 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Scrooge
- Review Date: March 3, 2005
- G
- Genre: Musical
- 1970
Common Sense Media says
This musical Scrooge is great for kids.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a lighter version of Dickens' classic, so it is good family fare, but mediocre songs bog the story down. The long-winded ending takes a bizarre detour from Dickens's classic source material. Six-, 7- and 8-year-olds will enjoy the songs and the lively story, but the youngest may not go for the ghost angle, which may frighten them. Older kids can use an occasional reminder of what Christmas is really about. A meatier version might be in order for teens and adults.
What's the story?
Incorrigible skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge gets the musical treatment in this 1970 adaptation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. The songs, while unmemorable, provide a cushion for young ones who might be intimidated by scarier versions. Albert Finney stars, with Alec Guinness as an eerie, surprisingly subdued Jacob Marley.
Is it any good?
Unlike George C. Scott in the 1984 film version, or Alastair Sim in the 1951 classic, Albert Finney doesn't contribute much to the role. His performance is a mere caricature. Hearing him sing robs him of his menace (even when he's singing "I Hate People"), and what is a Scrooge without menace? Humbug! But this is a non-threatening version, good for kids, and for adults who don't want all that chain-rattling and wailing, so its lighter touch is forgiven.
Less forgivable are the songs, which slow the whole production down. Sure, it's funny to see Scrooge's death foreshadowed as a funeral parade with joyous crowds singing "Thank You Very Much," but that's as good as the musical numbers get. In the battle for the best Marley, Alec Guinness makes a convincing entrance, doing a slow, swimming sort of walk capable of raising a few neck hairs. The movie's worth seeing for Guinness alone, and for the weird ending in which Scrooge falls into his own grave and winds up in hell, where Marley offers to show him to his quarters.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how one man's miserliness contributes to others' poverty and misery and how family members' greediness or generosity affects others. Why did Scrooge eventually change? What rewards did he receive?
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Ebenezer Scrooge
good movie just when scrooge goes to hell is a little scary but not violent when you see the face of the ghost of christmas yet to come might scare little kids role modles are ok but but when the croud sings thank you very much they are rejosing over his death they are happy that he is dead.
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| Topics: | book characters, holidays, monsters, ghosts, and vampires, music and sing-along |
| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Ronald Neame |
| Cast: | Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, David Collings |
| Genre: | Musical |
| Run time: | 115 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 1, 1970 |
| DVD release date: | September 25, 2001 |
| MPAA rating: | G |
| MPAA explanation: | all audiences |
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