What 'A Christmas Carol' adaption do you like the best?

Factor out Bill Murray's Scrooged and this is the best real version ever made.

by you
I've always liked the George C. Scott version since it appeared in 1984 and only when the Patrick Stewart one came along did I find one I liked as much. Since then, I DVR each one every year, (rather than purchasing them on DVD, as I do most movies I like, just because they always run them each year and once a year is as frequently as I would watch them).

I feel like a connoisseur of Christmas Carols, as I try to watch every adaptation of it that I can find. I got a 3D flat screen last year and was able to watch the Disney Jim Carrey version n 3D for the first time and that brought a whole new dimension to it, no pun intended. Mickey's and The Muppets respective Christmas Carols are fine for what they are, enjoyable renditions with non-traditional characters in the roles, but I prefer my Scrooge stories as realistic as possible, with actual humans and actors and period-appropriate sets, clothing, etc. However, I also appreciate the supernatural elements of Marley's ghost and the other ghost and the moving from time periods to be as magically unreal as possible and therefore prefer the more modern F/X technologies that can achieve that.

That being said, the version that I recall first seeing and being affected by most is the animated "animated classics?" or something, version that was always broadcast on TV in the early 70s when I was a kid. Despite being animated, it was deadly serious and effectively scary and eerie as well as jubilant at the end. Too bad finding a good copy, or any copy is so hard to do at this time.

I just recently watched the Scott version again, and feel I don't like his acting decisions of having Scrooge constantly chuckling while delivering his lines about misanthropy and general Christmas hating. I feel that even though he is laughing at things derisively, he is still showing himself as someone enjoying humor and a laughing Scrooge at the beginning does not have much contrast with the newly-happy Scrooge who finds enjoyment and frivolity by the end. I much prefer Stewart's humorless miser that has to relearn how to crack a smile, (causing his char woman and clerk to think he may have gone mad by the stark contrast) and even remember how to laugh by the third ghost's final visit.

I also own the Sim version on BLU-ray, but haven't been blown away as others seem to be by it (remember, I like modern FX in addition to the faithfulness to the character) but I haven't watched it over and over nearly as many times.

Therefore, my own, subjective personal list would probably go:

1971 A Christmas Carol (animated)
1999 A Christmas Carol (Stewart)
1984 A Christmas Carol (Scott)
Disney A Christmas Carol (animated, 3D Jim Carrey version)
1969 animated version
Scrooge (musical, Albert Finney)

Alistir Sim 1951 - BRITISH

nothing else comes close

My favourites in no particular order:

This one with Patrick Stewart (1999)
The Muppets version (1992)
The musical version with Kelsey Grammer (2004)
The animated version with Kate Winslet (2001)
The Mickey Mouse version (1982)


I like the Jim Carrey version, too, but have only watched it once or twice. My mum and I found it too scary. I haven't seen the other versions that people have mentioned, I try to every year but never get round to it. I do, however, plan to watch the one with George C Scott at some point, it's been saved into my Sky Planner :)

I'll be giving my age away on this one...but I really like the "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol". I watch it every year at Christmas and have found it oddly faithful. But reading this thread has me curious about the Muppet's Christmas Carol.

Gypsyohara in FL

My earliest exposures to A Christmas Carol or Scrooge was:

'69 animated version. I probably saw it a few years later, as I was three when it came out.

'71 animated version.

'70 musical with Finney.

After that, I saw the Henry Winkler version, which I see is up on youtube and I might try to watch it again this year as I haven't seen it since that initial airing.

The musical with Finney is definitely my favorite. He does Scrooge, and love the change and music.

I actually like both animated versions, but I think I prefer the first one as I just watched it more when I was little. They are both on youtube.

I think '51 with Alistair Sim is definitely the strongest. It just feels the deepest.

I watched '38 with Reginald Owen yesterday and some of it just didn't work, didn't have the right stretch to it that it should have.

Kelsey Grammer, no comment. Don't think I even managed to sit thru that one.

I actually like Scrooged, and while I can't stand Bill Murray's hamming, it's a good Americanized version, but could have really done without his rant at the end.

I just watched Stewart's again and plan to view Scott's tomorrow.

Stewart's had the coldest feel to it, both with him and the era.

I kind of agree there were some misses with George C. Scott. I remember much of his worked except for him. Everyone else seemed better than him.

But to me, the musical works. I'll say '51 is the best, but the musical was treated unfairly because it had music. I was young when I saw it, so it was my earliest version, actually the first live version I saw, but so much worked; the toy store, everything.

This one, then George C Scott`s, then Reginald Owen`s. Don`t much care for Sim`s for some reason.

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This is the best for me

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