A Christmas Carol (TV special) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids A Christmas Carol |
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Ebenezer Scrooge
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| Directed by | Richard Williams |
| Produced by | Richard Williams Chuck Jones |
| Written by | Charles Dickens |
| Narrated by | Michael Redgrave |
| Starring | Alastair Sim Michael Hordern Diana Quick Joan Sims |
| Music by | Tristram Cary |
| Distributed by | American Broadcasting Company |
| Release date(s) | December 21, 1971 |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Christmas Carol is an American animated adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella. The film was broadcast on U.S. television by ABC on December 21, 1971, and released theatrically soon after. In 1972, it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Cast (voices)
- Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge
- Michael Redgrave as Narrator
- Michael Hordern as Marley's Ghost
- Diana Quick as Ghost of Christmas Past
- Joan Sims as Mrs. Cratchit
- Paul Whitsun-Jones as Ragpicker/Fezziwig
- David Tate as Fred/Charity Man
- Felix Felton as Ghost of Christmas Present
- Annie West as Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
- Melvyn Hayes as Bob Cratchit
- Mary Ellen Ray as Mrs. Dilber
- Alexander Williams as Tiny Tim (uncredited)
Visual style
This adaptation of A Christmas Carol has a distinctive look, created by multiple pans and zooms and by innovative, unexpected scene transitions. The visual style, which is unusually powerful, is inspired by 19th century engraved illustrations of the original story by John Leech and the pen and ink renderings by illustrator Milo Winter that graced 1930s editions of the book. The intended audience does not include young children, and the film's bleak mood and emphasis on darkness and shadows lead some to consider it the most frightening of the many dramatizations of the Dickens classic.
Academy Award
Originally produced as a 1971 television special, A Christmas Carol was considered so well done that it was subsequently released theatrically, thereby rendering it eligible for Oscar consideration, and the film did go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for 1972. Some industry insiders took issue that a short originally shown on television was given the award, and the Academy responded by changing its policy, disqualifying any future works initially shown on television.
