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BobCratchit
To Mister Scrooge, the founder of the feast!

— Bob, showing that his employer's poor spirit cannot diminish his own

Robert "Bob" Cratchit is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol.

In the story, Bob Cratchit is first seen at work, where he copies letters by hand in an underheated "dismal little cell", "a sort of tank". He is repeatedly described as "little" and clothes himself in a tattered white comforter, since he cannot afford a coat. Bob Cratchit is treated poorly by Scrooge and given a weekly salary of "but fifteen Bob", insufficient to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner. Nevertheless, he remains loyal to his employer, even in face of the protestations of his wife.

Scrooge invisibly visits Bob Cratchit and his family in their small Camden Town home on Christmas Day as well as on a future Christmas. He is accompanied on these visits by the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, respectively. It is partly through concern for the plight of Bob Cratchit's youngest son, the frail and crippled Tiny Tim, that Scrooge makes the transformation from miser to philanthropist, offering Bob Cratchit a raise and "discussion of his affairs".

An interesting point of departure for adaptations of the story is whether or not Scrooge's final joyful encounter with Bob occurs with his family on Christmas Day itself, or, keeping to the novel, on the morning of the 26th at the counting-house. Many presentations opt to go with the Christmas Day meeting, presumably to give more visible closure to the family's story and actually see them all happy for their new good fortune. This may also provide a "show, don't tell" moment for the described future bond between the former miser and Tiny Tim.

Children[]

Six Bob Cratchit children are mentioned in the original story, four of whom are named:

  • Martha, the eldest daughter, who works as an apprentice at a milliner's
  • Belinda, the second daughter
  • Peter, the heir, for whom his father is arranging employment at the weekly rate of 5 shillings sixpence
  • An unnamed younger son
  • An unnamed younger daughter
  • Tiny Tim, the invalid youngest son

Most adaptations typically do not include all six of Bob Cratchit's children (especially the unnamed son and daughter).

Portrayals[]

Picture Performer Feature Year Notes
No Screenshot
Donald Calthrop Scrooge 1935 Calthrop bore a remarkable resemblance to Bob Cratchit as illustrated in the original published edition of A Christmas Carol.
1938-xmas-bob-cratchit
Gene Lockhart A Christmas Carol 1938
Bob Cratchit 1951
Mervyn Johns Scrooge 1951
No Screenshot
Harry Townes Kraft Television Theatre: A Christmas Carol 1952
Cratchit looks like George Jetson
Voiced by
Jack Cassidy
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol 1962
1970 Bob Cratchit
David Collings Scrooge 1970
Porky as Bob Cratchit
Porky Pig
(voiced by Mel Blanc)
Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales 1979
MickeyAsCratchit
Mickey Mouse
(voiced by Wayne Allwine)
Mickey's Christmas Carol 1983 Disney's mascot previously portrayed the Bob Cratchit role in the record album An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players, which inspired the animated special.
No Screenshot
David Warner A Christmas Carol 1984
George Jetson
George Jetson
(voiced by George O'Hanlon)
The Jetsons: "A Jetson Christmas Carol" 1985
Bob and Tim (Ghostbusters)
Maurice LaMarche The Real Ghostbusters: "Xmas Marks the Spot" 1986 Bob Cratchit appears briefly early on in a scene where he and Tiny Tim pick up a tiny chicken dinner.
No Screenshot
Grace Cooley (portrayed by Alfre Woodard) Scrooged 1988
KermitasBobCratchit
Kermit the Frog
(puppeteered by Steve Whitmire)
The Muppet Christmas Carol 1992 Kermit also played the Bob Cratchit role in the comic "A (Sort of) Christmas Carol" in the the Winter 1984 issue of Muppet Magazine and in the "Yet Another Christmas Carol" story in the book A Very Muppet Christmas.
Barney as Bob Cratchit
Barney Rubble
(voiced by Frank Welker)
A Flintstones Christmas Carol 1994 Fred Flintstone's best friend and neighbor portrayed the character who is called Bob Cragit in this version.
Bob Cratchit 1997
Voiced by
Michael York
A Christmas Carol 1997
No Screenshot
Richard E. Grant A Christmas Carol 1999
No Screenshot
Brian McNamara A Diva's Christmas Carol 2000 Bob's character is merged with Scrooge's fiancée Belle.
Zach Nichols as Bob Cratchit
Zach Nichols
(voiced by Andrew Francis)
Adventures from the Book of Virtues: "A Christmas Carol" 2000
Bob Cratchit 2001
Voiced by
Rhys Ifans
Christmas Carol: The Movie 2001
Screenshot 2023-10-05 7.36.53 PM Bob the Tomato
(voiced by Phil Vischer)
The Star of Christmas 2002 Bob the Tomato plays a character similar to Bob Cratchit named Cavis Appythart. He's grown concerned over the devastation and hatred spreading across London. He believes he could lead the city towards a brighter future so he quickly gets to work on a musical to premiere on Christmas Eve with his partner, Millward Phelps. He doesn't work for Ebenezer until the later non-Christmas movie, An Easter Carol.
Porky in Bah Humduck
Porky Pig
(voiced by Bob Bergen)
Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas 2006
Rabbit as Bob Cratchit
Voiced by
Brian Bowles
A Christmas Carol 2006
Bob-cratchit-a-christmas-carol-2009-80.3
Voiced by
Gary Oldman
A Christmas Carol 2009
Snowdash
Rainbow Dash
(voiced by Ashleigh Ball)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: "A Hearth's Warming Tail" 2016 Rainbow Dash plays a character similar to Bob Cratchit named Snowdash, whose role is merged with Fred. Unlike Bob, she does not have a family and is scornful of her employer's dismissal of the holiday season.
Bob Cratchit 2019
Joe Alwyn A Christmas Carol (2019) 2019
Lynn dressed as an elf
Lynn Loud Jr.
(voiced by Jessica DiCicco)
The Loud House: "A Flipmas Carol" 2020 Lincoln Loud's fifth-oldest sister has to do deliveries for Flip's Food & Fuel after she accidentally breaks the shop's restroom door. Flip even says she has to work on Christmas Day, but after having a change of heart thanks to the three ghosts, he tells her that her debt's been fully paid.
Bob Cratchit 2022
Voiced by
Johnny Flynn
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol 2022
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A Christmas Carol
Humans Ebenezer ScroogeBob CratchitMrs. CratchitTimothy "Tiny Tim" CratchitBelinda CratchitMartha CratchitPeter CratchitFredBelleMr. FezziwigFan
Ghost Jacob MarleyThe Ghost of Christmas PastThe Ghost of Christmas PresentThe Ghost of Christmas Yet to ComeIgnorance and Want
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