, and Vudu. 
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, starring Michael Caine): Streaming on Disney+. 
• A Christmas Carol (1999, starring Patrick Stewart): Airing on TNT beginning December 15. Available for rent on Prime, Apple+, and Redbox.
• Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009, starring Jim Carrey): Streaming on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, Apple+, YouTube, Redbox, and Vudu.
• FX's A Christmas Carol (2019, starring Guy Pearce): Airing on FXM, December 12, 24, and 25. Streaming on Hulu. Available for rent on Prime and Vudu.
•  A Christmas Carol (2020, starring Simon Russell Beale and Michael Nunn): Streaming on Prime, Vudu, Plex, and Tubi.
• Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022, starring Luke Evans): Streaming on Netflix.

'Scrooge' comes to Netflix

There are almost too many Dickens adaptations coming out right now to keep up with! The newest is Scrooge, the new animated film now available on Netflix, starring Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, and Jonathan Pryce.

R.I.P., Robbie Coltrane

You probably know him as Hagrid, but did you recall that he played Mr. Jaggers in the 2012 Great Expectations film? And he had another connection to Dickens via a role in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol"! The beloved British actor passed away Friday at age 72.

Mendes to produce Dickens audio dramas

Acclaimed film and theater director Sam Mendes will produce three Dickens audio drama adaptations for Audible. First up will be Oliver Twist, due in November 2022; the other two titles have not yet been announced. The actors haven't yet been announced either, but all the adaptations will have "all-star" casts. I'll post more news when it comes out!

R.I.P., Bernard Cribbins

The British actor played Tommy Traddles in the 1956 David Copperfield, the BBC's first Dickens adaptation for television. He passed away yesterday at the age of 93. 

R.I.P., David Warner

The British actor, who played Bob Cratchit in the 1984 A Christmas Carol and Sampson Brass in the 1975 musical film Mr. Quilp, passed away July 24 at age 80. (Thanks to Josh Sharpe for the tip.)

Cast named for animated 'Christmas Carol'

Oliva Colman is super into Dickens these days -- along with playing Miss Havisham, she's also playing the Ghost of Christmas Past! Other cast members of the new Netflix animated film include Luke Evans as Scrooge, Jonathan Pryce as Jacob Marley, and Johnny Flynn as Bob Cratchit. See the full list (including some never-before-heard-of characters!) over at Flickering Myth.