There have been umpteen movie adaptations of the Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol”. Some of my favorites include the Alastair Sim version, the Henry Winkler version (yes, the guy who played Fonzie), the Bill Murray version, the Muppet version, and the Mister Magoo version. This 1997 version of A Christmas Carol is an animated feature featuring the voices of Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Asner, and Michael York. It’s a story that we all know well.
But what makes this different from the other ve…sions? What sets this horse apart from the rest of the pack? Well, this version of A Christmas Carol has musical numbers, a child character as the ghost of Christmas past, and a sassy black woman Whoopi Goldberg type (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) as the ghost of Christmas present. Oh…and they give Scrooge a dog. Finally! It’s about time.
I hate to be a Scrooge here, but the musical numbers are quite forgettable. And the animation comes across looking quite cheap. I guess we’re all used to Pixar. Tim Curry does a workmanlike job as Scrooge (it’s hard to screw that part up) but, all in all, this adaptation of A Christmas Carolis like day old turkey, pretty dry.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track is mostly front heavy, a little harsh at times, but some attention is given to the back speakers in terms of music and spooky environmental effects. But the dialogue and boring musical numbers come through clearly.
Video
The 1.33:1 fullscreen format is a clean print with no visible transfer damage. However, the colors are rather dull and gloomy in tone. An adequate transfer, I suppose, of uninspired source material. But the print is pretty darn flawless. I’ll give them that. But this is the holidays, lighten it up!
Special Features
Humbug. Scrooge must’ve had something to do with this. No features. None. And I mean none.
And I think this is the first time I’m doing this, but I’m giving a zero rating for the menu. BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ONE. I’m serious. This isn’t some Christmas joke. Try it. Try clicking on the menu button during the movie. It glitches for a second, then goes back to the movie. Astounding.
Final Thoughts
There are much better Christmas movies around than this version of A Christmas Carol. Show those to your kids first. This movie does have adequate sound and video, but the extras (NONE) leave something to be desired. But it might be worth renting just for the lack of menu. I’m telling you, it’s a pretty weird experience. Kind of like…being visited by ghosts in the night. Well maybe not that weird. But close.