"If he's going to die, he'd better do it and decrease the surplus population."
We're all familiar with that line, when the Ghost of Christmas Present throws Scrooge's own words of callous indifference back at him when he shows concern about Tiny Tim. It's a line that appears in nearly every version of A Christmas Carol...but I want to talk about probably my favorite use of it in any adaptation, and it comes from what is arguably the best adaptation: A Muppets' Christmas Carol.
Because here's the thing about that movie's version of the Ghost of Christmas Present -- he's genuinely friendly to Scrooge throughout their entire interaction. In many adaptations -- and in Dickens' original book -- the ghost is more harsh with Scrooge. It's in a well-intentioned way, but it's clear that the ghost dislikes Scrooge's attitude toward his fellow man and has no problem letting him know that. Some movie versions have him being more sassy with Scrooge than Dickens did, but there's definitely tension between them.
Then the Muppets have this guy
He sings and dances and is genuinely happy to meet Scrooge. I defy you to show me a version where "Come in and know me better, man!" is said with more genuine good will and spirit of friendship than how this guy says it. He doesn't speak harshly to Scrooge or criticizes him -- they even share a genuine laugh when Scrooge makes a joke about him having more than 1800 brothers, and he also jokes about being "a *large* absent-minded spirit." Before they leave Scrooge's house, he promises that "before the day is over, you *will* understand" what Christmas is truly about, and you know he means it. Hell, he almost sounds excited about the prospect of it.
And when they get to Bob Cratchit's house, the story plays out as it does in nearly every version (with the occasional added Muppet-related shenanigan), and more light-hearted humor is exchanged between Scrooge and The Ghost ("This is Bob Cratchit's house?" "How did you know that?" "You just told me" "Hmm. Well, I'm usually trustworthy"). They enter the house after Bob and Tiny Tim return home and we get another song, this one from Tiny Tim and the Cratchits before Scrooge asks whether Tiny Tim will live (and Michael Caine fucking nails the delivery, because of course he fucking does)
And then, The Ghost, who again has been nothing but genuinely nice to Scrooge up to this point, pulls out the haymaker
"If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, I believe the child will die. But what then? If he's going to die, he'd better do it and decrease the surplus population."
And it fucking lands. Because it's the first time that The Ghost has actively been critical of Scrooge and his actions prior to the night of their visit. Hell, it's the first time he's ever directly addressed anything from Scrooge's life before all of this started. And to me, it hits harder because of The Ghost's almost exclusively jovial and genial nature up to that point.
It's not said in an exceptionally harsh way, either. There's a bit of an edge to his tone, but other versions have definitely been more pointed about how they deliver it (the 2009 Jim Carrey version, for example, has the Ghost's face and voice morph into Scrooge's own for that line and lets the line linger for a moment before shifting back which is an incredible way to do it, imo), and almost immediately after, when he tells Scrooge it's time to leave, he is calmer and seems almost remorseful that they don't have more time together. Even their final exchange, when he tells Scrooge he will be leaving and begins to fade away, is full of what seems to be a genuine care for Scrooge's well-being -- as well as a call back that genuinely chokes me up a little
Now, obviously this movie is generally geared toward being more family-friendly than other versions, so they toned some things down from the book, but to have made The Ghost so genuinely friendly and still have him deliver the one line that makes direct use of Scrooge's own words and actions as a criticism of his mindset is just another reason I think this is one of the best, if not the best, adaptations of A Christmas Carol ever put to film.
