A Christmas Carol.....again?

I saw an advertisement on the telly for “A Christmas Carol” (Disney, animated) the other night. This got me thinking why are there so many versions of this Dickens classic? More importantly as they are sooooo similar in content why do they even bother to remake it?

This new version stars JimCarey. Well, it is the Disney Animated version of so i am not sure if star is the correct wording. Most (but not all) animated movies these days try to freak you out with how good they are with their animation technique. I think they do this at the expense of or rather than the story. This is a shame because let me I tell you my kids will happily sit through very old, visually crappy, cartoons. They don’t need to go to so much trouble and expense. I mean they will watch really old Scooby Doo or Bugs Bunny and everything!

I will say that The Movie Show (SBS) gave it an excellent review. They said that it was a great version of this tale. They also talked about what a great movie going experience it was. They did see it in 3D which at $15+ a pop is NOT how my kids are going to see it!!

I may not have seen the movie but what i am getting at is why waste time and money re-making a movie? Why not pay someone for writing something new? There is no way that mankind is out of ideas. Surely. Although i think Dickens is an amazing writer who provides a visual experience through the written word which is hard to match (IMHO).

My introduction to the Dickens tale was in the written form. In the media format known as a “book”. I re-read it for many years until i got to see a version on the telly. I think this was the version called Scrooged (1988) with Bill Murray. I love Bill Murray BTW. I also remember a weird Christmas movie that i liked called “Bernard and the Genie” (1991). Come to think of it i like a lot of shite and/or weird movies so i will never make it as a movie reviewer.

When Dickens wrote his story i bet he never imagined what was going to become of it. I wish there were new authors out there getting a chance for their Christmas tale to become so beloved. I wish there were more choices for Christmas night viewing. As much as i LOVE the re-playing of old movies (called classics....but aren’t) and the inevitable ballroom dancing thing. I hope you realise i was being sarcastic there.

What i do is make sure i buy something i know i am going to like and give it to myself as a Christmas present. This year it will be Torchwood series 2. I know i am going to have a lovely time this Christmas night and boxing day that way!

In conclusion i would just like to say that i think that The Muppets Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie. It gives the essential message AND you get muppets. Never go wrong with muppets. Yep. I think that about sums it up.

[ps. i know there is no science in this blog. had a bad week. also the phrase "can't be arsed" springs readily to mind.]