| “ | I see a vacant seat, in the poor chimney corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die. | ” |
— The Ghost of Christmas Present, harshly aiding the path of Scrooge's redemption | ||
Timothy "Tiny Tim" Cratchit is a character in the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is the youngest son of Bob Cratchit, and he uses a crutch to get around. It is claimed that the character is based on the invalid son of a friend of Dickens who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick, Manchester.
When Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Present, he is shown just how ill Tim really is, and that Tim will die unless he receives treatment. When Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and shown the future, all he sees of Tim is his crutch, as Tim has died. This, and several other visions, lead Scrooge to reform his ways. In Tim, Scrooge appears to see the lonely boy he himself once was, with a strike against them (Tim's illness, Ebenezer's father blaming him for the death of his mother) that was not their fault. At the end of the story, Dickens makes it explicit that Tim did not die, and Scrooge became a "second father" to him. According to some other versions of the story, Tim Cratchit eventually gained health by Scrooge's money, and later became a successful businessman, and when Ebenezer Scrooge died, he became the only member of the Cratchit family to attend his funeral.
Dickens did not reveal in the book what Tiny Tim's illness was, but renal tubular acidosis (a type of kidney failure causing the blood to become acidic) has been proposed as one possibility, as has rickets (caused by a lack of Vitamin D).
Tiny Tim cries "God Bless Us, Everyone!" at the end of the story.
Portrayals
| Picture | Performer | Feature | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Glenn Walken | Kraft Television Theatre: "A Christmas Carol" | 1952 | |
 |
Gerald McBoing-Boing (voiced by Joan Gerber) |
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol | 1962 | Gerald, who usually only speaks in sound effects, has a rare speaking role here. According to a comic book adaptation of the special, he is actually lip-syncing to his dialogue. |
|
Voiced by Alexander Williams (uncredited) |
A Christmas Carol | 1971 | This role is portrayed by the son of director Richard Williams. |
 |
Tweety Bird (voiced by Mel Blanc) |
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol | 1978 | |
 |
Morty Fieldmouse (voiced by Dick Billingsly) |
Mickey's Christmas Carol | 1983 | Morty (one of Mickey Mouse's two nephews) portrays Tiny Tim while his brother, Ferdie, portrays the other Cratchit son (presumably Peter). This is notably one of the few times Morty and Ferdie ever appeared in animation. |
|
A Christmas Carol | 1984 | ||
 |
Astro (voiced by Don Messick) |
The Jetsons: "A Jetson Christmas Carol" | 1985 | The Jetsons' pet dog becomes deathly ill after accidentally swallowing a sprocket. |
 |
Robin the Frog (voiced by Jerry Nelson) |
The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | |
|
? | Children's Classics: A Christmas Carol | 1994 | |
 |
Bamm-Bamm Rubble (voiced by Don Messick) |
A Flintstones Christmas Carol | 1994 | |
|
Jarrad Kritzstein | A Christmas Carol | 1997 | |
 |
Lucky | 101 Dalmatians: "A Christmas Cruella" | 1997 | In Cruella De Vil's Christmas Carol-inspired dream, Lucky's left front leg is crippled by an infection caused by getting a pine needle stuck in his paw. |
 |
Timmy | An All Dogs Christmas Carol | 1998 | |
|
Ben Tibber | A Christmas Carol | 1999 | |
 |
Ed (voiced by Matt Hill) |
A Very Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Holiday Special | 2000 | The largest of the Eds portrays Tiny Tim in a segment parodying the closing scene of A Christmas Carol. |
|
Voiced by Theresa Gallagher |
A Christmas Carol | 2006 | Portrayed, like the rest of Bob Cratchitt's family, by a white rabbit |
 |
Gary Oldman | A Christmas Carol | 2009 | |
 |
Marc Silk | Danger Mouse: "The Snowman Cometh" | 2015 | Depicted as a dog. |
|
Lenny Rush (Episodes 2 & 3) | A Christmas Carol (FX Mini-Series) | 2019 |
