A Christmas Carol
Critique • Text • At the movies
Tim Curry turns his unique voice to good effect as Scrooge in this 1997 animation.
Sit through this Scrooge with the kids
A Christmas Carol (1997): Animated film, 69 minutes; director San Phillips; writer Jymn Magon; voices Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, Ed Asner
The animated 1997 version of A Christmas Carol isn't as bad as you might expect after watching for a few minutes.
Yes, it uses a rather flat cartoon style, reminiscent of old Saturday-morning TV, and it wastes time with some cartoonish episodes, such as Scrooge interacting with a comical bulldog, added as his constant companion, and a ridiculous bit involving a mouse in Scrooge's office.
And there are three or four goofy songs—the most over-the-top and catchy being "Santa's Sooty Suit".
But the story is told as well and as completely as in some of the live-action flicks and the actors providing the voices are first-rate: Tim Curry as Scrooge, Michael York as Bob Cratchit and Ed Asner as Marley.
And Whoopi Goldberg does a weird, unrecognizable turn as the voice of Christmas Present—a large black woman with a put-on British accent and who ages before our eyes.
The film works despite those initial caveats. The reformation scene at the end is especially effective.
It's nothing spectacular but I imagine young kids would appreciate this animated film while adults could certainly manage to sit through it.
— Eric
