Christmas Carol: The Movie

Christmas Carol: The Movie is a 2001 traditionally-animated (with live-action bookends) British Christmas film directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and loosely based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2001 before being theatrically released in Europe by Pathé on December 7th that same year.

It is known for the song "What If" that appears in the end credits.

Plot[]

In 1867, Charles Dickens arrives at a theatre in Boston one snowy night to tell the story of A Christmas Carol.

In Victorian London on one Christmas Eve the merriment is not shared by a money lender named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge on his way back to work from the Exchange orders a criminal named Old Joe to arrest his debt ridden clients including Dr. Lambert who along with several other clients is locked up in a debtors' prison. Belle, a middle-aged nurse and an old flame of his, is informed by Scrooge's colleague Mr. Leech that the debts have now been transferred to Scrooge. Belle goes to Scrooge's office only for him to be out on business. Belle gives a letter to Scrooge's clerk, Bob Cratchit, before leaving to visit Dr. Lambert in prison.

That night, Scrooge refuses to dine with his nephew Fred and deliberately pours a bucket of cold water over Bob's youngest son, Tiny Tim, who only recently got admitted out of the hospital by Dr. Lambert and gets pneumonia. After Bob leaves for home Scrooge is haunted by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley, who wears a chain as punishment for his selfishness when he was alive. He warns Scrooge he will be haunted by three spirits and the first will call at one in the morning. Despite this, Scrooge continues his selfish ways by refusing to donate money to two men of business, admitting that he supports the prisons and workhouses and even claims the poor better off dead and to "decrease the surplus population".

When Scrooge goes to bed he encounters the Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back to his youth. Scrooge witnesses when he was unwanted in school by his father, James Emanuel Scrooge until his sister Fan came to collect him claiming their father has changed and introduces him to Belle. It turns out Scrooge's father still despises him and sends him off to Fezziwig's to be an apprentice. Scrooge then witnesses when he was happy under Fezziwig who treated him like a son and Scrooge and the spirit witness a Christmas party which includes Fan, her husband Fred and Belle. However young Scrooge after being left the inheritance by his late father shows his greedy side and Fan who is pregnant with Fred is implied to be driven to poverty (as their father disowned her as he did not approve of her marriage to Fredrick) and dies after Fred is born. Scrooge then sees when Belle who he was engaged to leave him due to his changed ways.

The next spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows him how others keep Christmas including Fred and the Cratchits. Tiny Tim, who is ailing with pnemounia, concerns Scrooge, but the spirit sarcastically tells Scrooge he is better off dead and uses Scrooge's previous unkind remarks of the surplus population.

The final spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge what will happen in the future. Tim dies with his family mourning him and the dead man that got robbed and spoken of was himself after seeing his 'grave'. The ghost of Marley returns him to the present where Scrooge at first does not change but after seeing his 'chains' via a mirror quickly repents and hires a boy to buy and deliver a goose to the Cratchits. Scrooge becomes a kinder man and is praised by the ghosts of the Past and Present. However Scrooge becomes guilt ridden when the children's hospital Belle and Dr Lambert worked at has the children evicted due to his previous wicked deeds causing him to fire Old Joe. Scrooge is confronted by Belle and Scrooge promises Belle he will make up for his sins and the pair reunite as a couple.

The next day Scrooge promotes Bob as his new partner replacing Marley and promises to help his family as well as giving him a raise and becomes a stepfather to a now well Tiny Tim and everything returns to normal thanks to Scrooge changing his ways.

Songs[]

Edits[]

In the United States, the film was released straight to VHS and DVD on October 7, 2003 by MGM Home Entertainment. Aside from the MGM logo added at the beginning and end, the feature is slightly abridged to make it a fully traditionally animated feature by deleting the live-action bookend scenes. However, the bookend scenes were added into the DVD's special features.

Home media releases[]

Cast[]

Voice actor/actress	Character(s)
Simon Callow	Ebenezer Scrooge Charles Dickens
Kate Winslet	Belle
Nicolas Cage	Jacob Marley
Jane Horrocks	Ghost of Christmas Past
Michael Gambon	Ghost of Christmas Present
Rhys Ifans	Bob Cratchit
Juliet Stevenson	Mrs. Cratchit Mother Gimlet
Robert Llewellyn	Old Joe
Iain Jones	Fred
Colin McFarlane	Fezziwig
Beth Winslet	Fan
Arthur Cox	Dr. Lambert
Keith Wickham	Mr. Leach Undertaker
Joss Sanglier	Choir Master
Sarah Annison Rosalie MacCraig	Mice
Aaron Basacombe Bradley Kelly Ben & Peter Collier-Niblett Tommy Nash Patrick Ormerod Natasha Farley Stacy Paxton Jade Ford Karl Seal Jessica, Katherine, & Nicholas Harvey Darien Smith William Stretton Charlotte & Hannah Taylor Charlotte Jeffery Olivia Jones Phillip Warner Ruth Williamson	Children
James Jordan	Theatre Manager
Tracey O'Flaherty	Screaming Woman

External links[]

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