I love A Christmas Carol, it’s a great novel and has made for some
fantastic adaptations on stage and screen. But as you can imagine, the
key word is “adaptation”. When anything is adapted from one medium to
another, changes are inevitably made. Things are kept, others dropped,
and some things expanded on. For better and for worst. For instance did
you know that the house Scrooge lives in was Marley’s? Or that he has a
cold? These are details that just aren’t important enough to be adapted
over. Other times stuff will be added to fill out the story. Some
changes seem so obvious that it amazes me that they aren’t in the book!
So here are ten changes from book to adaptions, some changes for the better and others not so much. I am going over several of these versions but of course I can;t possibly mention all of them. Thank you YouTube! Just to be clear, by “Disney” version I am referring to the Jim Carey one from a few years ago.
10.Adding Music
Of course this was a novel, or novella, so there is no music in the book except for maybe the singing in teh church. And the Fezziwig scene of course. That doesn’t stop people from making it into a musical, and sometimes this helps. Sometimes not so much. For instance every musical version adds a song to the scene where Belle and Scrooge break up, making it go for an eternity! All the musical versions have songs in the opening which kinda hurts the mood (though The Muppets isn’t the worst). In the Albert Finney version a song makes Scooge’s walk home take forever, and he runs into all kinds of people he’ll encounter again in the finale. The Kelsey Grammar version one up’s that by having the ghosts foreshadowed when Scrooge runs into them in human form. A cute but unnecessary touch. The big difference between the Grammar version and the Finney version is that the songs in the Grammar version take the place of dialogue from the book. Give the Finney version credit, the songs don’t intrude on the dialogue! And these have big musical finale’s which I always think are to much, Scrooge is supposed to be happy but having him dancing down the street is hard to buy. Albert Finney’s finale is especially wayyyyyyyy to much. The best? Michael Cain in the Muppet Christmas Carol handles it a lot of class and that final act is my favorite.
9.Christmas Present Is Supposed to Age
Yeah the Ghost of Christmas Present is supposed to age through his segment, But not all show this. The Muppet one did incredibly, as did Allistair Simm’s and Patrick Stewart versions. And The Disney one did also though not very well. Another change is in how he departs the story. In the book he simply disappears when the clock tones Midnight. Patrick Stewart’s does it exactly that way, but some versions spice it up a bit to add to the drama. The worst has to be the Disney one which goes way to far over the top into the horrific elements. The ghost ages, has a heart attack, and turns into a skeleton while laughing the whole time and it just gets…scary! and stupid. Finney’s version is the only I think where Scrooge is actually returned to his bedroom rather than just abandoned. Also the spirit is supposed to swing from jolly to dark at times but not all versions handle it well. The big example is the Muppet version where the ghost just twinkles away like he’s on Star Trek. In fact that version has almost no menace to him at all. He’s a little too jolly which is ok at parts but the scenes where he’s supposed to be menacing don’t work resulting in some key lines of dialogue being lost not to mention the reveal of ignorance and want.
8.What Fred’s family plays in the Book
It seems like in every single version of this story, the game being played by Fred and his guests in he Christmas Present segment is something different. So what is it in the novel? They are playing a game of blindman’s bluff, in a scene that kind of reads like a sexual harassment incident. No wonder it’s always changed. Then they play How, When, and Where which is not described though Fred’s wife was good at it. Then they played Yes and No…which makes me realize how trimmed this scene really is in most versions (some worst than others). And yes the Patrick Stewart versions is the closest to being accurate though even that one is trimmed. The worst is the Muppet version, which jumps right into the game without any of the dialogue about why Fred pesters Scrooge every year. Which makes Fred look like a jerk rather than the sympathetic character he’s supposed to be.
7.The Exchange Scene
This isn’t that common but I’ve seen it a few times. While George C.Scott’s version stayed very faithful to the book one big thing it added was Scrooge going to the Exchange to run into the men asking for money rather than having them arrive at his door like the book and almost every other version shows. Why??? Actually I think I get it. In that version he has a business discussion with three gentleman first. And when I re-read the book when we get to the future part, the first thing we see is those three business men laughing at Scrooge’s death. Three businessmen who never appeared in the book before this! So that scene was meant to establish them? kudos! But what is up with that nonsense about him selling corn? I get that he needed to be involved in some business with these guys but, corn?? Ok sure. And to be fair in the book he does leave before Catchitt locks up, and goes to dinner before heading home. For some reason. There is an exchange scene, sort of, in the Kelsey Grammar version too but it’s awful. In fact that whole version is just awful, if I listed everything that version changed I’d need another whole article!! Did I mention young Scrooge worked at a boot factory? Huh??? Jason Alexander as Marley? Ah, no. That one is just bad.
6.That Graveyard Scene
The graveyard scene is mostly intact as it is in the book in most versions..until we get to the climax. In the book, Scrooge begs the spirit to spare him, while grabbing his hand. The hand turns into a bedpost, and Scrooge realizes he’s in his bed. Some versions (Simms, Scott, and Muppets) come pretty close to this. Then you have these others where I guess someone decided there wasn’t enough drama. Like in Mickey’s when the grave open, and Scrooge literally falls inside to the fires of hell! With Black Pete laughing the whole way! Until finally landing on his own bed. Of course Disney’s pretty much does this also. Patrick Stewart’s one ups this by having him land on his own corpse (Symbolism?). But of course there’s the Albert Finney version which one up’s all of these and gets plain ridiculous. Here the story continues after he falls into the grave. He lands in hell where Jacob Marley returns to taunt him. He is told his new job is to be a clerk to Satan, and he gets his preposterous chain (No I am not kidding!!) before finally waking up. Thank the lord for the wise TV exec’s who usually cut that nonsense out when it airs on TV. I mean, what the hell???? By the way Mickey’s and Finney’s have something else in common, we see Cratchit grieving for Tim at his grave in the cemetery, skipping the whole house scene. In Mickey’s this works, but in Finney’s while not a bad scene it guts the story. Instead of the important scene at the Cratchit house we get a huge music number which is way to uplifting for that part of the story (give the Muppets credit for being smart and having no songs in that part of the movie). Maybe that’s why they added all that hell nonsense, they realized they hadn’t quiet captured the mood.
5.That Alternate Ending
Some versions do this, especially the musicals not to mention the more kid centered one’s like Mr.Magoo, Mickey, and Muppet versions, and I guess I can see the thinking. Ending the story with Scrooge arriving at the Cratchit’s with gifts in tow is a nice, sweet way to wrap the tale up. Heck in the Albert Finney version he shows up dressed as Santa! I get it, it also gives Scrooge his one and only actual scene with Tiny Tim! Nope in the book he sends the turkey to the Cratchit’s anonymously and then has fun teasing Bob the next day, telling him to light the fire, before he dots another I! (in a call back to the opening which I have always loved!). Even Scott’s version added a scene where the Cratchit’s get the turkey which nice but of course not in the book. But the thing that bothers me about that different ending is that it makes Fred less important than he really is since that final scene with him ends up rushed. The Muppet version he doesn’t even get a damn line! But here’s something I just realized. In the George C Scott version one of my favorite scenes is the one at the end where Scrooge apologizes to Fred. Would you believe that is not in the book??? Nope in the book he just comes in and dances with the guests. Wow! I mean that final bit of dialogue is some of the best because where we see the final result of Scrooge’s transformation. But nope, not in the book. By the way I think every movie ends with Scrooge and Tiny Tim together even though in the book that it’s only said it happened.
4.Adding Extra scenes/Characters in the Segments
Some adaptations decide that there just isn’t’ enough story and add things to it most of which are odd choices. Like Disney’s version which has Scrooge shoot off on rockets and crash for no reason, not to mention when he shrinks down in the future segment and gets chased by a carriage for..reasons. It’s really stupid. While it’s true that the Muppet version has lines of dialogue from the book you almost never hear, since it’s a Muppet movie some characters were added for fan service like The Marley “Brothers” and Fozziwig’s mother. No harm in that but it sure stays from the book. In almost all versions it’s established Scrooge’s father held a grudge against him as a kid, something which never comes up in the book. And the George C Scott version actually shows the man, in a pretty good scene too. Finally, the past segment of the Alastair Simms version shows scenes of Fran and Marley’s death for no good reason whatsoever (in fact the Christmas past part goes on forever in that one) and in the final act Scrooge runs into Mrs.Dilber in his house when he’s overjoyed before speaking to the kid in the window. Why? Got me. I guess it makes sense since she is a housekeeper or whatever, but it’s still unnecessary. The Disney version does this also. Another thing that the Disney version does, and does very well, is one scene in the future when Scrooge is watching the Cratchit’s grieving. There is a moment where Bob walks away from his family to express his grief privately, but unknowingly right into the eyes of Scrooge who has to see the raw feeling Bob is experiencing. While I am hard on that version, that was a very nice touch.
3.Things You Almost Never See Adapted
Charles Dickens was a genius, no question, but he wasn’t perfect. Heck even he tinkered with this story after it was first published! There are some things in the novel which are so laborious and boring that it’s no wonder NO version tries to portray them. Like there is more of London celebrating Christmas in the opening. Or Scrooge seeing a ghost of a hearse in his house (something only Finney’s version touches) in that first act. In Christmas past there is a whole thing where the storybook characters Scrooge used to love actually appear, especially Ali Babba, and this works better as a simple line of dialogue. Also did we really need to see how well Belle did after breaking up with Scrooge? Most versions skip that part. In the Preset segment there is a bit where Cratchit’s daughter is visiting, so the family tease him into thinking she did not arrive. Just to reveal she is there a second later. Cute moment but easily lost. No version does the part where Scrooge visits a prison the same way. Think the best is the George C Scott version which, while different, truly humanizes these people. In the future segment almost no version shows the scene of Caroline and her husband. Who are they? Umm, not sure. I think the point of this is to show how people suffer with Scrooge around and with him gone things look better, but honestly I don’t get it and most of this is better off trimmed. You can’t just throw two random characters at us and just expect us to care about them, I forgot they were even in the book myself. The Patrick Stewart version is he only version I think that does this scene,but the real amazing thing is the other things that version stays faithful to. Scrooge walking into a church at the end for, reasons I guess (religion was a much bigger thing in the novel), Cratchit visiting the embalmed body of Tiny Tim in an upstairs bedroom (I imagine that’s cut because it’s really, really stupid), the ghosts are gender neutral, Marley’s whole funeral, and scenes of miners, mariners at sea, and prison inmates all celebrating Christmas in the present portion. Plus the stuff I already mentioned. I always said I hated the Stewart one but I may have been wrong!
2.When Tiny Tim and Belle Enter the Story
Both of these make sense when you think about it. Tiny Tim, and the Cratchit’s, are integral to the story. But in the novel we barely meet Bob Cratchit in the opening and there isn’t a mention of Tim until we get to the Christmas Present part. That’s half way through the story! So the George C Scott version adds a scene in the opening where Cratchit and Tim meet and walk home together. This is a good change honestly, since we see their relationship before it is exposited to us. Was “show not tell” not a thing back in the 1800’s? Even the Muppet’s at least show a few seconds of Bob and Tiny Tim walking home from church so we can at least see how close they are for a second. This is probably also why Mr.Magoo’s Christmas Carol switches the ghosts up so that Present comes before Past (even though that hurts the story, in my opinion). By the way some versions tend to add the classic line “God Bless us All, Everyone!” in different spots. It’s only said once by Tim during the present segment and then refrained at the end. However while Tim doesn’t get the attention he should poor Belle gets it even worst in the novel. Believe it or not in the book she isn’t in the Fezziwig scene and we don’t meet her until she dumps Scrooge. Seriously! This is one of the few consistent changes across the board in almost every version and it makes perfect sense! We need to meet this character and see that Scrooge really did love her at one time for the breakup to have any real weight. George C.Scott’s adds a whole dialogue scene where Scrooge is talking about her to his co-worker Dick (FYI Dick is always shortchanged in adaptations). This happens to other characters to for instance Scrooge’s sister’s role tends to diminish, and even disappear, depending on what version you’re watching.
1.Why Scrooge is Surprised They “did it all in One Night”
Most versions are not faithful to this. (The Disney one is, and yes Patrick Stewart’s is, I really need to re-watch that!!). Maybe because it makes no damn sense. At the end when Scrooge is talking out the window to the boy, he asks what day it is. When the boy replies Christmas day, Scrooge is relieved. He hasn’t missed it! Why does he say that? Because the earlier scene when Marley explains that he is to be haunted is a bit different in the book than how many versions show it. In the book, he says to expect the first ghost “tomorrow when the bell tolls one”. Ok that works. Then he says to expect the second the next night at the same hour. The third is supposed to arrive the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Meaning that it sounds like this whole ordeal is supposed to last three days! It makes sense that they change this because not only is this stupid but it’s not even how the story plays out (as we know). Actually in the book the church bells play games with him, as if time is accelerating making Scrooge think he slept through a whole day. This again is pointless, why not just have them arrive in order over the course of a night? Why is Marley lying here? Maybe it’s to play with his head, but it’s just unnecessary and most versions make it the simple way. One comes at 1, the other at 2, and the third whenever the hell it wants. Though changing that makes his surprise that he hasn’t missed Christmas Day after all make a little less sense. And on one last note, at the end of Marley’s visit Scrooge is supposed to look out the window after Marley departs and see specter’s outside. Almost no version does that justice. George C.Scott’s tries and the Albert Finney one comes closest, but as usual with that version it’s to much. In fact the only version that does it great is, you guessed it, the Patrick Stewart version!
Of course no version, book or adaptation answers the biggest question of them-what the heck was Tiny Tim dying from anyway?
In writing this I realize maybe I didn’t know the novel quiet as well as I thought. Glad that I re-read it. It’s a very easy read so if you never checked out the book, give it a shot. Also I realize I still loath just about everything in the Finney version, and have been way to hard on the Patrick Stewart version. Truth is it is very faithful to the book. Almost too faithful! Though the acting is a tad bland. In fact I still maintain no one beats George C.Scott’s Scrooge. Not because it was close to he book, (which it is) but because Scott’s acting was perfect and he hit every note amazingly, and no one compares to his portrayal. Michael Cain felt flat in the last half, sorry but that’s how I always felt. Finney was annoying as hell and Alistair Simms is good but, I think, a touch overrated. But of course, that’s just my opinion. With so many versions out there there’s plenty to choose from for you to find the version of this classic story you like the best.
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