Scrooge: Cuento de Navidad (2022)★ 6.5/10

From the 1901 5-minute-long silent film to the CGI-animated movie, and from the Mickey Mouse version of the ’80s to the Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman Christmas special, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has been widely adapted and referenced ever since the original publishing of the novella in 1843.

Of course, Netflix had to have its take on the tale. This time, in the form of a 3D-animated musical starring Luke Evans as Mr. Scrooge, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Jonathan Pryce, and Johnny Flynn, among others. But Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022), directed by Stephen Donnelly, offers a unique take on the story.

It is not the first musical film in the history of its adaptation, since there already was Scrooge (1970), nor the first animated adaptation. Still, there has never been one so… adventurous.

Let me explain.

Firstly, the scenes. That is what intrigued me the most throughout the whole film. Every scene feels so magical and unique. They are all creative, so by the end, you will have enjoyed all kinds of settings, from ordinary to no-so-ordinary: a cemetery, clouds, floating offices, outer space, palaces, factories, bedrooms, ballrooms…

One shot I want to highlight is the last one of Christmas Past, right before Christmas Present visits Scrooge. ‘Past’ is disintegrating since the clock struck two, and she goes down to Earth in a free fall with Scrooge and Prudence. When all that was left of her was a talking, concave mask, I thought to myself “Oh, this is new”. An image of this sort is not a common thing among most films, where the figurative and realistic predominates. Something similar happens with the memories that appear as framed by broken glass.

Another shot, much more sober, that I want to highlight, is the one in the first minutes of the movie where the Cratchit children are singing, both colourful and expressive, as a dark shape walks towards them, framed by some citizens in the dark lightning and out of focus. This composition may not be the most original one, but it contains much information within just one frame, and this kind of complexity in shot composition is not very common in “children’s” films.

Secondly, there are new characters, or newly explored characters, such as Prudence, the Cratchit children, Scrooge’s sister Jen, or Elizabeth his fiancée. The latter gets a song of her own and one with young Ebenezer; plus, Christmas Past shows us a glimpse into Elizabeth’s future.

Now, the character of Prudence is truly poetic. Though keeping company to Marley, first, and Scrooge, secondly, Prudence seems to favour, not the cold, calculative men who do not spend much, but the poor, the joyful, and the kind, instead. Prudent behaviour does not mean cruelty.

Thirdly, there is the integration of POC (people of colour) characters, portrayed as citizens of the same level as the white, British ones. This is just a detail that diminishes historical accuracy but seems to correspond to a current trend among adaptations, reboots, remakes and period dramas. Though I have no further comments on the topic.

So, is it good? I believe it is worth a shot. It is not up to me to decide whether or not this is a good adaptation in comparison with the many others this tale has already had.

But for those who, like me, believe that animated movies (or “children’s” movies) should not underestimate their audience, the risks that Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022) takes in its storytelling are worth taking, in favour of uniqueness. I hope to see more of that in future movies.

Originally published on Medium February 9th, 2024: https://medium.com/@dibenedetto.francesca/scrooge-2022-an-imaginative-adaptation-878facbba609?sharedUserId=dibenedetto.francesca