Scrooge, supposedly aged and weathered by the lifestyle of a lonely skinflint, is drawn to ideal perfection. This is a story that shouldn’t have to rely on zippy musical comedy and, oh yes, animated drawings of perfect people. I think that’s my first discomfort with this film. However, one criticism did stand out, from Roger Ebert, in that the music fell below the level of good musical comedy. It was considered delightful and received abundant critical acclaim. Upbeat and peppy, the film was in the same tradition as the 1968 Oliver, another Dickens musical adaptation. While heralded as a faithful re-telling of the original story, the tagline on the film’s poster asked “What the dickens have they done to Scrooge?” The first is a nod to the 1970 musical Scrooge that featured the legendary Albert Finney, directed by Ronald Neame with the score composed by the late Leslie Bricusse. Then along comes Netflix’s animated musical, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, which has two cute influences. Sim’s performance was a recognition of that transformative healing process and a noble human drama. Setting the story at Christmas was a way for that love to be expressed. Scrooge needed to learn to care for others in order to care for himself again. He understood full well what the consequences of these choices were and was prepared to live them out, unaware of the damage to those around him he was causing. He was a man, lost and twisted by the choices he had made in life.
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