I'm sure everyone knows the classic Dickens story A Christmas Carol. The story of the miser Ebeneezer Scrooge who is visited by Jacob Marley and three other ghosts. The trip they take him through time causes him to re-think his life and make changes to prevent the future he was shown.
There have been many movie versions of this story, here are my favorites in no certain order.
The Muppet Christmas Carol - Wikipedia.org/The_Muppet_Christmas_Carol
Despite the fact that it is Muppet based and designed largely for children, this is a surprisingly close adaptation of the original. Michael Caine does a great job as Scrooge and you can't beat a Muppet supporting cast.
A Christmas Carol (2009) - Wikipedia.org/A_Christmas_Carol_(2009_film)
This is one of the most faithful renditions of the original story in the last 50 years. Jim Carey did a great job with the voices and restraining is tendency to over-preform. The only thing wrong with this version is that the animation is a little too close to real. It's a bit creepy. If it was spot on or a little farther away, it would be better. To anyone who has played a lot of recent video games, the animation will look quite familiar.
Scrooged - Wikipedia.org/Scrooged
The most hilarious version of the story ever filmed. The Muppet version had a few laughs, but I've had to pause Scrooged because I was laughing so hard. Bill Murray is at his best in this movie, even when being hit with a toaster. The only flaw is that it is very set in the 80's. People watching who did not live through that era will miss some references.
It's A Wonderful Life - Wikipedia.org/Its_a_wonderful_life
I know some people are saying that It's A Wonderful Life is not based on A Christmas Carol. It is technically based on a short story called "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. The movie is, however, the same story as A Christmas Carol seen from another point of view. In the standard version, Scrooge is an greedy villain who is redeemed by the spirits. In this movie instead of redemption, we see the story of the salvation of Bob Cratchit in the guise of George Bailey. Mr. Potter is clearly Scrooge, Clarence takes the place of all three spirits, and we have a Tiny Tim in the form of Zuzu. The end of both movies involve the lead running down the street in the snow yelling Merry Christmas to everyone they pass.
There are a lot of other great Christmas movies, and several other good versions of A Christmas Carol, these are just my favorites.
