122 pages
"Ebenezer Scrooge is not a nice man. He is mean to his employees and mean to his family. He doesn't understand Christmas at all. Then three ghosts appear, haunting Scrooge. One shows him Christmas past. One shows him Christmas present. And one shows him an eerie Christmas future. Now Scrooge has one last chance...before it's too late." -Back Cover
What can you say about Charles Dickens? Except perhaps that I ought to read more of him more often. I've seen versions of this movie several times, probably every Christmas, but I'm not sure I've ever read the book. Unlike many of his other books, this one's short. I feel a new holiday tradition coming on.
A Christmas Carol is a story of redemption. Ebenezer Scrooge is as cranky and dispassionate as they come. He has no tolerance for the suffering or condition of others. Yet the lessons of the three ghosts, four if you count Marley, are not lost on him. The thing I love about Scrooge is that he's really not a bad person. He's just lost his way, and become all consumed with things that aren't important. Yet he's also quick to embrace change. I've sometimes wondered why Marley would appear to him in the first place, to give him a shot at changing the course of his life. They didn't seem to have been that good of friends while he was alive. I think it's probably because Marley wasn't a bad person either and didn't wish his fate on anyone.
I love Scrooge's nephew and his zest for life and cheerful countenance. He's the type of person that spreads joy wherever he goes. I love that Scrooge has some fun with him and with Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day. You know that the change Scrooge has experienced is a permanent one and that the message of A Christmas Carol is for everyone.
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