We now reach (as far as I know) the first CGI animated version of A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately, it's not a particularly good one. But it is an interesting version. That I'll grant.

This retelling takes place in a world of animals. Scrooge is a skunk, as are his nephew Fred and sister Fan. Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and their family are rabbits. Marley's Ghost is a cricket, and in a possible reference to another Dickens story, The Cricket on the Hearth, he emerges from Scrooge's fireplace. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a Scottish-accented stork, the Ghost of Christmas Present is an Australian-accented kangaroo, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (who speaks in this version) is a walrus with a broken tusk. The two charitable gentlemen are bears, and the other London citizens are an assortment of frogs, cats, turtles, horses, mice, and such.

Predictably, this retelling is very much aimed at children, and the story is accordingly condensed and sometimes rewritten. Christmas Past leaves out Fezziwig and Belle, instead focusing on the child Scrooge's neglect and loneliness, and showing that he became estranged from Fan after Fred's birth made her unable to bring her younger brother to live with her. But Christmas Yet to Come gets more extensive changes. In the vision of the future, Tiny Tim is still alive and grown up, but his bad leg has been amputated, which has left him just as bitter and mean as Scrooge was. Meanwhile, Scrooge is said to have died when his hoarded pile of gold coins fell and crushed him, and at the cemetery, he sees his own ghost chained and wandering with Marley. Last but not least, after Scrooge redeems himself (and makes Bob Cratchit his partner, as in three earlier animated versions), he once again sees Marley, who for helping him is freed from his chain and rises up to heaven.

I have to admit that this Carol's main value is just as a curiosity. The CGI animation is generally crude and ugly, and while the voice actors do a fine job with their roles, the characters are written as caricatures of themselves. None of Dickens's original dialogue is used, but several quotes are borrowed from the 1951 Alastair Sim film, making me suspect that the screenwriters just watched that movie and didn't bother to read the book. The soundtrack also includes two mediocre songs – "Hey, Hey, Hey, Holiday," sung by Fred and his guests, and "A Second Chance," sung by Scrooge – despite the fact that the rest of the production isn't a musical.

Small children might enjoy this Carol, but personally, even for small children, I'd recommend many other versions above this one.

“Why do you need consent?”

Sceencaps || 101 Dalmations 2: Patch’s London Adventure (2003) GALLERY LINK : [x] Quality : BluRay Screencaptures Amount : 1606 files Resolution : 1920x1080px

Previously on Doctor Who: The Thick of Time and Space. Dan Miller isn’t doing so well, but Cliff Lawton is on top of the world, definitely not a horse.