Transcript: 7 Best Christmas Carol Movie Adaptations Ranked

Greetings, classic cinema and TV fans. This is Santa Flash back with you once again. Yeah, as if you watched the last video, you know we made a joke about that. Santa Flash is from an episode of the Justice League. We had to do that again. Anyway, No, but this is Pastor Jay, Jason Lockhart, wishing you an awesome holiday season. I hope you're enjoying your holiday. We are right now, as we're releasing this video, we are at Christmas. What a day it is. It's Christmas Day, most wonderful time of the year. If you're watching it later, then it's probably not Christmas Day. But anyway, well, it wouldn't be. But anyway, but today, as we're releasing this video, it is Christmas Day, and we appreciate you spending just a few moments of your day with us. We're bringing you a top seven list. What are we talking about? We're talking about the top seven classic cinema plus favorite Christmas carols. Let's jump into the list. This is Scrooged. Okay, so this is Bill Murray. Who doesn't love a little Bill Murray? Bill Murray is so off the wall and crazy. And in this version of Christmas Carol, he plays a TV executive who just wants ratings. And he gets visited by Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future to show him his past, present, and future. And it's wild. It's off the wall. It's crazy. And it's very unique. And wow. Yeah, it's a comedy. And sometimes you just need to laugh a little bit in your holiday season. And yeah, this one will make you laugh. Very, very, I love it. It says, a side-splitting comedy smash. And yeah, it's pretty good. Scrooge. This is a classic from the great Sir Seymour Hicks playing Scrooge himself. himself and just a classic tale of uh the the christmas carol um but this one is a little more subdued in the special effects because of course you're talking this was early 30s so you don't have all the um the special effects and all that but i will say what they did do was they used a lot lighting to do some things it is so cool the way you have Scrooge when the Ghost of Christmas Future visits him and you just see the shadow of the hand It is so well done. They didn't have to go overboard with all kinds of fancy stuff. They used the lighting to really enhance it and it is really, really a good, good version. This one is actually in the public domain, and you can see it online anywhere. So if you've never seen Scrooge with Sir Seymour Hicks, definitely check it out. It's for free online. Who didn't love a little Flintstones in their Christmas? Yes, this is the Flintstones Christmas Carol. You know, we're going to have to put a little animation in this thing, a little classic animation. And yeah, this one, the Flintstones Christmas Carol, is just a really, really cool production. This one is Fred and the folks of Bedrock putting on a production of A Christmas Carol. And Fred being a little bit Scroogey himself because he's playing Scrooge and he just is totally thinking he's the whole production. and everybody's getting mad, including Wilma, because he's just focusing on that and nothing else. And then, as a side note, everybody's getting the bedrock bug. A flu is hitting bedrock, and everybody's getting sick. And so, you know, what are they going to do? It's a real fun little cartoon version of A Christmas Carol. So yeah, definitely check out the Flintstones Christmas Carol. It's good for the whole family. This is a Christmas Carol starring the great George C. Scott. George C. Scott is known for so many amazing films during his career. Probably many people would say his greatest would probably be Patton. You know, I love him in The Changeling. I think that was his greatest, but that's me. But anyway, this is a really good version. I like George C. Scott in this version. This one is, he has a real, real crassness to him. A real, real bravado, real, real harshness. harshness and somehow it really works well when you see how he goes from this this mean heartless really ruthless kind of Scrooge to the more caring and compassionate one and even the interesting thing about this one is even with when he changes and it an amazing change you still have that little harshness a little bit Because that's just George C. Scott. He just has that a little bit about him. And he still comes off a little brash, but still you can see the change, and it's amazing. I love it. Definitely worth checking out. If you've never seen George C. Scott in A Christmas Carol, definitely check it out. It deserves a place on our list. Jim Carrey's Christmas Carol. Okay, so Jim Carrey did the voice of this animated film from Disney. And I'm going to tell you something. This one is very, very unique. A very unique film. I really love the animation in this. The animation is so well done. CGI has come a long way and the digital animation has come so far that it literally, the animation does not look like animation anymore. It almost looks literally like real life. It is that well done. I think what I like about this version of A Christmas Carol is the fact that there is a lot of unique things. there are some things that are kind of unique about it in the fact that at one point in the film where Scrooge actually is shrunk down to a minute size as he visits around the future and all that's really unique I like that, I thought that was pretty cool Jim Carrey plays the voices of not only Scrooge but past, present, and well, not so much future because future didn't talk. But anyway, he plays the voices of those and does a very, very good job. I really love this one. This is Alistair Sims' version of A Christmas Carol. Considered by many to be the greatest Christmas Carol ever produced, I can see that. It is very, very well done, but I like one a little more than this one, and we'll get to that in a minute. But Alistair Sims does a great job. He has a very, very unique take on Scrooge, and it's a classical take, but it really has a meanness to the character. Scrooge that Alistair Sims does here is very very harsh just like George C Scott but in a unique way And when he transfers and when he changes there not that harshness that George C Scott seems to have after the transformation He goes from the harsh mean to the actual sweet and so loving and caring. It's just a complete change. And that's why I think a lot of people consider Alistair Sims' version to be the greatest. But it definitely is one of the best. This is my absolute favorite Christmas Carol of all time. This is Reginald Owen, A Christmas Carol. Oh, I love this episode. I love this movie. I love this. I don't know what it is about this, but I just think it's a perfect mix of everything. Everybody is so great in this film. You have Reginald Owen playing Scrooge that is just so, so great. Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart play the Cratchits, Bob and his wife. The Tiny Tim is perfect in this. Just everything is just really, really great in this film. This one really has a really sweetness to it, much more than a lot of the Christmas carols. Yet, Reginald Owen has that brash harshness of Scrooge, but not as much as some people's. But yet, somehow it still works. the transformation at the end is really really cool everything is just great I love this one I actually have watched this one in full disclosure I've actually watched this one twice this year because it is that good I love it and so yeah that's why we put it number one on the list so what is your favorite Christmas carol Let us know in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. And be sure to go to Classic Cinema Plus. And we want to wish you a blessed holiday season, a blessed Christmas. And enjoy one of the Christmas carols. I think you'll all love it. And until we see you next time, this is Jason Locker, Pastor Jay, wishing you a blessed holiday season. And we will see you next time. Have a blessed one. Bye. Thank you.