Hello & welcome back to the Christmas celebration here on A Look at Disney as we continue our look at Christmas Carol adaptions from the world of Disney and today, we head to the world of Disney Junior to see what happens when you put a pirate spin on this classic tale. You get one of the biggest lumps of coal, that's what happens. Now look, I understand that this is a show aimed at preschoolers but it so misses the mark on what A Christmas Carol is supposed to be about and waters down the story so much that the central message of the original tale is lost of that people can change. Instead, it's replaced with a message of don't be greedy. I'll get into my issues with that in the plot segment but I hated this... thing.
The Plot
No... No...No...No...No....
Ugh, this ticked me off. The barest of bare minimum was kept from the Dickens' tale and it was instead reworked to teach a lesson about not being greedy. Which for it's target audience is fine but that also seems to clash with the idea of pirates. Because the whole thing in this episode is that our Scrooge character is so greedy that he won't share his treasure with anyone else and he's visited by one singular ghost to show him the error of his ways and how to be a true pirate that cares for others. Yeah mate, I know of another Disney pirate that is in it for himself. Who is that again?
Oh, right and maybe it's just me but the idea of only using one ghost kinds feels cheap and with each of Scrooge's interactions with the ghost, I felt nothing because the ghost was the same character throughout whereas in A Christmas Carol, having it be 3 different ghost meant the interactions with the ghost were different and felt unique to one another. Was the show so cheap that it could only afford to animate one ghost? I mean, they didn't even have a Marley ghost, instead that role was filled out by Scrooge's mother, who's played by Sharon Osbourne of all people. And that was one of the only high points of this series. And now I can forgive this episode for not using Christmas and instead replacing it with a pirate themed party as this is a show about pirates. Though, I still take issue with the idea of pirates teaching kids to share and not be greedy as it seems really contradictory but where I take major issue is with the Tiny Tim stand-in. Granted, it was very very very minor in the grand scheme of things but instead of having a Tiny Tim that was actually hurt or sick. The Tiny Tim stand-in here named Tiny Cubby, who I guess is one of the main characters from the show is just upset that he won't get to enjoy the pirate feast and eat coconut cookies.
Really, just really? That's the problem that you want to give your Tiny Tim character. That's such a non-problem that it's ridiculous. A Christmas Cruella for all of the faults that I had with that episode still understood how to make the audience feel bad for their Tiny Tim stand-in by giving him an actual issue. Kids can handle seeing other kids that are sick and it might help them to understand that not all kids are as fortunate as they might be or kids that are sick might be able to relate what they see in the Tiny Tim character. Gah, how can this even be considered to be based on A Christmas Carol? Bah Humduck, one of my least favorite takes on this classic tale got more right about the story than this did. That made for TV version starring Tori Spelling, William Shanter, & Gary Coleman was... bad but it was better than this. This may just up there as one worst takes on A Christmas Carol that I've ever sat through. Now, let's move onto characters because the sooner we get them over with, the sooner, I can look at something good.
Characters
This'll be broken down into Main & Supporting. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Main Character
Captain Ebeneezer Scrooge (Captain Hook) voiced by Corey Burton
Now, I'll give this episode this much, it had the sense to change the name of it's Scrooge character to be Scrooge but they didn't change the names of any of the other characters, so that was kinda weird. And look I know that one of m biggest complaints was that this replaced the central message of people can change with don't be greedy. Well, I went back and visited one of my favorite versions of A Christmas Carol, the MLP Audio drama, A Princess Carol and was struck by this line from Princess Luna.
How often doth thou need to be told not to be stingy?
Which yes, that is a part of who Scrooge was before he was visited by the ghosts but there was more to him than just his greed. Scrooge was a broken man, who closed off the rest of the world because of past experiences that led to believe that he had to be that way. Scrooge wasn't always a bad person as it's shown in his past that he once cared for others but here with this take on Scrooge, we see that's he's always been a greedy little brat. This is again the same problem that A Christmas Cruella had, where they expect the audience to believe that they can change for the better, if they've been this way most of their lives. And look, I understand for the target audience that this show is going for, they can't have their Scrooge character be as complex as the one in the original story but this episode beat over you the head with the message of don't be greedy, that it almost felt like someones flashed that word in neon lights every time someone mentioned greed.
Supporting Characters
Mama Scrooge (Mama Hook) voiced by Sharon Osborune
I'll give the show, this much. The idea of using Scrooge's mother for the Marley role is something that I haven't seen before and that did seem to be a creative spin on things.
Captain Treasure Tooth voiced by Carl Reiner
Once again, I've not seen any adaption of A Christmas Carol, where all 3 ghosts roles are filled out by one character and that's because that is not a good idea in the slightest. As I stated up in the plot segment, the interactions that Scrooge is supposed to have with the 3 ghosts is supposed to be different. With Past, he's suppose to wax nostalgic over his past as a lad but then feel sorrowful as the Ghost continues to show him his past. Present is supposed to show him how those with very little still celebrate Christmas and that they still find ways to be joyous and this is when it sinks in for Scrooge that people really don't like him and this is when we as the audience are supposed to realize that the words that Scrooge hears do affect him deeply and that he wishes to change. Yet To Come is supposed to scare the ever living tar out of him. I mean, there's a reason, Gonzo and Rizzo left the film, when he showed up in The Muppet version. And look I understand that the show perhaps didn't want to scare it's target demographic but the weight and impact of that scene felt lost, when instead of it being something truly eerie, it was Captain Scrooge at a treasure chest all by himself overhearing other pirates enjoying each other's company and feeling lonely.
Jake, Izzy, Cubby, Skully, & Mr. Smee voiced by Sean Ryan Fox, Madison Pettis, Johnathan Morgan Heit, Jeff Bennet, & David Arquette
Yeah, I gotta be honest and say that I felt nothing for Scrooge's crew and I went in thinking that Mr. Smee would've been the Bob Cratchit stand-in but that wasn't the case at all and man, seeing David Arquette's name, just makes me want to watch Scream or the season that he was on Dancing with The Stars over this. We did get the sense that they didn't like the way that their captain treated them as they often referred to him as a meanie but there was nothing from them to elicit any type of sympathy for their situation.
My Final Thoughts
Yeah, I've made it pretty clear that I don't like this. Now, I'm sure that there might be young kids out there that do like this but looking at this as a take on A Christmas Carol, it just really falls apart pretty fast. Personally, I feel that if you want to introduce a young child to A Christmas Carol, something like Mickey's Christmas Carol is a great way to ease them into the story as it's short enough to keep their attention but at the same time, it get's across all the core points that A Christmas Carol is trying to convey without dumbing it down. So, there's my suggestion, watch this....
Instead of this episode. Join me tomorrow as we look at some Disney Princess Christmas Music. Peace!
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