A Christmas Carol: Which Movie/TV Version is the Best?

It is the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol that we watch every year. "It's the best," my husband says, and I go along with him, deferring to his superior knowledge of all things video.

But this year I think a little more about this. 

I like the story, A Christmas Carol. It's a story of Bad-Person-Turning-Good, and that's probably my favorite sort of story. 

I like the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol. But is it really the best?

I look around to see what others think. Whew. Let me tell you...there are a lot of people out there who have watched a lot of Christmas Carols.

Here's a little of what I find:

The highest-ranked Christmas Carol based on audience ratings on iMDb is the 1951 version of the story, starring Alastair Sim. Dickens London Tours has always thought the 1951 version is the best. Cinema Blend ranks the 1951 version as the best, too. Of all the sites I explored, it is the 1951 version that is most commonly named as being the best.

Many like The Muppet Christmas Carol. It comes out on top in a ranking by CBR.

Samuel Stokes has watched almost every version of A Christmas Carol, and his favorite is the 1984 George C. Scott Version. The Atlantic agrees.

ScreenRant picks the 1999 Patrick Stewart version as the best.

Tor chooses Scrooged with Bill Murray...

I need to watch as many of these as I can and pick for myself, I decide.

So I do.

And some versions...well, there are some versions I should have probably skipped completely. Ebenezer, a Western version, with Jack Palance in the title role, is one of these. 

It doesn't take much time watching the Smurfs' Christmas Carol, Barbie: A Christmas Carol, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Sesame Street Christmas Carol, and An All-Dogs Christmas Carol to figure out that these are not working for me. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

 

I take a look at Family Ties Christmas Carol, and Star Trek Next Generation Christmas Carol. Nope. Nope.

The musical version with Kelsey Grammer...okay, nope.

What do I recommend? 

Before I list my favorites, let me tell you that, sadly, there are Christmas Carols I could never find. I'm pretty sure I would have liked Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol, an animated version, from 2009, with Jim Carrey; and Spirited from 2022 with Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds; and the 1997 animated A Christmas Carol with Tim Curry and Whoopi Goldberg; and the 1970 Scrooge musical with Albert Finney. One or more of these might have made my list. But, alas.

I considered several (random) factors most important: (1) faithfulness (or, in the case of takeoffs, the effectiveness of the twist of the plot) to the original story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; (2) actors, especially the actor in the role of Scrooge; (3) how much I just-plain liked watching the show. 

Here are my top ten favorite movie/tv versions of A Christmas Carol...

#10

Blackadder's Christmas Carol

Blackadder starts out good and turns bad in Blackadder's Christmas Carol. 

#9

Rich Little's Christmas Carol

Rich Little does his classic impersonations to fill all the roles in Rich Little's Christmas Carol.

#8

Scrooged with Bill Murray

Scrooged has Bill Murray, and that alone makes Scrooged worth putting on my list of Best Christmas Carols. (But, and this is just my two cents, if you want the best Bill-Murray-turns-good, I'd send you in the direction of Groundhog Day. )

#7

BBC/FX A Christmas Carol

The BBC/FX 2019 version of A Christmas Carol is very good. It's very good, but dark. Not for the kids, definitely, but very good and very dark.

#6

Dr. Who: A Christmas Carol

There were lots of confusing parts for me, a person who has never seen Dr. Who, but, though Dr. Who: A Christmas Carol deviates wildly from the original story, with spaceships about to crash and machines that control the sky and people stored in freezers and sharks that fly in the air...if you can accept that this is a very non-traditional CC, this version is delightful.

#5

1984 A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott

Everyone says George C. Scott is magnificent in this film, and they are right---he is.

#4

1951 A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim

Very classic. This version sticks close to the original Christmas Carol story, and it has a formality about itself that I like. 

#3

1999 A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart is a wonderful Scrooge. It was a delight to watch his Scrooge transform into a better human being.

#2

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Michael Caine gives the performance of his life in this version of Christmas Carol. Michael Caine is the penultimate Scrooge. Kermit as Cratchit is Oscar-worthy, too.

#1

1938 A Christmas Carol (my husband's favorite)

We watch this version last, and I find that I like everything about it. I like the actors: Gene Lockhart as Cratchit, with his real-life wife as Mrs. Cratchit, and his real-life daughter as his daughter, plus excellent casting for Scrooge and his nephew, Fred. I like the script,  a script that shows enough of the backstory of Scrooge to understand how he lost his way. I like the details: the cobwebs and piled-up newspapers in Scrooge's house; poor people lining up to get their geese cooked by the baker in town to save money; the plum pudding on fire as it is set on the table.

Yes, my husband was right...I think the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol is the best. 

Which is your favorite Christmas Carol?

Link up with Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, with Cracker Crumbs this holiday season with any Christmas/holiday-themed posts, and join in the celebration of a Comfy Cozy Christmas here.

Add your links to Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Create With Joy, Wild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.