The challenge with Winnie the Pooh-type whimsy is that if you don’t calibrate the tone just right, it can be an unbearable slog, tedious and treacly and dopey.
Category: Review
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Santa’s Workshop (1932)
Note: I viewed both the 2019 remaster on Disney+ and the earlier version on YouTube
Santa’s Workshop is a historically important, technically accomplished, visually appealing animated short that’s quite the holiday delight. There’s tons of energy and color in the motion of making and delivering Christmas gifts, with some great sound design. Using Schubert as backing music adds a lot of richness.
Unfortunately…
I’m docking a rating point for both the blatant racism (blackface doll, scrubbed away in the 2019 remaster), and the subdued racism (“Oriental”-looking dolls). I get that the 1930s were a different time, but even with that context it’s tough to watch.
Another point docked for Disney not giving us an easy way to view the original. I understand the appeal for this to be a timeless toon, and therefore the need to have a modern version that reflects our values better. Frankly, as a parent, I’m grateful for it, because I can show it to my kids with minimal guilt.
But I am super NOT okay with Disney doing anything to obfuscate this process or make it difficult for enthusiasts/historians to watch the original.
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A Christmas Carol (1971)
Richard Williams’ 1971 Oscar-winning short is an astonishing adaptation, animated with beautiful, pencil-drawn grace and showcasing the creepier side of the story.
This is my favorite Christmas Carol adaptation and one of my favorite Christmas movies, period.
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A Christmas Carol (1938)
Every Christmas Carol adaptation has its own personality trait, and this early Code-era rendition is just so damn cheery.
What I knew going into this one is that it’s generally regarded as the most faithful to the Dickens text (which I am currently reading for the first time, so cannot comment upon yet) and that it’s not as visually rich as some other adaptations. I also knew George C. Scott’s turn as Scrooge had a pretty good reputation.
For the opening half or so of the film, my reaction to this one was pretty muted. The opening is slow, and the Christmas Past section is surprisingly low energy. It doesn’t help that the Ghost of Christmas Past played by Angela Pleasance is pretty lifeless, and the movie uses cheap transition effects to the past. (Gotta make budget cuts as a TV movie somewhere, I guess.)
The one early bright spot is Marley’s ghost, who is probably the creepiest version of the ghost I’ve yet seen, with otherworldly makeup and acting intensity by Frank Finlay.
I was also down on Scott as Scrooge during the opening half of the film. He’s a great curmudgeon, just a really shitty old man, but he was thoroughly passive and buttoned down during the Christmas Past segment. I always enjoy when Scrooge has a heightened reaction to seeing his past mistakes.
BUT this one takes a major turn for the better as it wraps up the Christmas Present segment. Scrooge’s vision of the poor that he condemned as “surplus population” is dark and freaky, and even that is hardly prep what comes next.
I can say without reservation that this is my favorite Christmas Yet to Come segment — Michael Carter is genuinely haunting as a death specter, and the gloom and dread of life wasted builds to the gut punch reveal of Scrooge’s tombstone.
I also quite liked the redemption segment. Scott really comes to life with an infectious smile and laugh. And his reunion with his nephew is the best that beat has ever been depicted — I was choking up at Scrooge’s remorse and cautious warmth.
So it’s not quite an all-timer, but the 1984 Christmas Carol is definitely a strong one that gets better as its runtime goes — and same for George C. Scott as Scrooge.
You may as well call it “A Tale of Two Carols” because I’m not sure any Christmas Carol adaptation has given me more whiplash between the two poles of its craft.
What did I just watch?
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A Christmas Carol / Scrooge (1951)
In all the adaptations of A Christmas Carol that I’ve seen, Ebenezer Scrooge is almost always depicted as a ghoul at the start who is gradually humanized.
I’m surprised that this is listed as a film in some databases. I always figured the line for “short film” was drawn somewhere before “YouTube video.”