There are many great Christmas movies, such as the well-known Hallmark pictures, but one of the most famous Christmas stories is that of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Some of its adaptations are more accurate to the book than others, but there are always some good and bad movies in this collection.
But before we jump into the list, it's good to mention the 1999 TV movie adaptation starring Patrick Stewart, which has a 7.4 rating on IMDb and didn't fit into the list, though it's still worth a watch. Without further ado, here are The 5 Best & 5 Worst Film Adaptations Of A Christmas Carol, Ranked.
Worst: Scrooged (1988) - 7.0
Despite being in the "worst" category on this list, 1988's Scrooged is actually a decent film and a good comedy with Bill Murray in the title role. Critics didn't like the adaptation — it only has a 38 out of 100 score on Metacritic — but regular viewers enjoyed it a lot, which resulted in a 7.0 rating on IMDb.
This modern retelling has the so-called Frank Cross as its main character instead of the original Ebenezer Scrooge. Cross is a cynical television executive who is visited by three ghosts of Christmas and gradually becomes a different person and changes his worldviews.
Best: Scrooge (1970) - 7.5
1970's Scrooge is by far one of the most faithful adaptations of Dickens' novel. It manages to turn the story into a musical while sticking to the source material as much as possible. This, of course, led to commercial and critical success.
In fact, this film was nominated for a BAFTA, five Golden Globes, and four Academy Awards, with Albert Finney winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy. The score was also nominated, which is probably the reason why the movie was adapted into a stage musical in 1992.
Worst: A Christmas Carol (2009) - 6.8
Even though Robert Zemeckis' take on the classic is rated as one of the worst adaptations, it is actually pretty good in many ways. 2009's A Christmas Carol features an all-star cast of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and others.
What makes this adaptation truly special is the 3D computer animation technique used to create the film. The visuals are still amazing even though the technology has become somewhat outdated over time.
Best: A Christmas Carol (1938) - 7.5
Another black-and-white film on the list, 1938's A Christmas Carol is surprisingly quite good, all things considered. It was originally intended to be released in 1939, was rushed into production, and then completed within a matter of weeks, which often results in disaster.
There is not much to say about this adaptation except that it was later colorized when it was released on VHS in 1988. To make the movie more of a family-friendly picture, many darker aspects of the story were dropped, but that did not influence the quality of the film as much as it did with the 1935 version.
Worst: Scrooge (1935) - 6.6
1935's Scrooge is one of the few black-and-white films on this list and, coincidentally, one of the bad ones. It stars Sir Seymour Hicks as Ebenezer Scrooge, the actor who played this character on stage since 1901 and also in the 1913 British silent film.
There is a number of differences between the book and the movie which is perhaps the reason why this adaptation is not as highly regarded as others. For instance, some characters like Scrooge's sister Fan are not present while other characters like the ghosts don't fully appear on the screen.
Best: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - 7.7
If you are looking for a family-friendly adaptation of Dickens' book, then The Muppet Christmas Carol is the one for you. This musical was the fourth feature Muppets film and the first to be produced after the death of their creator, Jim Henson.
This movie was also the first Muppets movie produced by Disney (which eventually bought the franchise), so you can be certain that your children will love the film while you will be able to enjoy the songs and laugh at the jokes.
Worst: A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) - 6.5
This is another musical adaptation, but this time it was not that good.
The screenplay was based on the 1994 stage musical by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens. The score to the movie has 22 songs, most of which were adapted from the stage as well. Nevertheless, this did not help the movie much in any way.
Best: A Christmas Carol (1984) - 7.8
1984's A Christmas Carol is another TV movie, but this one is much better than the musical version. Clive Donner, who edited the successful Scrooge way back in 1951, took up the role of director for this project and did not disappoint anyone.
This adaptation is still one of the most beloved of the currently existing ones. When it first aired on television, it quickly grew a dedicated fanbase. Later on, it was released on VHS and then on DVD and even Blu-ray.
Worst: Ms. Scrooge (1997) - 5.4
By far the worst adaptation of Dickens' novel is 1997's Ms. Scrooge. Though the movie attempted to approach the story in a new and never-before-seen way, it failed at being original or at least somewhat good. Unlike Scrooged, Ms. Scrooge is definitely something you would call a "failed experiment."
The characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley are gender-swapped into Ms. Ebenita Scrooge and Maude Marley while the location is changed from London to Providence, Rhode Island. The story being altered this much might be one of the reasons why this adaptation wasn't that successful.
Best: Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951) - 8.1
As mentioned earlier, 1951's Scrooge was very successful. Also known as A Christmas Carol, this movie has some differences from the original story, but these differences play out in a way that benefits the film rather than pulling it down and decreasing its quality.
For instance, Scrooge's backstory is way more detailed here and we actually learn about how he became such a miserable person. This is only one of the many changes that ultimately elevated the film and made it more successful both critically and commercially.