# What was Ebenezer Scrooge's Job **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722 "2009-11-07T15:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/21 "2009-11-08T04:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s the old Disney version, of which I have fond memories. However, there’s another one coming out just now (in 3-D) that has Jim Carrey in it. Ah, OK, I was thinking they were just 3D-ifying the Mickey version. Which, come to think of it, might be tricky with cell animation. And for the record, the _best_ version is clearly the one put on by the Whitney Young Junior High School drama club in fall of 1989. Although I might be biased. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/22 "2009-11-08T14:22:50Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As usurers, were Scrooge and Marley Jewish? Since his family celebrates Christmas I would say no. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/23 "2009-11-08T14:27:29Z")
I guess I’ll be unfashionable and say that I liked this version. I’m not one of the cool Dopers. If you see it make sure you go to a theater that has it in 3D. I can see how it will lose a lot on TV or in 2D. This seemed to be a pretty straight forward adaptation of the book. There is one thing in the movie I had a question about. Maybe it was in the book too. The ghost of Christmas present says something about having many brothers. Something like 1842 brothers. What does that mean? Did I miss something? ---
**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:** [November 8, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/24 "2009-11-08T14:31:11Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > The book never tells what he does, though it’s implied strongly he lends money and at a high rate of interest. So one is left to wonder since usuary wasn’t the thing back then, if Scrooge had a legal business and/or operated a “loan shark” type operation on the side. He did have Bob Cratchit as his clerk, keeping up the records so at least some of his business was legal and “on the books”. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/25 "2009-11-08T14:31:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I guess I’ll be unfashionable and say that I liked this version. I’m not one of the cool Dopers. If you see it make sure you go to a theater that has it in 3D. I can see how it will lose a lot on TV or in 2D. > > This seemed to be a pretty straight forward adaptation of the book. There is one thing in the movie I had a question about. Maybe it was in the book too. The ghost of Christmas present says something about having many brothers. Something like 1842 brothers. What does that mean? Did I miss something? One for each year since the birth of Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/26 "2009-11-08T16:13:45Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As usurers, were Scrooge and Marley Jewish? I think Marley was Jamaican. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/27 "2009-11-08T17:32:04Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > One for each year since the birth of Christ. There you go. For some reason I thought it was set latter than that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/28 "2009-11-08T17:42:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There you go. For some reason I thought it was set latter than that. The book was published in 1843. As for the number, here’s the relevant text (my emphasis): > [@](#): > > “You have never seen the like of me before!” exclaimed the Spirit. > > “Never,” Scrooge made answer to it. > > “Have never walked forth with the younger members of my family; meaning (for I am very young) my elder brothers born in these later years?” pursued the Phantom. > > “I don’t think I have,” said Scrooge. “I am afraid I have not. Have you had many brothers, Spirit?” > > **“More than eighteen hundred,” said the Ghost.** ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/29 "2009-11-08T17:51:42Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As usurers, were Scrooge and Marley Jewish? _Some people think that Ebenezer Scrooge is. Well he’s not. But guess who is? All three Stooges!_ ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/30 "2009-11-08T19:39:08Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I think Marley was Jamaican. Jamaican isn’t a religion, it’s a nationality. It’s like saying, “Are they Hindu? No, they’re Canadian.” I think the joke you were trying to make was “I think Marley was Rastafarian.” ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/31 "2009-11-08T19:48:39Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I think Marley was Jamaican. A friend of mine was having a conversation with someone on Facebook and said something about “that ghost in Christmas Carol, Bob Marley”. I replied, “Sorry to eavesdrop, but I just had to point out the hilarious vision of a reggae-playing rastaman ghost with chains around his head. :-)” That was a year ago and we still crack up about it. ETA: Posted this before I saw **Serenata67** ’s post. Score! ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/32 "2009-11-08T20:57:43Z")
Actually, it is a fairly good adaption. I \*actually \*read the book. The drawing of the Ghost of Christmas Past as candle-like was spot on. Bob Cratchit’s story is pushed back out of prominence-after all-this is Scrooge’s story. Animation makes the actors better actors in that the emotions portrayed are mimicked by how the characters are drawn. This movie is too dark for young kids, but it draws you into it. A cue taken from TV or perhaps it was originally proposed as 3D. I must say I enjoyed it, in spite of myself. But then again, I admit Mr. Magoo’s is still my favorite adaption. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/33 "2009-11-08T22:01:56Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > Jamaican isn’t a religion, it’s a nationality. It’s like saying, “Are they Hindu? No, they’re Canadian.” > > I think the joke you were trying to make was “I think Marley was Rastafarian.” “Bah! Humbug!” ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/34 "2009-11-08T22:53:16Z")
No love for the Muppet version? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/35 "2009-11-09T00:00:56Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > No love for the Muppet version? ☹ Which featured the Marley brothers, Jacob and Bob. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/36 "2009-11-09T08:03:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ah, OK, I was thinking they were just 3D-ifying the Mickey version. Which, come to think of it, might be tricky with cell animation. Well, I can’t blame you. CG Mickey has been around [since 2003](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_Clubhouse). (I’m excluding his PS2 version) I would’ve assumed they were going to redo the film in CG. 3D cell shading would be quite difficult to pull off. As is written in the article linked above, Mickey’s most recent voice actor, Wayne Allwine is now deceased. His film debut as Mickey was in _Mickey’s Christmas Carol._ I hope this doesn’t mean his voice witll change. (Unlike Donald, whose modern voice actor was hand picked and coached by his predecessor, Mickey’s new voice actor was picked after his predecessor’s death.) > [@](#): > > And for the record, the _best_ version is clearly the one put on by the Whitney Young Junior High School drama club in fall of 1989. Although I might be biased. Ah, the same reason I prefer the one I was in at church? 😃 Actually, ours was quite different. It was a modified version where God himself speaks to Scrooge instead of Marley, and the other three ghosts are replaced with angels. (The Angel of Christmas Future _is_ still creepy, as he’s essentially the Angel of Death). It’s not that unpopular a version, but I can’t find clips online that show any differences. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/37 "2009-11-09T13:41:48Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > But then again, I admit Mr. Magoo’s is still my favorite adaption. Blackadders Christmas Carol is mine. Si ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/38 "2009-11-09T13:57:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > No there isn’t. Robert Zemeckis never made a movie of The Polar Express, either. You mean that horror movie set in the Uncanny Valley? It exists, but why they released such a terrifying movie around the holidays instead of Halloween is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722/39 "2009-11-09T14:41:35Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > “Bah! Humbug!” Jah. Jah. Jah. Humbug. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ebenezer-scrooges-job/516722.md?page=1)