For some families, the season to be jolly is incomplete without watching some classic Christmas films.
And one of the most typical Christmas stories out there is none other than A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
It follows the life of Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter and lonely elderly man who is visited by his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
After their visits, Scrooge let go of his old ways and becomes a kinder and more generous soul.
Since the novella was first published in London in 1843, there are many adaptations of the story over the years.
Here at KajoMag, we are breaking it all down to five of our favourite film adaptations of A Christmas Carol:
1.A Christmas Carol (1999)
Sir Patrick Stewart is mostly remembered for his role as Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men.
But we also cannot forget his portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1999 TV film A Christmas Carol.
One of his memorable scenes is when Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning after all three ghosts had visited him.
The gleeful Scrooge tries to laugh but for someone who hasn’t laugh for years, the sound comes out all wrong. Stewart pulled that scene off perfectly.
He was deservedly nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2000.
2.A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000)
Here is an adaptation of Dicken’s classic with a twist. Instead of a grumpy old man, this version of the story features a selfish popular singer.
Vanessa L. Williams is Ebony Scrooge, a successful singer with a nasty attitude.
While the original Scrooge has his overworked, underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit by his side, Ebony has her underpaid manager Bob Cratchett (Brian McNamara) next to her.
There are other differences as well such as Ebony being visited by her former singing partner Marli Jacob, not business partner Jacob Marley in the original story.
Overall, it is a fun and different adaptation of what we know about A Christmas Carol.
3.A Christmas Carol (2009)
When comes to animation adaptation, you have to give it to Disney to make it right.
This is Disney’s third adaptation of the novel, following Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992).
It stars the voices of Jim Carrey as Scrooge, Gary Oldman as Cratchit and Marley as well as Colin Firth as Fred, Scrooge’s cheerful nephew.
While many think this adaptation is on the darker side, but when you come think about the storyline itself is dark.
Having four different ghosts including a dead business partner visiting you in one night, which part of the story is not dark?
4.Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
When you think Carrey had already done a good job voicing Scrooge, then comes Luke Evans in this 2022 adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
The screenplay for this musical fantasy drama film is by the director Stephen Donelly and Leslie Bricusse who also wrote the screenplay and composed the songs for the 1970 film Scrooge.
Unfortunately, Bricusse passed away a year before the film was released.
As for Evans, he also sings a number of songs in the movie.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022) was released on Netflix in December 2022 and it is still available for streaming on the platform.
5.Spirited (2022)
If you are getting bored of the original storyline of Dickens’ 1843 novel, how about a satire of various adaptations of the story?
The film follows the story of The Ghost of Christmas Present or better known as Present who is approaching his retirement days.
For nearly two centuries, Present along with Jacob Marley, the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Yet-to-Come have led a team of afterlife spirits to find and redeem one human soul every Christmas.
As they search for a new soul to redeem, Present sets his sight on Clint Briggs who is a renowned, controversial media consultant.
Marley believes Briggs is “unredeemable” but Present insists to make him change.
The plot continues to circle on Briggs and whether his soul is able to be redeemed in the end.
Overall, this film is a refreshing take on the classic.
The film stars Will Ferrell as Present and Ryan Reynolds as Clint Briggs.
