| “ | And therefore, Uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that Christmas has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it! | ” |
— Fred, firmly refuting his uncle and all his works | ||
Fred is Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew and only living relative in A Christmas Carol. Fred is also a gentleman of some means, but unlike his miserly uncle, he is a kind-hearted, generous, cheerful, and optimistic man who loves Christmas. Fred believes that there is good to be found in everyone, even his misanthropic uncle Scrooge, whom he invites to Christmas dinner every year despite constant rejection. Fred believes that the good in Scrooge can be brought to the surface.
Fred is the son of Scrooge's sister Fan/Fran, who died many years before the story begins. Scrooge, who loved his sister very much, has never accepted her death, and the sight of Fred unfailingly reminds him of the grief he still feels from her loss. This is one reason for Scrooge's antipathy towards his nephew; another is Fred's unceasingly cheerful attitude, which is anathema to Scrooge's cynical personality.
Portrayals[]
| Picture | Performer | Production | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barry MacKay | A Christmas Carol | 1938 | |
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Brian Worth | Scrooge | 1951 | |
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Brian McDermott | Tales from Dickens: "A Christmas Carol" | 1959 | |
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Michael Medwin | Scrooge | 1970 | The character is named Harry instead of Fred. |
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Dennis Day | The Stingiest Man in Town | 1978 | |
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Bob Crandall (played by Dick Sargent) |
The Six Million Dollar Man: "A Bionic Christmas Carol" | 1976 | The character of Bob Crandall is a composite character combining aspects of Fred and Bob Cratchit. |
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unknown | A Christmas Carol | 1981 | |
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unknown | A Christmas Carol | 1982 | |
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Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash) |
Mickey's Christmas Carol | 1983 | |
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Roger Rees | A Christmas Carol | 1984 | This version gives him the surname Honeywell. |
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Steven Mackintosh | The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | His mother, Fan/Fran (Scrooge's sister) is completely absent in this version. |
|
Voiced by Will Ryan |
A Flintstones' Christmas Carol | 1994 | This version of the character is named Ned (to avoid confusion with Fred Flintstone). |
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unknown | A Christmas Carol | 1997 | |
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Dominic West | A Christmas Carol | 1999 | |
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Iain Jones | Christmas Carol: The Movie | 2001 | |
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Larry the Cucumber (voiced by Mike Nawrocki) |
The Star of Christmas | 2002 | Larry the Cucumber plays a character similar to Fred named Millward Phelps. In the later non-Christmas movie An Easter Carol, he works in his uncle's business with Cavis Appythart, the "Bob Cratchit" of the story. |
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Julian Ovenden | A Christmas Carol | 2004 | This version gives him the surname Anderson. |
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unknown | A Christmas Carol | 2006 | |
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Colin Firth | A Christmas Carol | 2009 |