Disney has played with A Christmas Carol before, but is Mickey or the Muppets better?
It's likely that no book in human history has been adapted as many times as A Christmas Carol. Every year brings some made-for-TV movie that plays on Charles Dickens' classic tale of miser Ebenezer Scrooge changing his ways thanks to three Christmas Eve ghosts. It's impossible to count how many versions there have been, including TV shows.
For Disney feature films, a recent turn was the 2009 CGI animated film where Jim Carrey voiced and performed Scrooge and other roles. It wasn't that bad a film, but it suffered from some padding, while many can complain about the "uncanny valley" of the CGI.
For most Disney fans, there are two takes on the story that shine bright: 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol and 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol. Both are still held as wonderful classics for the holiday season, and Disney fans love both. But which one might be the better take on the story?
Scrooge
For Mickey's Christmas Carol, the choice for Scrooge is blatantly obvious. Scrooge McDuck was always based on the character so it was a no-brainer for him to pay homage to his source material. He has a sly humor and sardonic voice with that accent and Donald is a nice spotlight for his nephew, Fred.
This Scrooge is obviously more cartoonish and over the top, such as his breakup with love Isabelle handled by her slamming a door to knock over his piles of coins. Yet Alan Young gives the character a wonderful air that pays off at the end with Scrooge changing his ways. It gave Scrooge new fame and led to the Duck Tales cartoon, so it should be commended for that alone.
As for the Muppets, the coup was casting Michael Caine. This may have come in the middle of what Caine himself calls his "take any role offering a good paycheck" period, but he didn't phone this in. Indeed, this is a Scrooge performance that would be stellar in a dead serious take on the tale as Caine nails Scrooge's cold nature, not camping it up but playing it straight and more effectively. Which is all the more remarkable that he's doing it against Muppets.
Watch Caine handle the scenes of Scrooge with his past, seeing Tiny Tim, his dark future, how he connects to it all and letting go of his anger at the world and you remember why this man has two Oscars. It's beautiful, wonderful, one of Caine's best performances, and one of the best Scrooges ever to give the Muppets the push.
WINNER: Muppets