"Ladies and gentlemen. It's my pleasure to introduce to you... She's a friend of mine (yes, yes I am) and she goes by the name...Justin. Wow-woowoo."
Wait... Wrong introduction. Sorry. JT on the brain.
My dear friend, Valerie, and I (Erin) go way back. Our families knew each other before we were even alive, and when we met, we discovered we were basically twins. She's one of the funniest people I know. In responding to our Christmas movie questionnaire, she went above and beyond, and so her answer will be a post all its own. Without further ado, I introduce MISSadventures' first guest blogger:
Valerie Pritt
After participating in the very scientific survey by the MISSadventure crew, I discovered that I absolutely love A Christmas Carol. I’ve seen multiple versions and watch all of them during the holidays. Which brings us to…
The most important list of A Christmas Carol
Wait... Wrong introduction. Sorry. JT on the brain.
My dear friend, Valerie, and I (Erin) go way back. Our families knew each other before we were even alive, and when we met, we discovered we were basically twins. She's one of the funniest people I know. In responding to our Christmas movie questionnaire, she went above and beyond, and so her answer will be a post all its own. Without further ado, I introduce MISSadventures' first guest blogger:
Valerie Pritt
After participating in the very scientific survey by the MISSadventure crew, I discovered that I absolutely love A Christmas Carol. I’ve seen multiple versions and watch all of them during the holidays. Which brings us to…
The most important list of A Christmas Carol
1) The Muppet Christmas Carol
Obviously this is number one. Why? Because Gonzo thinks he is Charles Dickens. Not to mention Rizzo, Gonzo’s sidekick, is constantly questioning this. Their dialogue keeps things light when things go dark. It's also a pretty accurate telling of the story, with the addition of Muppet charm.
Michael Cain is a great Scrooge. Yes, I know it’s Michael Cain and he’s great at everything he does. In this, he's such a believable meanie when he's telling Kermit and his fellow co-worker rats they cannot use more coal. Cain also has the perfect twinkle in his eye after being reformed. I'm also pretty sure Jim Henson created Kermit just to play Bob Cratchit. (Not true, not true at all.)
There are some downfalls:
I remember watching this movie in July during summer break. It's that good.
Obviously this is number one. Why? Because Gonzo thinks he is Charles Dickens. Not to mention Rizzo, Gonzo’s sidekick, is constantly questioning this. Their dialogue keeps things light when things go dark. It's also a pretty accurate telling of the story, with the addition of Muppet charm.
Michael Cain is a great Scrooge. Yes, I know it’s Michael Cain and he’s great at everything he does. In this, he's such a believable meanie when he's telling Kermit and his fellow co-worker rats they cannot use more coal. Cain also has the perfect twinkle in his eye after being reformed. I'm also pretty sure Jim Henson created Kermit just to play Bob Cratchit. (Not true, not true at all.)
There are some downfalls:
- The Ghost of Christmas Past is kind of lame and creepy. (A childlike, floating angel, creature-thing? Pass.)
- The song "The Love is Gone" is kind of terrible. And by "kind of," I mean terrible. However, if you update your copy from a video to a DVD, you might just be lucky enough to find this song has been cut.
I remember watching this movie in July during summer break. It's that good.
2) Scrooge (1970 version)
This movie used to scare me every year when I was growing up. They actually show Scrooge in hell. As it turns out, Ebenezer’s hell is a cold room full of rats. Gross, right? Despite that, this version gets a little more into Scrooge as a young man and really shows how he turned into a hard, greedy person.
This version has the strongest team of ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a sassy old woman. (You should want to be just like her when you grow up. You really should.) My absolute favorite is the Ghost of Christmas Present. He’s jolly and drunk off the spirit of Christmas, and gets Scrooge drunk with him. Call him an enabler, but really he has Scrooge’s best interest at heart. (Fun fact: Albert Finney, who plays Ebenezer, actually plays young and old Scrooge in this film. I had no idea, until I realized he was in Erin Brockovich as a much older man. Mind blown.)
It's got fantastic music and, oddly enough, is super quotable. "You're nothing but an old potato!" Watch it, then that will make perfect sense.
This movie used to scare me every year when I was growing up. They actually show Scrooge in hell. As it turns out, Ebenezer’s hell is a cold room full of rats. Gross, right? Despite that, this version gets a little more into Scrooge as a young man and really shows how he turned into a hard, greedy person.
This version has the strongest team of ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a sassy old woman. (You should want to be just like her when you grow up. You really should.) My absolute favorite is the Ghost of Christmas Present. He’s jolly and drunk off the spirit of Christmas, and gets Scrooge drunk with him. Call him an enabler, but really he has Scrooge’s best interest at heart. (Fun fact: Albert Finney, who plays Ebenezer, actually plays young and old Scrooge in this film. I had no idea, until I realized he was in Erin Brockovich as a much older man. Mind blown.)
It's got fantastic music and, oddly enough, is super quotable. "You're nothing but an old potato!" Watch it, then that will make perfect sense.
3) Mickey's Christmas Carol
Well, who doesn't love Mickey and the gang? Scrooge McDuck REALLY was named after Ebenezer himself (according to Wikipedia). It's a good introduction to the story, without scaring you out of your mind when you're only six years old. It was the first Christmas cartoon that my mom had recorded for us from TV—because that's what you did in the 80's/90's—so it always got me in the Christmas spirit.
4) Scrooged
Bill Murray. That is all.
5) Every other version
They simply can't compete.
Well, who doesn't love Mickey and the gang? Scrooge McDuck REALLY was named after Ebenezer himself (according to Wikipedia). It's a good introduction to the story, without scaring you out of your mind when you're only six years old. It was the first Christmas cartoon that my mom had recorded for us from TV—because that's what you did in the 80's/90's—so it always got me in the Christmas spirit.
4) Scrooged
Bill Murray. That is all.
5) Every other version
They simply can't compete.
Which of these is your favorite version of A Christmas Carol? Comment below or Tweet us @adventuringMISS using hashtag #achristmascarol.