# Poll: Your favorite version of "A Christmas Carol" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 25, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048 "2025-12-25T15:27:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/1 "2025-12-25T15:27:15Z")
Which is your favorite filmed version of _A Christmas Carol_? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/1))_ Was your favorite the first version you ever saw? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/2 "2025-12-25T15:51:16Z")
Definitely the Muppet version, with a close second being the Jim Carrey version from 2009. If I’m not mistaken, the 2009 version is taken word-for-word, note-for-note from the Dickens novel, and doesn’t leave out some of the bits that may be lost on, or aren’t particularly relevant towards, 21st-century audiences. One bit I remember specifically is Scrooge’s diatribe towards The Ghost of Christmas [I think it’s Present] about the injustice of keeping the poor out of communal bakeries on the Sabbath Day, which is pretty much the only day they could have used them. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/3 "2025-12-25T15:59:52Z")
My #2 is Scrooged. I think the first I saw was the Mr. Magoo one. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/4 "2025-12-25T16:02:46Z")
I realize I should have asked this question, too: Which versions have you seen in their entirety, or nearly so? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/4))_ ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/5 "2025-12-25T16:05:39Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I think the first I saw was the Mr. Magoo one. Me too. That is still the original, as far as I’m concerned. (Charles who? Some guy from London?) But the Muppet version is my favorite. Another post here recently asked what single movie one would take for a five-year stranding on a desert island, and I was debating whether to choose T_he Muppet Christmas Carol_. It’s close enough to my very favorites that I could enjoy it many times, but not close enough to the top that I’d lose something too precious when I ruined it for myself by watching it several hundred times. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/6 "2025-12-25T16:06:33Z")
Muppets are always first no matter what they’re doing. _Scrooged_ a close second. I was born in 1960 so I grew up with Owen and Sims. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/7 "2025-12-25T16:11:23Z")
I love the George C. Scott version and loathe the Muppet version. In the former, Scott as Scrooge, Frank Finlay as Marley’s ghost and Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas present turn in brilliant performances, as do the supporting cast of minor characters. It has a few flaws: the Tiny Tim actor keeps looking at the camera, which must have driven the director nuts, and in the opening sequence with Angela Pleasance as Christmas past, you can see the wire holding up her dunce’s hat. As for the Muppet version, it’s just too frantic and busy. Kids probably like it, and I have respect for the puppeteers, but it’s not my cuppa. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/8 "2025-12-25T16:22:13Z")
I accidentally posted this in the polls only discussion thread: Other. _Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol_ was my first and favorite. I’m not a big fan of the story, so the only other one I have probably sat all the way through was the Alistair Sim version. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/9 "2025-12-25T16:23:20Z")
The mania of the Muppets contrasting the 100% straight and great portrayal by Michael Caine is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/10 "2025-12-25T16:28:24Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I love the George C. Scott version and loathe the Muppet version. In the former, Scott as Scrooge, Frank Finlay as Marley’s ghost and **Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas present** turn in brilliant performances Overall, I prefer the non-traditional versions. Woodward was so far ahead of other GoCP’s that they weren’t even visible. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/11 "2025-12-25T16:35:50Z")
My favorite is the 1938 MGM version where Reginald Owen replaced Lionel Barrymore at the last minute. The script was based on a radio play that Barrymore had done for many years. The first one I ever saw was the 1969 animated version, which is an Australian production, and features the scariest of all the Jacob Marleys. I think of all versions, this one succeeds best as a _ghost_ story. Another one I like which you also did not list is the British version from 1935 called _Scrooge_, which is the first talking version. There are numerous silent versions, with many lost, and many in other languages than English, so there’s no definitive count, but there are 8 extant, although only, IIRC, 5 are watchable (the other 3 are fragments), and 6 others are well-documented, with scripts and still photographs. If you add in pastiches-- “modern” versions, gender-reversed versions, and so forth, it is one of the most oft-filmed books there is. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/12 "2025-12-25T16:41:43Z")
I guess I’m in the minority, but I thought George C. Scott really chewed on the scenery. Alistair Sims was absolutely perfect, and I say that as someone who has read _A Christmas Carol_ probably a dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/13 "2025-12-25T16:47:07Z")
The Muppets, since that’s the only one I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/14 "2025-12-25T16:53:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The mania of the Muppets contrasting the 100% straight and great portrayal by Michael Caine is awesome. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/15 "2025-12-25T17:34:37Z")
There was a beautifully animated one from my childhood. All I really remember is that the ghost of Marley scared the shit out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/16 "2025-12-25T17:44:53Z")
Mr. Magoo’s A Christmas Carol, and yes, it was the first version I saw. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/17 "2025-12-25T17:47:53Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > There was a beautifully animated one from my childhood. All I really remember is that the ghost of Marley scared the shit out of me. Probably the 1969 one. [Scary Marley](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+1969+animated+christmas+carol+marley's+ghost&sca_esv=1aaee2ca13ccc192&sxsrf=AE3TifOnk24J5aokD4zIGoa8tesBpdWQzg%253A1766679859209&ei=M2VNabC6DLT-ptQPnpS_gAs&ved=0ahUKEwjwn8Krk9mRAxU0v4kEHR7KD7AQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=the+1969+animated+christmas+carol+marley's+ghost&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiMHRoZSAxOTY5IGFuaW1hdGVkIGNocmlzdG1hcyBjYXJvbCBtYXJsZXkncyBnaG9zdDIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRifBTIFECEYnwVIxGRQAFj7XHAAeAGQAQCYAYwBoAHhEKoBBDAuMTe4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhGgAssTwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBcICBhAAGBYYHsICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIFECEYqwKYAwCSBwQwLjE3oAf_ggGyBwQwLjE3uAfLE8IHCDItMy4xMS4zyAf1AYAIAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:43dc8eea,vid:THWuAyEDqWk,st:0). Skip ahead to 11:20. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/18 "2025-12-25T17:50:24Z")
Another one with Mr Magoo being the first version I’d ever seen. Over the years I’ve seen most of the other versions listed. Amazingly enough, I never saw the Muppet version until last year, but it immediately because one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/19 "2025-12-25T17:53:53Z")
I think it was this one from 1971: > **[A Christmas Carol (TV special)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol_(TV_special))** > > A Christmas Carol is a British-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. The film notably has Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern reprising their respective roles as Ebenezer Scrooge and Marley's ghost. > In London, 1843, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Jacob Marley, Christmas Past, Present and... ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048/20 "2025-12-25T17:58:42Z")
I rather like the 1970 version, “[Scrooge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooge_(1970_film))”, with Albert Finney as ES. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-favorite-version-of-a-christmas-carol/1026048.md?page=2)