A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite holiday stories. I've read the book many times, seen many of the film adaptations, and make it a holiday tradition to see the stage production the day after Thanksgiving, and I agree with my brother that this is the best way to view the story visually.
The Scrooge character to me is a somewhat sympathetic character in spite of his cruelty and hard disposition. Fear of poverty as a young man had twisted him into the greedy old miser that we are introduced to in the beginning. Many of the losses he endures in life, such as his fiance and his best friend, occur at Christmas. The word "humbug" is also an important element to understanding his character. The word "humbug" is defined in the dictionary as "something intended to delude or deceive." So in effect, what Scrooge is saying about Christmas is that it is a time for people to put on false faces and pretend to care about their fellow man in an effort to get something for themselves, such as free food or a break on their loan dues. When he taken to see the shadows of his past, he is shown the real reason he hates Christmas, which he finds out is much more personal. When he is taken to the present, he's shown the happiness that he is missing out of and could very easily share, as well as how his personal anger effects people other than himself. In the future, he is shown the end of his journey, where his death is celebrated in a somewhat morbid way as his body is robbed and people who owed him money were suddenly given a chance at life (which is rarely shown in film.)
Like my brother said, George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart both do a very good job in portraying the title character. Another version I tend to watch once or twice during the season is the 1938 version of the film staring Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. I have to say I also like the CGI version Disney did a few years ago with Jim Carey as the voice of Scrooge and Gary Oldman (one of my favorite actors) as Cratchit. And, being a fan of Jim Henson, I am also a fan of A Muppet Christmas Carol, which stars Michael Caine as Scrooge and Kermit the Frog as Cratchit. And Bill Murray as the Scrooge-like Frank Cross in "Scrooged" was simply brilliant. It's a story for the whole family, and one to take to heart, especially at Christmas.
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