The Mickey Mouse version does have a great line where Goofy-Marley says " I'm forced to carry these heavy chains through eternity. Maybe even longer. There's no hope. I'm doomed". It's an interesting juxtaposition having Goofy of all characters deliver such a disturbing sentiment
I read one review of the short, which lamented the fact that Goofy was chosen to play Jacob Marley, but understanding that a character like Flintheart Glomgold would have been too obscure of a choice at the time of the short's release (especially to American audiences), but I long for a version of the cartoon where this was the case.
@@adlaistevenson2623 I think it’s fitting that Goofy plays the role, because he’s tall… also, his original voice actor, Pinto Colvig, passed away in 1967. Might not be “Seven Years Dead” like the Charles Dickens story, but having to see the character return to play a ghost that expresses his pain through a tortured punishment of being locked in chains makes the subtext feel all the more unnerving.
The Muppets Christmas Carol is my favorite version. And the reason is because Scrooge actually changes BEFORE he meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. So his motivation at the end is for reasons other than fear.
I agree. It isn’t Scrooge’s death that changes him, it’s that he gets a taste of what Marleys fate is. He must walk through life and witness what he cannot share but might have shared. He wants to change the bleak future but he can’t...Until he realizes he gets a second chance when he wakes up.
I seem to recall something similar happening with the Mickey version as well, with Scrooge realizing the fatal mistake he made with Isabelle and the sad fate he was setting up for innocent Tiny Tim. He even asks if he can prevent it from happening before he is shown his own gravesite.
I actually feel it has the opposite effect. It made it seem like he could’ve been shown his mistakes from the past, and that would’ve been the end of it. Buhrbrinker end of the “it feels like Christmas”, the rest became pointless as a story of conversion, and it’s like you already forget that he was ever a miser. That’s actually my single complaint of this movie, is that it cheats us of the finale. The Past was meant to show how he fell down his path, but he needed to first see what that path actually was, which is where Present comes in, and he wouldn’t be fully converted without seeing the horrors of how his path ends. That’s what makes this story so timeless, and having him be so willing to abandon his ways so early totally negates the final act.
@@abehambino I both agree and disagree. I think both versions did a good job of showing Scrooge's conversion. McDuck was a much more obviously stubborn Scrooge along with being absolutely *delightful* in his greed. Cain's Scrooge isn't yet taking responsibility for his actions after Christmas Past, seems mostly converted by the end of Christmas Present, but Christmas Yet to Come still serves the purpose of reminding him *why* he has to change. That falling back into old habits will result in a bad end.
Caine's playing it straight is part of what gives it weight. Without that choice it could have gone really wacky but he keeps it grounded and keeps drama and Levity where it is needed
While I prefer the Muppet version, the version of Tiny Tim and his death hit me harder in the Disney adaptation, especially when Micky stands silently crying at the grave (hits me too hard as a daddy now).
it's especially sadder when scrooge says 'oh. oh no!' this I think is how alan young ended up voicing scrooge in duck tales. He could play the skin flint miser as well as show more heart.
2:52 "All for the benefit of an audience largely comprised of young children". You could say that shows a certain amount of respect for children and their level of understanding.
I was never scared of anything in the Muppets version. But Pete pushing Scrooge into his open grave while laughing while the fires of hell start to rise. That one got me.
I think she's the best interpretation of the ghost I've ever seen: hauntingly ethereal, wise and mysterious despite her seeming innocence. To create the effect, they filmed the puppet immersed in water (they started of with oil but it was too messy) and then slowed down the footage. Genius.
I wouldn't exactly call Mickey's Christmas Carol "worry-free" since the Future sequence is just as dark as any other adaptation, maybe even more so. That one has the Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come (played by Pete) knocking Scrooge into his grave and maniacally laughing like a villain, all while Scrooge is clinging to a root, with the coffin opening up and revealing what could be best described as a pit to Hell. That scene scared the crap out of me as a kid. Aside from that, nice look at two of my favorite Christmas Carol adaptations.
I wouldn't call Pete as death a safe scene. Safe casting for sure. But Pete is the best version of death for his intimidating reveal. "Why yours Ebenezer," not to mention cackling like a madman with a gate to hell opening as scrooge hangs on for dear life.
The Mickey Mouse version feels like the swan song of a kind of Disney that is long gone when Disney was not the giant evil empire buying everything not bolted down and becoming Scrooges themselves
Idk the part in Mickey’s CC where Pete from Goof Troop pushes Scrooge into the open grave and he hangs from a root as a coffin beneath him opens revealing what can only be described as Hell, was pretty scary to me as a kid. I love both of these movies. Mickey’s was always my go to as a kid but I have grown to love the Muppets as the superior adaptation as an adult. Merry Christmas and God bless us, everyone!
Yeah, that part went harder than it had any business to go 😂 the musical cue even bears a little resemblance to Night On Bald Mountain from Fantasia. It's a pretty metal moment, but nowadays, I feel like it botches Scrooge's catharsis at the end of the story. It implies that Scrooge was more motivated to save his own skin from damnation than learning the value of giving and delivering good will to your fellow people. He saved Tiny Tim in both versions, but with the threat of hell undermining everything he had witnessed before, he did it for him.
What made the Muppet Christmas Carol so good is Michael Cain. In an interview he said he told the studio that he would take this role seriously in a movie that should have been ridiculous as most Muppet movies are
Honestly, I found the ghost of Christmas yet to come scariest in Mickey's Christmas Carol; the way he suddenly starts talking with his booming voice, and then laughing manically as Scrooge falls towards a flaming coffin... that's scary! I always found Muppet's more creepy than scary, and since I was always drawn to that Gothic horror aesthetic long before I could have called it that, it was and still is one of my favourite movies of all time
Me just wanna say that I like how you mentioned Richard Hunt along with Jim Henson in speaking of their "in loving memory" at the beginning of the Muppet movie talk. I love the movie a lot during this time, and lately people have been making reviews and reactions to the Muppet Cjrustmas Carol. People seem to sadly only focus on Jim's passing and Richard is usually while see obviously, there isn't a sad reaction or even a small moment to explain his work. So ye, I just wanna say I like that along with Henson, you mentioned Hunt alongside too.
I like the fact that the Muppets never shyed away from exposing kids to the unknown. Life is scary, it's full of uncertainty ... and you have to face it alone at times. But you also have to carry yourself through to the other side so you can appreciate the happy ending even more. However, I also read the original story and it was pretty much a gothic ghost story of it's time. Muppets CC captured the atmosphere perfectly with warmness provided by the Muppets to keep it from being like the more grown up Alastair Sim version. It's a really good transition from the Mickey and Mr. Magoo versions to the more serious adult version. I must add I was a young teenager (tail end of Gen X) when it came out, so I was more interested in recreating the Ghost of Christmas Future's look for Halloween than I was being scared of anything.
I like them equally, neither is better than the other in my eyes. They both have their different charms in their characters and the portrayal of them, humor, and how the stories tug my heart strings. Both make me shed tears at the sad scenes and the happy endings.
Reasons the Muppets is the best: 1- It uses actual text from the novella 2- Michael Caine actually shows a progression throughout the story 3- Fozziwig 4- One of the Marleys is called Robert, meaning that Waldorf is technically playing ‘Bob Marley’
As a child, I was bloody terrified of the Muppets for a while, and the entire reason was the first three minutes of this film running on Disney Channel instead of Hannah Montana. I am yet to fully recover.
Here in the UK, my family watch this beauty every 24th December. It is one HELL of a tradition. I agree with your statement completely, inside and out.
The Mickey Version wasn't scary? Dude... did you just ignore the ENTIRE segment of Christmas Future where the ghost SHOVES Scrooge into his open grave and LAUGHS at him as the gates of Hell open up?
I came here to say this. I don't know how anyone could claim the Muppet version is scarier. I was so traumatized by the Mickey one that I've never watched it again. The Muppet one was creepy at times, but that is true to the narrative it's based on and there is so much levity in between.
So basically, the Muppet version is like a Stephen King novel, being more creepy and disturbing than scary; while the Mickey version is like a movie version of said Stephen King novel, going over the top with the scares.
That terrified the SHIT outta me as a kid, he's just dangling there, holding on for dear life as a RAGING FIRE BURNS BENEATH HIM (didn't help that I had a big fear of fire at the time) and then he falls and wakes up on the floor beside his bed What's worse is, while that used to be the "okay good it's only a dream" thing, later I learned that it's theoretically possible to DIE if you fall off your bed while falling in a dream because your brain gets convinced that the impact in real life was as severe as in the dream and it can actually shut itself off for good as a result so I can NEVER watch that scene again without thinking about how he shouldn't have survived that night
The Mickey Christmas Carol is a good choice to introduce the story to children for the first time. As well as a good choice if you want to feel Nostalgic for Classic Disney Charm:
Both are really excellent viewing experiences and have become must-watch material during the Christmas season. Muppet Carol is the overall superior adaptation and incredibly well done but Mickey's Carol has a great deal more nostalgia from me, since it was the adaptation that I spent the most time with through the 80's and 90's. It was required viewing every year and I appreciated both its brevity and the surprising depth of its emotional ride. The music and visuals of the Ghost of Christmas Future scene have always stood out to me as particularly noteworthy. Somber, unsettling and even just a bit frightening for a younger viewer. The most powerful part of the entire feature may just be the shot of Mickey standing over Tiny Tim's grave and the haunting music that accompanies it. The juxtaposition of such a typically happy and care-free character being so overcome with sadness really tugs at the heart. Properly discovering the Muppet Carol in more recent years has absolutely made me appreciate it, though. Part of me has always been hesitant toward the post-Jim Muppet era, partly because I grew up with the earlier films/shows and Jim's inimitable spirit and voice have become inseparable with the Muppets in my mind. For the most part, I feel my skepticism has been justified, as many of the later films and shows just haven't carried the same sense of character and tone. But I must admit fully and completely that the Muppet Carol is a clear exception. It is a classic film and very worthy of the Henson name.
I really love both versions, but I think the Mickey & friends version gets the edge because even though I’m a Gen Z-er & most people my age probably saw the muppet version first, I saw the Disney version first thanks to the House of Mouse Christmas special that I had on VHS. The Muppets definitely up the eeriness, but I don’t think Mickey plays it entirely safe either. Casting Goofy in the role of Marley freaked me out way more than Statler and Waldorf because I already knew them as jerks. Even if there’s a comedic element, the idea of a lovable goof (no pun intended) who I knew as a loving father from also having the Goofy Movie VHS at that time, being a miserable ghost forced to carry weighted chains as punishment for a life of greed and corruption kind of stuck with me more. Also Pete evilly laughing while tossing a panicking Uncle Scrooge (DuckTales tapes) into a freshly dug grave with a furnace-like, flaming coffin that can only be read as the entry to hell definitely haunted some dreams.
The reason, I believe Mickey’s Christmas Carol is such a brilliant version is the voice actor of Scrooge McDuck, Alan Young. His bitterness is real. His bitterness is real. His humor is real. His fear is real. His joy is contagious. He deserved an Oscar, or at least an Emmy for making the character of Scrooge more real and fleshed out in 30 min than almost any other adaptation (outside of the Muppets) does in 90! For me, the dramatic irony of Scrooge busting into Bob Crachit’s (Mickey’s) house telling him he has another load of “laundry.” That scene is so exciting even as an adult. The audience knows he’s changed his heart, and we are just anticipating the big reveal. It still makes me so happy when he tells Mickey he “has no choice… but to give you a raise and make you my partner.” Mickey’s Carol is a quick summation, but filled with brilliant moments. I feel and fall for Tiny Tim so quickly, and he’s only on screen for a couple minutes.
I never seen the Mickey verison outside of odd clips, the Muppet verison is my first and only exposure to the Charles Dicken story and I try to watch it every year around Christmas time because its such a well made film and the lead actor playing the role straight instead of comically, really helps the story weight, its hard to top!
David Werner as Scrooge? That’s could’ve been interesting, but I just love him so much as Bob Cratchitt in the true DEFINITIVE Version of A Christmas Carol!
Gen X here--I was in the target demographic for Mickey's Christmas Carol when it came out. While overall I still have to give the nod to the Muppets as the better adaptation, the Pete-as-Christmas Future segment in Mickey's scared the crap out of 7 year old me, who had been raised on such gentle fare as Willy Wonka's psychedelic boat ride and Artax's death in The Neverending Story. I still think that's the scariest Christmas Future sequence in ANY adaptation. (Plus, the success of Mickey's Christmas Carol is why we got Ducktales and by extension the rest of the Disney Afternoon, so it gets bonus points for that. ;-) )
I’m 26 years old, so I grew up both Disney’s: A Muppets Christmas Carol and Disney’s: Mickey’s Christmas Carol and I love them both for different reasons because they both are unique takes on a Christmas Carol, the Muppet version is more a faithful/respectful version of a Christmas Carol just with Muppets, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol does have the basic elements/plot points of a Christmas Carol but it’s more cartoony, but with Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the version that you were thinking of is actually the extended version, (as Disney calls it), because originally it was made in the 80s as a short, but then later on, many years later, Disney decided to make it a more extended theatrical version, so that’s the version you were thinking of/grew up with.
Pete loses a little steam by having him talk and acting a bit silly. The muppets ghost never talks and seems all the more menacing for it. I mean we don't even see his face.
To quote Caddicarus on the Muppets Christmas Carol segment in his Childhood Trauma video on TV moments: "I'm Michael Caine, and I'm in a movie with a screaming door, a dying baby frog, and Death itself sending me to Hell. What have I done?"
Worry free? The Mickey version has Scrooge being sent plummeting down his deep isolated grave into the fiery depths of Hell while the ghost laughs sadistically. I think that warning was fare more traumatic.
I didn't think that the Ghost of Christmas Future in the Muppets was scary at all. But Pete, smoking a cigar and shoving Scrooge into his fiery grave in Mickey's though? That gave me nightmares.
I know they specifically made new Muppets to play the Ghosts for the film. But my headcanon always had Cookie Monster underneath that hood for some reason which terrified the crap out of me.
I heard it was nearly was at one point in development, but I guess the financial troubles at the studio forced it to be a featurette. The departure of Don Bluth and others didn’t help matters either.
Honestly I only watched Mickey's Christmas carol once as a kid but I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol alot around Christmas time growing up so obviously I have a lot more nostalgia towards the Muppet version.
Recognizing the shoutout to The Witches, Return to Oz, and Pee Wee's Big Adventure, all of which actually scared the snot out of me as a child. And all of which I kept watching every chance I got!
As a kid, the first live-action Christmas Carol film after watching Mickey's Christmas Carol was the 1970s Albert Finney musical adaptation. A film which, in my opinion, had a few similarities to Mickey's such as the interior arrangement of the "Counting House" and Scrooge falling into an open grave.
The 1970 version of Scrooge was always my wife's favorite. She especially like Alec Guinness,s Marley once Scrooge got to hell. She thought Alec played it down right silly.
I was born in the spring of '83. Mickey's Christmas Carol was my favorite adaptation until the Muppet's adaptation came out. They're now tied for first.
I have a few contentions with this essay. First of all, the ghost of Christmas yet to come is not "soulless and unforgiving." It is certainly stern but Dickens made it clear that it had compassion! Secondly, the Muppet version somehow (and I am not sure how) conveyed that! This may be the ONLY cinematic version that doesn't play that spirit as vengeful! There is no active harshness in this spirit in the book (go back, read that part and you'll see), the future in its unknowable nature is a harsh reality but it is a passive harshness. There is no pushing into the grave, simply the sense of inevitability! Another point that so many versions seem to fail to grasp: it is NOT only the final spirit that changes him; all three do! The Muppet version delivers this message better than ANY OTHER VERSION does!!! One final point: Scrooge is not scared by his death but by being the despised wretch,, the forgotten joke with which he is presented in those final scenes with the spirit. This is especially true since he has been shown those pieces of his past and given him something to strive for in the present, thus rewriting the future. We tend to view the final spirit as if we were a four year old: scary = mean. Nope!
The Mickey’s Christmas Carol is great film that casted most of our classic Disney cartoons , my idea for a direct sequel to a classic Christmas Carol is by retelling the same story casted by our classic Disney animated feature films . For example , the Darling family from Peter Pan can represent the Cratchit Family & Prince John from Robin Hood can represent Ebeneezer Scrooge , he loves taxes and becomes rich & greedy .
Just to say their are various version of Dickens Christmas Carol that even Bill Murray played a Scrooge like character, yet I still get to imagine seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the Ghost of Christmas future with The Terminator scene. Saying: Tiny Tim is dead. Scrooge: What is this? Ghost of Christmas Future: It’s your funeral. Yep Arnie as Ghost of Christmas future doing out Terminator style it will be awesome.
I had always liked the Mickey Christmas Carol when I was young. I was 9 when muppet Christmas Carol came out, saw it in the theater and never wanted to watch Mickey version again. I adored this movie. I knew that there was a lot of negativity due to Jim’s passing, but I never quite understood why it seemed so negative. I asked for and received the VHS the following year, and it was one of the few movies my family had and I watched it every year. My husband, kids and I watch it still every year, and it’s the only Christmas movie all 6 of us agree on as the best Christmas movie. The only other two Christmas movies I have to watch every year are a Christmas story and It’s a wonderful life. There are other good ones but these reign Supreme.
i find it interesting that in mickey's christmas carol we see little tim's tomb in the cemetery which doesn't happen in the muppets version or jim carrey's version in 2009
I've seen dozens of adaptations of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol and maintain that the definitive cinematic handling has yet to be realized. I think Ralph Fiennes could be the best choice tapped for the task as both director and star to finally accomplish deftly serving the novel its utmost justice into faithful fruition. I want to be engrossed by the viscerally palpable atmosphere of stinging cold in foggy old London town shimmering in icy roads turned to slush by foot and hoofed carriage traffic, insolated by the looming silhouette of tall brick buildings faintly cutting their sharp shapes high into the murky grey sky with emanating orange glow pouring out of their pierced pockets by oil lit lamps and wax candles burning glazy gapes of thaw through the frosted windows of busseling businesses and taverns. As rosey cheeked people of squinted features still merrily going about weathering the bitter crisp winter through clinched chattering teeth, yet bothering to bend their tautly wisped lips into a quivering smile and greet passerbys with holiday salutations of billowing steamed breath in uncanny gleamy-eyed warmness nonetheless. I see it production designed by someone like Stuart Craig, Dante Ferretti or Rick Heinrichs. And animorphically lensed on 70mm film negative cameras exposed at 24 glorious frames per second by a master cinematographer like Robert Richardson, Caleb Deschanel, John Mathieson, Emmanuel Lubezki, Dariusz Wolski, Janusz Kaminski, Slawomir Idziak, Eduardo Serra, or Darius Khondji -- Roger 'Scrooge' Deakins can go get stuffed with his lazy new found exclusive allegiance to cheap digital video humbug for the surplus population! And I'm hearing a hauntingly classical music score from a composer like Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, Christopher Young, Howard Shore, Craig Armstrong, Elliot Goldenthal, Michael Nyman, Dario Marianelli, Mychael Danna or James Newton Howard. An enthralling soundscape, both ominous yet melodic. With deep baratone horns and sulking cellos under a creaking solo violin accompanied by delicate tinging clock chimes. Perhaps the sound of spilling coins and the distant reverberation of a foreboding church bell. I mean, to be honest I should direct the thing myself, but I haven't the proper juice in the industry to feasibly make that happen with the adequately allocated resources to employ all the esteemed talent necessary for honoring Dicken's story at the high level it deserves.
I agree that the Muppets spirit of christmas future is more scary than the Mickey Mouse version, like cmon ofcourse it's Pete, but I think the Mickey Mouse version of when Scrooge promises to be a better man is more scary. Like he's hanging over and is about to fall to hell.
The Muppet’s Christmas Carol is over on Disney+. They actually just released the full version of The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, which can be found in the Extras tab of the movie’s page. It is basically the Brain Henson Cut.
It's worth nothing that some elements of both films borrow from the 1970 musical scrooge. Things such as scrooge mcduck dressing as santa,the setting of the final visit to Bob Cratchits home rather than Scrooges office to make things right with the Cratchits. Also the musical songs both touch on similar things e g scrooge is mean ,Bob and tiny Tim walking home and singing about how wonderful Christmas is
I feel the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol did it better because they knew not to sugarcoat the story the way the muppets did! Both made the foolish mistake of removing Ebenezer’s sister Fan despite her being an important part, but the muppets had the knew to keep Sam and Fozzie’s characters alive when they should dead!
I think you may have suppressed your memory of the Christmas Yet To Come portion of Mickey's Christmas Carol if you think it was minimal on the horror elements.
The biggest issue here is the assumption that the Muppets were made for kids. That was not what Jim Henson intended. The Muppet Show was full of adult jokes and references.
I would disagree the mickey's set the standard. Don't get me wrong it's good but moves much too quickly. Muppets is good too but feels like something is missing. The REAL gold standard and BEST Christmas carol is mr.magoo's a Christmas carol.
Disney took on A Christmas Carol three times. While Mickey’s version was what I hold dearly to my childhood, the Jim Carrey version tops these two in terms of it feeling more horror fantasy.
Is it just me or is the disney+ version of Mickey's Christmas Carol wrong? Not notably divergent, but off, it's only one scene that does it for me, but its bothered me ever since I've seen it. I watched it on vhs every year since I was young, and I was so excited when I found it on Disney+ because the player I watched it on finally went kaput, but in the scene when scrooge is climbing the stairs, his eyes don't pop as much as they did on the vhs, maybe it's some sort of color correction they did, but it takes away from the unsettling nature of the scene.
The Mickey Mouse version does have a great line where Goofy-Marley says " I'm forced to carry these heavy chains through eternity. Maybe even longer. There's no hope. I'm doomed". It's an interesting juxtaposition having Goofy of all characters deliver such a disturbing sentiment
I read one review of the short, which lamented the fact that Goofy was chosen to play Jacob Marley, but understanding that a character like Flintheart Glomgold would have been too obscure of a choice at the time of the short's release (especially to American audiences), but I long for a version of the cartoon where this was the case.
Yeah, but, we’re there two of them? And was one technically called ‘Bob Marley’?
@@samuelbarber6177 Bob Marley? Sounds like a Reggae player that smoked too much weed.
@@adlaistevenson2623 I think it’s fitting that Goofy plays the role, because he’s tall… also, his original voice actor, Pinto Colvig, passed away in 1967. Might not be “Seven Years Dead” like the Charles Dickens story, but having to see the character return to play a ghost that expresses his pain through a tortured punishment of being locked in chains makes the subtext feel all the more unnerving.
The Muppets Christmas Carol is my favorite version.
And the reason is because Scrooge actually changes BEFORE he meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. So his motivation at the end is for reasons other than fear.
I agree. It isn’t Scrooge’s death that changes him, it’s that he gets a taste of what Marleys fate is. He must walk through life and witness what he cannot share but might have shared. He wants to change the bleak future but he can’t...Until he realizes he gets a second chance when he wakes up.
I seem to recall something similar happening with the Mickey version as well, with Scrooge realizing the fatal mistake he made with Isabelle and the sad fate he was setting up for innocent Tiny Tim. He even asks if he can prevent it from happening before he is shown his own gravesite.
Yes Scrooge’s change is best depicted as gradual and then sudden. As that is how Christian conversion is (which is what the story is about)
I actually feel it has the opposite effect. It made it seem like he could’ve been shown his mistakes from the past, and that would’ve been the end of it. Buhrbrinker end of the “it feels like Christmas”, the rest became pointless as a story of conversion, and it’s like you already forget that he was ever a miser. That’s actually my single complaint of this movie, is that it cheats us of the finale. The Past was meant to show how he fell down his path, but he needed to first see what that path actually was, which is where Present comes in, and he wouldn’t be fully converted without seeing the horrors of how his path ends. That’s what makes this story so timeless, and having him be so willing to abandon his ways so early totally negates the final act.
@@abehambino I both agree and disagree. I think both versions did a good job of showing Scrooge's conversion. McDuck was a much more obviously stubborn Scrooge along with being absolutely *delightful* in his greed. Cain's Scrooge isn't yet taking responsibility for his actions after Christmas Past, seems mostly converted by the end of Christmas Present, but Christmas Yet to Come still serves the purpose of reminding him *why* he has to change. That falling back into old habits will result in a bad end.
Caine's playing it straight is part of what gives it weight. Without that choice it could have gone really wacky but he keeps it grounded and keeps drama and Levity where it is needed
Humans playing it straight across muppets is when the muppets work best. Caine was definitely the best choice here.
While I prefer the Muppet version, the version of Tiny Tim and his death hit me harder in the Disney adaptation, especially when Micky stands silently crying at the grave (hits me too hard as a daddy now).
it's especially sadder when scrooge says 'oh. oh no!' this I think is how alan young ended up voicing scrooge in duck tales. He could play the skin flint miser as well as show more heart.
I like how both the icons of Disney and Jim Henson played Bob Cratchit
2:52 "All for the benefit of an audience largely comprised of young children". You could say that shows a certain amount of respect for children and their level of understanding.
I was never scared of anything in the Muppets version. But Pete pushing Scrooge into his open grave while laughing while the fires of hell start to rise. That one got me.
The Muppet Ghost of Christmas Past scares me more than the Muppet Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come
I think she's the best interpretation of the ghost I've ever seen: hauntingly ethereal, wise and mysterious despite her seeming innocence. To create the effect, they filmed the puppet immersed in water (they started of with oil but it was too messy) and then slowed down the footage. Genius.
I wouldn't exactly call Mickey's Christmas Carol "worry-free" since the Future sequence is just as dark as any other adaptation, maybe even more so. That one has the Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come (played by Pete) knocking Scrooge into his grave and maniacally laughing like a villain, all while Scrooge is clinging to a root, with the coffin opening up and revealing what could be best described as a pit to Hell. That scene scared the crap out of me as a kid.
Aside from that, nice look at two of my favorite Christmas Carol adaptations.
I wouldn't call Pete as death a safe scene. Safe casting for sure. But Pete is the best version of death for his intimidating reveal. "Why yours Ebenezer," not to mention cackling like a madman with a gate to hell opening as scrooge hangs on for dear life.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is my favourite Christmas movie of all time. So well made and incredibly faithful to the novel.
The Mickey Mouse version feels like the swan song of a kind of Disney that is long gone when Disney was not the giant evil empire buying everything not bolted down and becoming Scrooges themselves
Idk the part in Mickey’s CC where Pete from Goof Troop pushes Scrooge into the open grave and he hangs from a root as a coffin beneath him opens revealing what can only be described as Hell, was pretty scary to me as a kid. I love both of these movies. Mickey’s was always my go to as a kid but I have grown to love the Muppets as the superior adaptation as an adult. Merry Christmas and God bless us, everyone!
Same
You know Pete predates Goof Troop
@@BlinksAwakening he predates Mickey himself.
Yup! And he’s smoking a cigar. Used to scare me as well
Yeah, that part went harder than it had any business to go 😂 the musical cue even bears a little resemblance to Night On Bald Mountain from Fantasia. It's a pretty metal moment, but nowadays, I feel like it botches Scrooge's catharsis at the end of the story. It implies that Scrooge was more motivated to save his own skin from damnation than learning the value of giving and delivering good will to your fellow people. He saved Tiny Tim in both versions, but with the threat of hell undermining everything he had witnessed before, he did it for him.
What made the Muppet Christmas Carol so good is Michael Cain. In an interview he said he told the studio that he would take this role seriously in a movie that should have been ridiculous as most Muppet movies are
Honestly, I found the ghost of Christmas yet to come scariest in Mickey's Christmas Carol; the way he suddenly starts talking with his booming voice, and then laughing manically as Scrooge falls towards a flaming coffin... that's scary! I always found Muppet's more creepy than scary, and since I was always drawn to that Gothic horror aesthetic long before I could have called it that, it was and still is one of my favourite movies of all time
Me just wanna say that I like how you mentioned Richard Hunt along with Jim Henson in speaking of their "in loving memory" at the beginning of the Muppet movie talk.
I love the movie a lot during this time, and lately people have been making reviews and reactions to the Muppet Cjrustmas Carol. People seem to sadly only focus on Jim's passing and Richard is usually while see obviously, there isn't a sad reaction or even a small moment to explain his work.
So ye, I just wanna say I like that along with Henson, you mentioned Hunt alongside too.
Muppets Christmas Carol was my introduction to classic literature as a 90s kid
Michael Caine as Scrooge is iconic
I like the fact that the Muppets never shyed away from exposing kids to the unknown. Life is scary, it's full of uncertainty ... and you have to face it alone at times. But you also have to carry yourself through to the other side so you can appreciate the happy ending even more.
However, I also read the original story and it was pretty much a gothic ghost story of it's time. Muppets CC captured the atmosphere perfectly with warmness provided by the Muppets to keep it from being like the more grown up Alastair Sim version. It's a really good transition from the Mickey and Mr. Magoo versions to the more serious adult version.
I must add I was a young teenager (tail end of Gen X) when it came out, so I was more interested in recreating the Ghost of Christmas Future's look for Halloween than I was being scared of anything.
This is awesome. Both great in their own way, but I really prefer the Muppets version.
I like them equally, neither is better than the other in my eyes. They both have their different charms in their characters and the portrayal of them, humor, and how the stories tug my heart strings. Both make me shed tears at the sad scenes and the happy endings.
Reasons the Muppets is the best:
1- It uses actual text from the novella
2- Michael Caine actually shows a progression throughout the story
3- Fozziwig
4- One of the Marleys is called Robert, meaning that Waldorf is technically playing ‘Bob Marley’
As a child, I was bloody terrified of the Muppets for a while, and the entire reason was the first three minutes of this film running on Disney Channel instead of Hannah Montana. I am yet to fully recover.
The Muppets version is my favorite holiday movie bar none. Great video dude!
Here in the UK, my family watch this beauty every 24th December. It is one HELL of a tradition. I agree with your statement completely, inside and out.
The Mickey Version wasn't scary?
Dude... did you just ignore the ENTIRE segment of Christmas Future where the ghost SHOVES Scrooge into his open grave and LAUGHS at him as the gates of Hell open up?
I came here to say this. I don't know how anyone could claim the Muppet version is scarier. I was so traumatized by the Mickey one that I've never watched it again. The Muppet one was creepy at times, but that is true to the narrative it's based on and there is so much levity in between.
So basically, the Muppet version is like a Stephen King novel, being more creepy and disturbing than scary; while the Mickey version is like a movie version of said Stephen King novel, going over the top with the scares.
That terrified the SHIT outta me as a kid, he's just dangling there, holding on for dear life as a RAGING FIRE BURNS BENEATH HIM (didn't help that I had a big fear of fire at the time) and then he falls and wakes up on the floor beside his bed
What's worse is, while that used to be the "okay good it's only a dream" thing, later I learned that it's theoretically possible to DIE if you fall off your bed while falling in a dream because your brain gets convinced that the impact in real life was as severe as in the dream and it can actually shut itself off for good as a result so I can NEVER watch that scene again without thinking about how he shouldn't have survived that night
@@swishfish8858 Ouch… thanks for putting that in my head. I’m never gonna sleep tonight.
Now older I'm just now realizing how disturbing that is and questioning how 4 yr old me wasn't faced at all...
These two are my favorite adaptations
The Mickey Christmas Carol is a good choice to introduce the story to children for the first time. As well as a good choice if you want to feel Nostalgic for Classic Disney Charm:
Both are really excellent viewing experiences and have become must-watch material during the Christmas season. Muppet Carol is the overall superior adaptation and incredibly well done but Mickey's Carol has a great deal more nostalgia from me, since it was the adaptation that I spent the most time with through the 80's and 90's. It was required viewing every year and I appreciated both its brevity and the surprising depth of its emotional ride. The music and visuals of the Ghost of Christmas Future scene have always stood out to me as particularly noteworthy. Somber, unsettling and even just a bit frightening for a younger viewer. The most powerful part of the entire feature may just be the shot of Mickey standing over Tiny Tim's grave and the haunting music that accompanies it. The juxtaposition of such a typically happy and care-free character being so overcome with sadness really tugs at the heart.
Properly discovering the Muppet Carol in more recent years has absolutely made me appreciate it, though. Part of me has always been hesitant toward the post-Jim Muppet era, partly because I grew up with the earlier films/shows and Jim's inimitable spirit and voice have become inseparable with the Muppets in my mind. For the most part, I feel my skepticism has been justified, as many of the later films and shows just haven't carried the same sense of character and tone. But I must admit fully and completely that the Muppet Carol is a clear exception. It is a classic film and very worthy of the Henson name.
I really love both versions, but I think the Mickey & friends version gets the edge because even though I’m a Gen Z-er & most people my age probably saw the muppet version first, I saw the Disney version first thanks to the House of Mouse Christmas special that I had on VHS. The Muppets definitely up the eeriness, but I don’t think Mickey plays it entirely safe either. Casting Goofy in the role of Marley freaked me out way more than Statler and Waldorf because I already knew them as jerks. Even if there’s a comedic element, the idea of a lovable goof (no pun intended) who I knew as a loving father from also having the Goofy Movie VHS at that time, being a miserable ghost forced to carry weighted chains as punishment for a life of greed and corruption kind of stuck with me more. Also Pete evilly laughing while tossing a panicking Uncle Scrooge (DuckTales tapes) into a freshly dug grave with a furnace-like, flaming coffin that can only be read as the entry to hell definitely haunted some dreams.
i think the mickey mouse one will always be my fav take on this story yes its short but it does it so well
The reason, I believe Mickey’s Christmas Carol is such a brilliant version is the voice actor of Scrooge McDuck, Alan Young. His bitterness is real. His bitterness is real. His humor is real. His fear is real. His joy is contagious. He deserved an Oscar, or at least an Emmy for making the character of Scrooge more real and fleshed out in 30 min than almost any other adaptation (outside of the Muppets) does in 90!
For me, the dramatic irony of Scrooge busting into Bob Crachit’s (Mickey’s) house telling him he has another load of “laundry.” That scene is so exciting even as an adult. The audience knows he’s changed his heart, and we are just anticipating the big reveal. It still makes me so happy when he tells Mickey he “has no choice… but to give you a raise and make you my partner.” Mickey’s Carol is a quick summation, but filled with brilliant moments. I feel and fall for Tiny Tim so quickly, and he’s only on screen for a couple minutes.
Disney's adaptations of a Christmas carol:
Mickey: Light
Muppets: Light and Dark
2009: WHAT THE FUCK!!!
I never seen the Mickey verison outside of odd clips, the Muppet verison is my first and only exposure to the Charles Dicken story and I try to watch it every year around Christmas time because its such a well made film and the lead actor playing the role straight instead of comically, really helps the story weight, its hard to top!
These two Christmas movies are MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES OF ALL TIME I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!
I grew up with Mickey’s version.
David Werner as Scrooge? That’s could’ve been interesting, but I just love him so much as Bob Cratchitt in the true DEFINITIVE Version of A Christmas Carol!
Gen X here--I was in the target demographic for Mickey's Christmas Carol when it came out. While overall I still have to give the nod to the Muppets as the better adaptation, the Pete-as-Christmas Future segment in Mickey's scared the crap out of 7 year old me, who had been raised on such gentle fare as Willy Wonka's psychedelic boat ride and Artax's death in The Neverending Story. I still think that's the scariest Christmas Future sequence in ANY adaptation.
(Plus, the success of Mickey's Christmas Carol is why we got Ducktales and by extension the rest of the Disney Afternoon, so it gets bonus points for that. ;-) )
I’m 26 years old, so I grew up both Disney’s: A Muppets Christmas Carol and Disney’s: Mickey’s Christmas Carol and I love them both for different reasons because they both are unique takes on a Christmas Carol, the Muppet version is more a faithful/respectful version of a Christmas Carol just with Muppets, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol does have the basic elements/plot points of a Christmas Carol but it’s more cartoony, but with Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the version that you were thinking of is actually the extended version, (as Disney calls it), because originally it was made in the 80s as a short, but then later on, many years later, Disney decided to make it a more extended theatrical version, so that’s the version you were thinking of/grew up with.
Have you seen Scrooge from 1970? What do you think of that Christmas Future segment?
Pete loses a little steam by having him talk and acting a bit silly. The muppets ghost never talks and seems all the more menacing for it. I mean we don't even see his face.
To quote Caddicarus on the Muppets Christmas Carol segment in his Childhood Trauma video on TV moments:
"I'm Michael Caine, and I'm in a movie with a screaming door, a dying baby frog, and Death itself sending me to Hell. What have I done?"
I always think people focus on the Christmas part of a Christmas Carol and forget that it’s firstly a charity appeal and secondly a ghost story.
Which is what Christmas is about. To bring charity to the world.
Worry free? The Mickey version has Scrooge being sent plummeting down his deep isolated grave into the fiery depths of Hell while the ghost laughs sadistically. I think that warning was fare more traumatic.
Prison Mike, what was the worst thing about 1840s London?
The Dementors!
I love both versions. I watched them both growing up as a kid every year for Christmas with my mom and still to as an adult with my own daughter.
I didn't think that the Ghost of Christmas Future in the Muppets was scary at all. But Pete, smoking a cigar and shoving Scrooge into his fiery grave in Mickey's though? That gave me nightmares.
I know they specifically made new Muppets to play the Ghosts for the film. But my headcanon always had Cookie Monster underneath that hood for some reason which terrified the crap out of me.
I would love to see the Mickey version be redone as a full version of the story.
I heard it was nearly was at one point in development, but I guess the financial troubles at the studio forced it to be a featurette. The departure of Don Bluth and others didn’t help matters either.
Honestly I only watched Mickey's Christmas carol once as a kid but I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol alot around Christmas time growing up so obviously I have a lot more nostalgia towards the Muppet version.
Recognizing the shoutout to The Witches, Return to Oz, and Pee Wee's Big Adventure, all of which actually scared the snot out of me as a child. And all of which I kept watching every chance I got!
The Marley ghosts were what gave MY kids traumatic nightmares.
The chests included.
As a kid, the first live-action Christmas Carol film after watching Mickey's Christmas Carol was the 1970s Albert Finney musical adaptation.
A film which, in my opinion, had a few similarities to Mickey's such as the interior arrangement of the "Counting House" and Scrooge falling into an open grave.
_Muppets Christmas Carol_ and _Treasure Island_ were still running off of Jim Henson's fumes. _Muppets in Space_ is where everything went downhill.
A muppet Christmas carol was always my favorite version ^.^
Jim would have been very proud of what they accomplished with the muppet christmas carol no doubt.
People forget that "A Christmas Carol" is a *ghost story* - and ghost stories are meant to be scary!
The 1970 version of Scrooge was always my wife's favorite. She especially like Alec Guinness,s Marley once Scrooge got to hell. She thought Alec played it down right silly.
The muppet version ranks number 3 on my personal list of great versions of the Dickens classic.
I was born in the spring of '83. Mickey's Christmas Carol was my favorite adaptation until the Muppet's adaptation came out. They're now tied for first.
I have a few contentions with this essay. First of all, the ghost of Christmas yet to come is not "soulless and unforgiving." It is certainly stern but Dickens made it clear that it had compassion! Secondly, the Muppet version somehow (and I am not sure how) conveyed that! This may be the ONLY cinematic version that doesn't play that spirit as vengeful! There is no active harshness in this spirit in the book (go back, read that part and you'll see), the future in its unknowable nature is a harsh reality but it is a passive harshness. There is no pushing into the grave, simply the sense of inevitability! Another point that so many versions seem to fail to grasp: it is NOT only the final spirit that changes him; all three do! The Muppet version delivers this message better than ANY OTHER VERSION does!!!
One final point: Scrooge is not scared by his death but by being the despised wretch,, the forgotten joke with which he is presented in those final scenes with the spirit. This is especially true since he has been shown those pieces of his past and given him something to strive for in the present, thus rewriting the future. We tend to view the final spirit as if we were a four year old: scary = mean. Nope!
The Muppet Christmas Carol only scares me a little when I was a kid.
I watched MCC last night, and damn i forgot how great the songs are.
That gave me nightmare for a week.
Another day, another freaking video essay channel.
0:09 - Cool cameos of Mr Toad and Lady Kluck.
I wish that Mickey's Christmas Carol had been longer.
The Mickey’s Christmas Carol is great film that casted most of our classic Disney cartoons , my idea for a direct sequel to a classic Christmas Carol is by retelling the same story casted by our classic Disney animated feature films . For example , the Darling family from Peter Pan can represent the Cratchit Family & Prince John from Robin Hood can represent Ebeneezer Scrooge , he loves taxes and becomes rich & greedy .
Muppets is my favourite even though they trimmed the heartbreak scene! Watch it every Christmas!
Fantastic analysis
Excuse me ghost Pete scared the pissss outta me
Alan Young does the best "bah humbug." But I do love Michael Caine.
I'm getting ready to have my daughter watch the second one so let's see how it goes
I love both Christmas Carol adabtations the same along with the Jim Carrey version.
The fact that mickeys Christmas carol is virtually unknown outside of the us we’re kids grew up with cable tells you all you need to know
Just to say their are various version of Dickens Christmas Carol that even Bill Murray played a Scrooge like character, yet I still get to imagine seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the Ghost of Christmas future with The Terminator scene.
Saying: Tiny Tim is dead.
Scrooge: What is this?
Ghost of Christmas Future: It’s your funeral.
Yep Arnie as Ghost of Christmas future doing out Terminator style it will be awesome.
Well it’s I love The Chipmunks Valentine Special and DuckTales valentines
I prefer Mickey's Christmas Carol. I know that's not the popular opinion but I'm sticking with it.
My favorite adaptation of a Christmas Carol was the one with Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge.
I had always liked the Mickey Christmas Carol when I was young. I was 9 when muppet Christmas Carol came out, saw it in the theater and never wanted to watch Mickey version again. I adored this movie. I knew that there was a lot of negativity due to Jim’s passing, but I never quite understood why it seemed so negative.
I asked for and received the VHS the following year, and it was one of the few movies my family had and I watched it every year.
My husband, kids and I watch it still every year, and it’s the only Christmas movie all 6 of us agree on as the best Christmas movie.
The only other two Christmas movies I have to watch every year are a Christmas story and It’s a wonderful life. There are other good ones but these reign Supreme.
i find it interesting that in mickey's christmas carol we see little tim's tomb in the cemetery which doesn't happen in the muppets version or jim carrey's version in 2009
i love this everything you said is sooooo trueeee
I've seen dozens of adaptations of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol and maintain that the definitive cinematic handling has yet to be realized.
I think Ralph Fiennes could be the best choice tapped for the task as both director and star to finally accomplish deftly serving the novel its utmost justice into faithful fruition.
I want to be engrossed by the viscerally palpable atmosphere of stinging cold in foggy old London town shimmering in icy roads turned to slush by foot and hoofed carriage traffic, insolated by the looming silhouette of tall brick buildings faintly cutting their sharp shapes high into the murky grey sky with emanating orange glow pouring out of their pierced pockets by oil lit lamps and wax candles burning glazy gapes of thaw through the frosted windows of busseling businesses and taverns. As rosey cheeked people of squinted features still merrily going about weathering the bitter crisp winter through clinched chattering teeth, yet bothering to bend their tautly wisped lips into a quivering smile and greet passerbys with holiday salutations of billowing steamed breath in uncanny gleamy-eyed warmness nonetheless.
I see it production designed by someone like Stuart Craig, Dante Ferretti or Rick Heinrichs. And animorphically lensed on 70mm film negative cameras exposed at 24 glorious frames per second by a master cinematographer like Robert Richardson, Caleb Deschanel, John Mathieson, Emmanuel Lubezki, Dariusz Wolski, Janusz Kaminski, Slawomir Idziak, Eduardo Serra, or Darius Khondji -- Roger 'Scrooge' Deakins can go get stuffed with his lazy new found exclusive allegiance to cheap digital video humbug for the surplus population!
And I'm hearing a hauntingly classical music score from a composer like Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, Christopher Young, Howard Shore, Craig Armstrong, Elliot Goldenthal, Michael Nyman, Dario Marianelli, Mychael Danna or James Newton Howard. An enthralling soundscape, both ominous yet melodic. With deep baratone horns and sulking cellos under a creaking solo violin accompanied by delicate tinging clock chimes. Perhaps the sound of spilling coins and the distant reverberation of a foreboding church bell.
I mean, to be honest I should direct the thing myself, but I haven't the proper juice in the industry to feasibly make that happen with the adequately allocated resources to employ all the esteemed talent necessary for honoring Dicken's story at the high level it deserves.
I agree that the Muppets spirit of christmas future is more scary than the Mickey Mouse version, like cmon ofcourse it's Pete, but I think the Mickey Mouse version of when Scrooge promises to be a better man is more scary. Like he's hanging over and is about to fall to hell.
I only watched the Mickey version but I would love to watch the muppet version
The Muppet’s Christmas Carol is over on Disney+. They actually just released the full version of The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, which can be found in the Extras tab of the movie’s page. It is basically the Brain Henson Cut.
I felt much more of the influence of Scrooged, than of Mickey's CC.
Now I wish I saw this film as a kid.
I love the muppets carol 🙌🏽
I loved both versions
It's worth nothing that some elements of both films borrow from the 1970 musical scrooge. Things such as scrooge mcduck dressing as santa,the setting of the final visit to Bob Cratchits home rather than Scrooges office to make things right with the Cratchits. Also the musical songs both touch on similar things e g scrooge is mean ,Bob and tiny Tim walking home and singing about how wonderful Christmas is
I feel the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol did it better because they knew not to sugarcoat the story the way the muppets did! Both made the foolish mistake of removing Ebenezer’s sister Fan despite her being an important part, but the muppets had the knew to keep Sam and Fozzie’s characters alive when they should dead!
I think you may have suppressed your memory of the Christmas Yet To Come portion of Mickey's Christmas Carol if you think it was minimal on the horror elements.
Watching the Mickey one after seeing the Muppets was honestly scary as fuck to me! I kept expecting something scary to happen throughout!
The 2009 version is the most accurate
I have another ideal competition sort
Fun fact: Most people did not make a big deal of Christmas until Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol
And turkey.
Carlin?!?!?.... what.... like I love Carlin but I can't see him lending the same gravity to the role. But that would be something to see?
David Warner would have been cool though
Muppet Christmas Carol is my definitive Christmas Movie. It’s just not Christmas without it.
Those versions may be good but the GOAT is still the jim carrey one
What? No "Mr. Magoo?"
I'd still put the Patrick Stewart version as the definitive version for me at least.
And then there's Robert Zemmickis
The biggest issue here is the assumption that the Muppets were made for kids. That was not what Jim Henson intended. The Muppet Show was full of adult jokes and references.
I would disagree the mickey's set the standard. Don't get me wrong it's good but moves much too quickly. Muppets is good too but feels like something is missing. The REAL gold standard and BEST Christmas carol is mr.magoo's a Christmas carol.
Disney took on A Christmas Carol three times. While Mickey’s version was what I hold dearly to my childhood, the Jim Carrey version tops these two in terms of it feeling more horror fantasy.
Is it just me or is the disney+ version of Mickey's Christmas Carol wrong? Not notably divergent, but off, it's only one scene that does it for me, but its bothered me ever since I've seen it. I watched it on vhs every year since I was young, and I was so excited when I found it on Disney+ because the player I watched it on finally went kaput, but in the scene when scrooge is climbing the stairs, his eyes don't pop as much as they did on the vhs, maybe it's some sort of color correction they did, but it takes away from the unsettling nature of the scene.