Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol might be one of the most frequently adapted and reinvented stories of all time. Centering on a greedy man who needs to learn the value of empathy and the meaning of Christmas, A Christmas Carol seems to remain relevant and open to reinvention generation after generation, presumably in part because Scrooge and his supporting cast are archetypes, not especially rooted in the London of Dickens’s time. Scrooged remains a popular reinvention of the story, and that one (like Spirited, out today from Apple TV+) acknowledges that the Dickens story exists and riffs on it openly.
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Two movies are out today; aside from Spirited, which stars Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, there’s also A Christmas Karen, an independent film from FilmRise that casts a woman in the Scrooge role, which is actually fairly rare. A more straightforward, animated adaptation of the story is coming from Netflix in December, starring Luke Evans and Olivia Colman.
Here’s what we’re looking at:
Spirited
(November 18 on AppleTV+) – Starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, this hilarious musical twist on the classic Dickens tale, for the first time, tells the A Christmas Carol story from the perspective of the ghosts. Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell) selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Reynolds) turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future. From Director Sean Anders (Daddy’s Home, Instant Family), written by Anders and John Morris, with original songs by Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land).
A Christmas Karen
(November 18 on VOD) This “Karen” is going to get hers! Michele Simms, known as the super excited “Oversharing Mom” in the viral Carvana television commercials (which have been viewed more than 23 million times on YouTube), stars in this side-splitting holiday comedy from FilmRise, as an entitled, egocentric middle-aged woman named Karen whose demanding and inconsiderate nature has alienated her from her neighbors and family alike. After a series of instances displaying her privilege, prejudice and bad attitude on Christmas Eve, Karen receives an “intervention” by three unconventional spirits who take her on a much-needed journey of self-awareness and self-reflection. Using humor to shine a spotlight on the lack of consideration and civility in today’s society, A Christmas Karen is ultimately a story about the power of redemption.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
(December 2 on Netflix) – Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley are the voice actors in this musical, animated reimaging of the holiday classic. On a cold Christmas Eve, selfish miser Ebenezer Scrooge has one night left to face his past — and change the future — before time runs out.
Are you going to check out any of these takes on A Christmas Carol? Sound off in the comments below-ho-ho.
