'A Christmas Carol' Adaptations: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (VIDEO)

Christmas is here! What better way to celebrate than with Charles Dickens' classic book 'A Christmas Carol'?

Since its publication in 1843, 'A Christmas Carol' has been cemented as a classic book, as well as a seminal piece of the holiday zeitgeist. And since then it has appeared in a smattering of forms from musicals to cartoon specials.

To celebrate the holiday, we've gathered some of the most memorable adaptations of 'A Christmas Carol.' Some great, some laughably bad. Let us know your favorite moments.

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A Christmas Carol

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Film, 2009 with Jim Carrey

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Film, 2009 with Jim Carrey

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Comments

[Numberwang]

03:55 PM on 01/08/2011

My favorite is "A Muppett Christmas Carol" With Michael Caine as Scrooge.
Amazingly faithful to the original text and loads of fun to watch with kids and family.

[bridgeman]

03:51 PM on 01/08/2011

Your forgot 1951 version with the late great Alastair Sim!
By far the best EVER!

[millebocca]

01:20 PM on 01/03/2011

the 09 version w jim carrey was a visual symphony but absolutely void of the warmth and poetry of so many earlier versions. would have benefited w a spoken narrative from dickens' story to fill in those over-long periods of silence.
i too agree w an inclusion of "scrooged" in this list.
and am a fan of the version starring george c scott.

[Stefan Bandas]

11:25 AM on 01/03/2011

I noticed some folks commented... Bill Murray in Scrooged? I thought that one was great and am suprised it's not on this list. Happy New Year!

[kareemachan]

05:09 PM on 12/28/2010

WHAT!!! No Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol? What were they thinking!?

[MohammedAbbasi]

08:34 PM on 12/29/2010

There you go you happy now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiFO9-Mj-k

(come to think of it I loved it also!)

[WesternShore]

10:08 AM on 12/30/2010

My thought exactly! The Jule Styne music alone makes it one of the best.

[algomajoker]

11:14 AM on 12/28/2010

Albert Finney, 'Scrooge', best musical, hands down.

[bridgeman]

03:52 PM on 01/08/2011

2nd only to Alastair Sim's 1951 portrayal!

[Rangerk8]

12:27 PM on 12/27/2010

Patrick Stewart. Live. One-man show. 'Nuff said.

[Amber Troska]

12:04 PM on 12/27/2010

I re-read the book every Christmas, and the Muppet Christmas Carol is still my favorite adaptation, say what you will. Michael Caine was excellent and they stayed very true to the story, even if it was enacted by Henson's famous puppets. It was also a great goodbye from Henson, who died just after its completion.

[StarWarsHippie]

01:24 PM on 12/28/2010

My favorite too. I love gonzo as Dickens (with Rizo of course) Few things give such a good laugh every year as: " Light the lamp, not the rat, light the lamp, not the rat!"

[Patrick f Dunn]

03:27 AM on 12/27/2010

My vote is for Richard Williams' animated version (voiced by Alistair Sim) from 1972 or thereabouts. Beautiful, evocative, and SCARY, it appears only to be available on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hA5T1G7rxg.

[jwmellott]

05:37 PM on 12/26/2010

Kelsey Grammar was in two of them.
The BAD musical and the fairly bad political satire.
A couple of good scenes in the latter, including
dancing yuppie professors and a dramatic scene
inside a Church beside the twin towers.

[SouthernJewel]

04:18 PM on 12/26/2010

American Christmas Carol.

[mwestorca]

03:03 PM on 12/26/2010

So where the heck is Mr Magoo????

[jwmellott]

05:39 PM on 12/26/2010

That's a great one.
"A Christmas far more glorious than grand".
Perhaps the rich weren't demonized enough for the HP's taste.

[Rangerk8]

12:25 PM on 12/27/2010

Yes! I just watched this the other day after not seeing it for years (thank you, Hulu!) That one song the young Scrooge sings ("I'm All Alone in the World") still has the power to reduce me to tears.

[kareemachan]

05:10 PM on 12/28/2010

Yes!!

[Skyhawk]

01:24 PM on 12/26/2010

What about the version with George C. Scott?

[jwmellott]

05:39 PM on 12/26/2010

A truly great one.
Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present stole the show.

[Lesann]

04:45 PM on 12/27/2010

To me, that is the best adaptation.

[Emy Freeland]

07:00 PM on 12/28/2010

The best.
We forget one adaptation and that is the movie "scrooged". Just enough of a heartwarming message, commentary on media and screwball antics that is just a good movie. Made before the christmas carol story line became fodder for lifetime or hallmark movie specials and acting vehicles for the curmudgeon and fat who were skinny in the early nineties..

[donchep]

12:23 PM on 12/26/2010

It's clear to me that the person who put this article together has no clue. Any list that doesn't include the Alistair Sim version of "A Christmas carol" can't be very well researched. That's been long considered the DEFINITIVE version of the classic for many years.

[Woods-shade]

01:06 PM on 12/27/2010

I agree. Had to look through the list twice - couldn't believe it wasn't there.

[lenuk]

08:49 PM on 12/28/2010

The black-and-white or the colorized version?

[RedDogBear]

12:21 PM on 12/26/2010

My favorite show on TV right now is the BBC's Dr. Who. I don't actually have cable so I just see things over the Internet or iTunes. Dr. Who just had a Christmas special and did their version of a Christmas Carol. Think it was shown in the UK yesterday night. Does anyone know when it will be available somewhere online? I've been checking iTunes but although I see a stub for the show and a trailer couldn't find anything about when the actual show will be available.

[Skyhawk]

01:25 PM on 12/26/2010

All I could find is the DVD will be available 2/15/11.

[RedDogBear]

02:06 PM on 12/26/2010

Thanks. That's good news at least. I should just wait and get the DVD from Netflix but for Dr. Who I need my fix ASAP, if the DVD is coming out that soon I'll bet it will be on iTunes soon.