Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
22: A Christmas Carol Part One - Character Analysis
24 Plays9 days ago
In this episode of Book Watch, we’re diving into Part One: Character Analysis of A Christmas Carol and its classic film adaptation A Christmas Carol. Few stories have been adapted as many times—or as memorably—as this timeless holiday tale. But how well do the characters translate from page to screen?
In Part One, we focus on the heart of the story: the characters.
We explore:
- Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from miser to man of redemption—and how different adaptations portray his transformation
- The role of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, and what they symbolize in both the book and film
- How supporting characters like Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and the Fred contribute to the story’s emotional core
- Which character portrayals feel most faithful to Dickens—and which take creative liberties
Join us as we break down the personalities, performances, and emotional impact of A Christmas Carol, setting the stage for next week’s Part Two: Plot Breakdown, where we’ll compare how the story itself unfolds on screen.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Hosts and Episode Theme
00:00:33
Speaker
What's up, Book Watchers? Welcome back to another episode. I'm your host, Jordan. And as always, I have my co-hosts here, Sarah Day and Chris. Sarah Day, how's it going? Hi, hi. I just came from our town's Christmas parade, so I'm ready to talk about all things Christmas. Love that for you. Chris, how's it going?
00:00:52
Speaker
Good, good. the The Christmas tree lighting here was right now. So you guys are what I'm choosing over doing, seeing the Christmas tree lighting. so Wow. feel That's how special we are. That is dedication for sure.
00:01:07
Speaker
Would I have been going to it? Probably not. But, you know, I can make you feel about it. That's fine. You know, close enough.
Why 'A Christmas Carol'?
00:01:21
Speaker
Welcome to Book Watch, the podcast where pages meet screens. Each week, we dive into the world of adaptations, comparing beloved books with their cinematic counterparts. From faithful retellings to bold reimaginings, we'll break down what worked, what didn't, and what made each adaptation unforgettable. Whether you're a bookworm, a movie buff, or both, grab your bookmark, grab your popcorn, and let's watch some books.
00:01:45
Speaker
I'm really excited for this one. We are doing A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. And this is going to be our first inaugural coverage of a Christmas Carol because I was researching and there's been literally over a hundred different film adaptations of this story. In whatever version you like, there's been changes and alterations, which we will cover in the upcoming years. But yeah,
00:02:10
Speaker
There's been a lot. It's a very popular story. So a brief history of Christmas Carol. It was first published in 1843. Charles Dickens self-published it.
00:02:21
Speaker
um And it is a story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who places more value on money than anyone or anything else in his life.
00:02:32
Speaker
And it tells his journey to the past throughout the present and into the future as he's led by four ghosts through Christmas celebrations of various points in his life. By being forced to reflect on his past and see what he's missing out on in the present and facing his future lonely mortality, Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas and how to spread the joy and hope of the season with those around him. So, Sarah Day, we'll start with you. What is your, like,
00:03:00
Speaker
background with A Christmas Carol? Have you read it before? have you How many adaptations have you seen? Yeah, I'm sure I've seen several adaptations. I don't think I've ever read the book, but the story was so ingrained. like All the adaptations pretty much follow the same concept, right? So it wasn't nothing really surprised me when I read the book. It was all, I was expecting everything. So it's going to be really fun to cover this every year and talk about the different changes. I'm really excited to talk about tonight's because I grew up on this version. um But yeah, so we'll, I mean, we'll get into it, but um it's, it's going to be fun.
Personal Connections to Adaptations
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah. Chris, what about you? um ah Yeah. Like story I've always known, I've seen different versions of it in different things growing up. I think VeggieTales did a version of it even event back in the day of some sort or another. um But I'd never read the book fully. i think I'd just seen little like even like radio shows of it even and things like that, too. But I've always been told that the Patrick Stewart audio book is the one to go with. And so I have had it in my list to read that one every year. And I didn't do that this time either. But that'll come next.
00:04:12
Speaker
As we get a little closer to Christmas and I need that encouragement again, I'll i'll go that way probably. If you ever find yourself lacking in the Christmas spirit, try to find an audio book. There's probably a gazillion of them with different narrators. um So yeah, there's lots of lots of options for everybody if you're into it. um I first read this story, i think like eighth grade, we covered it in English class and we went through it. and it always kind of stuck with me. It's just like,
00:04:41
Speaker
the spirit of the season and what Christmas is all about. And it's not about like, and even like broadly in life, it's not about life is not about hoarding money and keeping it for yourself. It's about the connections you make and sharing your life, everything in your life with other people. And I think that's a really important message um for all of us and especially for, for kids
Themes of 'A Christmas Carol'
00:05:03
Speaker
to get. And so I like the story, how it's approachable for wide range of audiences.
00:05:09
Speaker
What do you mean? That Scrooge character was so relatable at the beginning of the story, but then at the end, he started giving everything away. It just really fell off the table for me. of like It was crazy. Yeah, and that's that's so that's a weird drop-off there.
00:05:20
Speaker
just kidding just kidding um yeah so what ah was one of the themes I kind of touched on a couple of them like you know generosity and there's a little bit of forgiveness with some of the people that Scrooge interacts with what were some of the key themes that stuck with you guys when you were reading it I think that uh yeah the fact that everybody around him has this Christmas spirit and has this expectation of the way, you know, society acts and the social behavior around Christmas. And for some reason, Scrooge just doesn't seem to get it. And I think that the the buildup of that Christmas spirit and and in his story is a really interesting part of the tale.
00:06:05
Speaker
What about you, Saradae? Yeah, same. I mean, it's just it's the spirit of Christmas. And like he literally has the spirits of Christmas come to him and explain, you know, what it is all about. um So, and, you know, it's just, I love decorating for Christmas, especially having kids now, helping, having them help decorate for Christmas and just getting in that Christmas spirit. It's just a really fun month. um And I think that's just, you know, that's what it's trying to say. Like, you know, it it's not about money. It's not, you know, in these families, know,
00:06:44
Speaker
With Tim, there's there's all this hardship, but they are still happy and they're still making the most of it. And that's what Christmas is all about.
Charles Dickens' Influence
00:06:54
Speaker
Absolutely. So a couple more points just on the background of the story and a background on Charles Dickens, the author. So he grew up in the time that he's writing in. This is not like some alternate universe that he's writing about. Like he grew up in London in the mid eighteen hundreds And he when Scrooge mentions the debtors prisons and the poor houses, Charles Dickens grew up in those places.
00:07:21
Speaker
environments like he he was the poor people that grew up in those environments and like had to live in that sort sort of hardship um and when he first published the book on december 19th when one of these episodes is dropping so hey check us out um there they printed 6 000 copies and in literally five days all of them were sold out which I think really is a testament to how the story impacted people then and now and why it became an adaptation and so many different adaptations because it just really resonated with people.
00:08:03
Speaker
um And like we said, it resonates with the spirit of Christmas and what it's all about and how to you know be kind to your fellow man. and it's just a really important reminder, especially in this time of year.
Spotlight on the Muppets' Adaptation
00:08:15
Speaker
I feel like it's almost the kind of story you would read around the fire with your kids or your family on ah you know when you're all gathered around on a cold winter night and Christmas time and just kind of remember why we're here. And that's what I liked about this adaptation that we're covering tonight because...
00:08:31
Speaker
Like I said, I grew up with it. I watched it for the podcast with my kids. And it is the Muppets telling the story. Like Gonzo, I think, is Charles Dickens reciting his story. um And so the fact that it's the Muppets, it's like it tells it it it is teaching the kids the story of Scrooge and, you know, what Christmas is all about.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And that's kind of why we chose it to be our first adaptation of the Christmas Carol that we covered because it's such a like iconic version and something that like if you don't really know much about the Muppets or you don't really know much about the Christmas Carol, you've probably seen a snippet or two of it somewhere throughout your life. So this adaptation came out in 1992 it stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge and Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as his wife, Emily, the great Gonzo, like you said, Sarah Day as Charles Dickens, Rizzo the Rat as himself for a fun little fourth wall break here and there.
00:09:39
Speaker
and um a bunch of other Muppets and a bunch of other positions. And it just kind of gives us that like childlike whimsy and fun and they add some songs in there, which is really cool. But it still stayed really, at least in my opinion, still stayed really true to the nature of the book and the storyline. What did you guys think?
00:10:03
Speaker
I mean, some of the lines were word for word out of the book. But they still had their own twist on the story, again, to make it more kid friendly.
00:10:17
Speaker
But I was impressed to see like some of the lines and like when Gonzo starts telling the story, he literally reads the first two lines. So I think they did a really good job adapting this and stayed pretty true to the story.
00:10:28
Speaker
and there was a few Muppety sort of things that my wife like was watching with me and she can't stand the Muppets. And she was like the rats in the, in the office with Scrooge when he's yelling at them, getting all noisy and loud. She's like, gosh, I can't do that. But, and so there was a few humor things that were added from the Muppets that were, I think fun, but definitely took away from her experience of it. you're not a Muppets fan, I could see that. right i mean, we're not really the target audience for the Muppets these days anymore. So she and she got past it and she was, you know, the story was fine for her She just isn't as big a fan of those characters playing the different roles. So I had never been exposed to either, really. I mean, I had some Muppet you know knowledge, but I never really watched any of the movies and things like that that came out. And I think i'd I'd be interested in checking them all out. So I might go back through and start watching through some of the other options, the Haunted Mansion, the Treasure Planet, or Treasure Island. Treasure Island, yeah. Treasure Planet is its own other adaptation. That one I love. So, you know, I might be little disappointed with Treasure Island if I, you know, watch after that. but Right. Yeah. And I mean, I think the songs added a lot of fun to the story that, you know, we added some heart to the story that you you would have been there, but it wouldn't have been quite so um easy to catch on to. Songs are a really good way for us to feel the emotion that's happening in a moment. So I really like that.
00:11:48
Speaker
so So this episode is our character analysis episode. So we'll go through one by one. We'll start with our main character, Mr. Scrooge. So what did you guys think of Michael Caine's portrayal of Scrooge?
00:12:06
Speaker
Can that guy do anything wrong? No, he can't. What a wonderful performance from a younger Michael Caine than right now. you know He's just like starting to get and going into going to retirement. And it was wonderful seeing him on screen.
00:12:18
Speaker
it was wonderful to see a younger Michael Caine I think there was a little bit I don't want to say overacting because it's Michael Caine but it's also the Muppets so yeah what you I think like with your wife like I was pulled out of it a little bit like okay this is a little much but I mean like you said you can't really go wrong with Michael Caine yeah I think it was interesting because like even in those moments that I did feel like he was like sorry, he may have been like overdoing it a little bit.
00:12:49
Speaker
It was still like the exact line from the book. And so it was just like a matter of how he was delivering it. And I was like, well, if this was more of a like adult or like dramatic performance, like I don't think he would have done that. And it would have been like, sure, cooler, like, or like more, more like how I had imagined it when reading it. But you throw the Muppets in there, it's targeted for kids. You're going to exaggerate a little say yeah exactly yeah Have either of you seen the other
Exploring Film Adaptations
00:13:19
Speaker
versions at all? Like anything else on film?
00:13:22
Speaker
I have, but not to. Right. i've seen che female and i'm I'm pretty sure I've seen the Patrick Stewart one and i've I've seen other versions, but not recently enough. and not like It's not a movie that I watch consistently throughout the Christmas season. Yeah.
00:13:42
Speaker
So I'm going to have fun with this every year when we we do another adaptation to be like, oh yeah, i do remember seeing this one and start comparing them. Of course, The Muppets isn't going to be the the best adaptation. It's our gold standard. It's what we're basing everything else off of. So it's going to be fun to see the differences. I started to watch this the 1984 version last night just because it happened to come on on TV. I didn't finish it because i wanted to keep The Muppets as my fresh one right now. but I may go back and watch that one on Pluto when it was popping up. And I bought the VHS of the Patrick Stewart one, but I have not checked it out yet for the same reason. So that'll go, that'll be later this season too.
00:14:21
Speaker
I bet that one will be the most accurate or like, yeah, most close to it and the more dramatic one. I'm excited for it because think it's going to fun. Yeah. I bet. Yeah. and That'll be a good time. Well, we'll cover them in the future years too. So we'll get, we'll get to all of them at some point. And write in, let us know like which one you want us to cover in 2026. What's your favorite? Yes, please.
00:14:42
Speaker
All right, moving along to our next character, Cratchit, portrayed by Kermit the Frog in the Muppets adaptation. ah what did you guys think about Kermie?
00:14:55
Speaker
Well, just like Michael Caine, can Kermit do any wrong? His singing, beautiful singing voice. I think for the character he was playing, he did just did it well. And it, ah you know, it was supposed to be that, you know, family dynamic. So they kind of they had the the little Kermits as well. And, the you know, little piggies.
00:15:19
Speaker
That was kind of cute. And so I thought it was a he did well as that family man that had to manage the big boss of the office to make sure that everybody got their little bit of Christmas time. It's a very relatable story there, too. of like you know, sometimes there is that.
00:15:32
Speaker
middle manager that is looking out for the people and making sure we all get our Christmas and whatnot. Cause sometimes yeah those people at top are a little disconnected, a little Scrooge. He's just out here doing his best for, for his team. Yeah. a His family and his team.
00:15:46
Speaker
All right. And then we've got miss piggy as his wife, Emily.
00:15:52
Speaker
Miss Piggy's Miss Piggy. what do you Yeah, i was going to say she's always over the top. So not much difference there. yeah And kind of accurate to his wife. So, i you know, wanted to give, you know, Scrooge a piece of her mind and the way that, you know, she performs the role of like, okay, I could see a struggling, a family is struggling, reacting that way when things happen. So I could see this being accurate enough.
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think for the first time in my life, I related very deeply to Miss Piggy in that moment. and I was like, yeah, I would do that too. I don't blame her Okay. And then um Gonzo as Charles Dickens.
00:16:27
Speaker
Dramatic, very, very well done for, you know, what it was trying to do a fake, you know, some a Muppet playing a character that wrote this a long time ago and trying to, you know, be embody that character. So I
Humor and Engagement with Gonzo and Rizzo
00:16:40
Speaker
thought it was fine. I think Gonzo of all the characters played it pretty well.
00:16:43
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:46
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know how well it would have gone over if it was like Beaker or somebody else. i think Gonzo was the right choice for this one. I think the only other one you would pick would would be Kermit, but I think Kermit has to be Bob. Like Kermit and Piggy have to be the Cratchits. so yeah yeah, I mean, i don't know who else you would pick.
00:17:06
Speaker
Yeah. ah um How did you guys feel about adding Rizzo the rat as himself as like a fourth wall breaking like additional narrator to the story? Because in the book, the narrator is is Charles Dickens. Like he says, like, I'm writing you this story. I'm explaining all of this stuff to you guys.
00:17:25
Speaker
And so like, how do you feel about adding that little comedic rat on the side? I mean, you need a point of view character. So, I mean, if you're trying to talk to us, but you youre you need someone in the story you can be speaking to sometimes in order to relate it properly. So I think it was a good choice.
00:17:42
Speaker
Well, and again, this is targeted to kids. so that is going to get the laughs out of them. And he did get the laughs out of my children. You know, when he, his tail caught on fire and he knocks them into the,
00:17:56
Speaker
ice bucket and then he's a frozen popsicle so again for kids to keep their intention you're gonna have to have those comedic reliefs every once in a while to break up the story because they're not following the story they're following it for the laughs and so you need that character for that and who can't relate it to a character who's there for the food yeah i Yeah, amen. Yeah, I thought it was good too how they like removed Gonzo and Rizzo from like the ghost of Christmas Future. um So that way, like, because that is like the arguably like the scariest and most like intense scene or like series of scenes in the book and in the movie. And so like, being like, no, that you guys got to pay attention. Like this is this is where it gets real. And removing that comedy out, I think, was the right choice. So that way we could really, like, be focused on what Scrooge is going through and, like, the the horror aspect of what he's experiencing. That's
Portrayal of the Christmas Ghosts
00:18:52
Speaker
point. want to talk about the three spirits and how they were um yeah brought to life on screen? Because i mean i like I said, I grew up watching...
00:19:03
Speaker
this adaptation and I don't remember the last time I had seen it but we were watching it and when the ghost of Christmas past came on I turned to my husband I'm like I totally thought this was played by a real kid when I was watching it growing up I did not realize it was also a puppet until just today yeah I was like wow like the way we perceive things when we're that little and then when we go back and we watch it it's like it's wild Yeah, I think it was like the opening number where they're singing about Scrooge and I'm watching it with my fiance and he's like, dude, like the effects are so good. Like this looks like so real and so believable. Like obviously besides like the fact that there's Muppets around, but like everything else, like for it being a Muppet movie, like all the practical effects of the Muppets and the and the set and the costumes, like everything looks so good still for it being from 1992. And then we saw that it goes to Christmas past where like,
00:19:58
Speaker
there's the 1992 CGI. To get that like floating effect, like I was like, ooh, that's a little janky. Speaking the sets, was very impressed with the way they did the town because i I was like, this is probably a set that they build, like a miniature that they built, and then they had the camera coming through. just...
00:20:18
Speaker
and like they it just what they could do back in the day to make it look so good like yes we have cgi today and it looks great but what they did back then and how they did it and like like things like star wars and what they did and they had paintings and then they had the miniature ships it's just amazing what they could do back in the day yeah yeah the ingenuity of practical effects yes way underrated There was a scene of Kermit walking when he was singing that was like, okay, that looks like really bad CGI nowadays. Like, that's what I expect from a really, really, really B movie or C movie. But I was like, okay, 1992 and a puppet walking down the street. I get to get it. Yeah, absolutely. And then next was, I want to backtrack a little bit to the added,
00:21:01
Speaker
ah the Marley brother, the second Marley, Jacob and Robert Marley. There's only one in the book, but you had to have, what is it? What is it? Statler and something. I forget what their names are. But that's another thing. Their song, like I remembered that. So that was the only song I remember. Like I forgot that this was a musical, even though it's the Muppets. And then their song came on like, yes, Marley and Marley. I know this song. Yeah.
00:21:31
Speaker
Marley. Yeah, I think they were the right choice for to be the Marley's and even adding the other Marley like it didn't matter to have two or one like, so I think that was a good choice. And I like that. Yeah, like that song is really catchy. It sticks in your head and then like even the CGI of the scene of them dancing and like the shaking the chains. Whoa, like it's it's it was cute. It was good. Mm It gave them the ability to bounce off each other and not just be talking to Scrooge in a serious manner. Yeah.
00:21:58
Speaker
Yeah. And again, most of what they were saying were direct quotes that Jacob Marley's ghost said to Scrooge in the book too, which is always really awesome when like any property, when they take the source material directly or they take the lines directly from the source material rather, like that's always cool to see that the creators of the adaptation really respect the original work. So always appreciate that. um Next up, Ghost of Christmas Present.
00:22:27
Speaker
He felt like a fun, jolly guy. Yeah. And the fact that he, yeah, I really loved, even in the in both versions, the way he aged throughout the day, like the idea that this is Christmas Day and he's here for the day and then our Christmas spirit is reborn the next year. you know We have our day with Christmas and then we can move back on.
00:22:46
Speaker
Yeah, I really like that symbolism too.
00:22:50
Speaker
Okay and then finally the ghost of Christmas future. My kids did get a little iffy about this um and the the thing that they had a problem is they couldn't see its face and I'm like yeah you're not supposed to and like I didn't want to get into like the Grim Reaper and all of that but um I thought again like for the time they did a really good job with this character's design um and making it creepy enough but not too creepy that because it is a kids movie but it still like um does the job
00:23:26
Speaker
It kind of you could almost see a face in the mask if you look close. And so it was like you were I was straining to see the whole time. Like, is that a pig's face? Do I know this character from anything else? is this is this one of the puppets we've already seen wearing this? i couldn't couldn't get anything, but kept me interested. It definitely was a little bit freaky, but not too bad for yeah for a kid. I'm sure, you know, it's gave you enough of the to feel, oh, this is serious. This is something is bad about this character.
00:23:51
Speaker
Which it's really just bad in this case because it's talking about the future in depth and things like that a little bit. But some people might have a really great future in their Christmas. so I was just thinking about Dementors the whole time. yeah feel like good point That looks like the inspiration for Dementor. I don't know what her inspiration was, but that looks like it.
00:24:14
Speaker
I mean, there's not really too much to go on because the story is so short and the character arc is like so well defined and it's really just Scrooge going on a character arc and it follows it to a T, I think.
Character Dynamics with Fred and Clara
00:24:28
Speaker
So are there any, were there any like. His nephew and his yeah and the wife there, another character that I don't even know if I, we didn't write down the who the actor was or anything, but that's just another character that is in the story we can talk about.
00:24:43
Speaker
Yeah. um has Fred and his wife Clara, those are, um it's not talked about, well, it's mentioned that he's his nephw his he is Scrooge's nephew, but not how he's the nephew. So in the book, it explains that Scrooge had a younger sister. So that's his sister's son.
00:25:00
Speaker
And then, let me see. And then there was the love story in the past as well that flamed out. I'm sure we'll get more into that when we start talking about the plot in the next episode.
00:25:13
Speaker
yeah But that's another character that technically is in the story. yeah So Fred was played by Stephen McIntosh and his wife Clara was played by Robin Weaver.
00:25:24
Speaker
And then the love interest for Scrooge Bell was played by Meredith Braun. And those were other human characters, which is good since having the human character related to puppets is always very you know, very strange. So having all of those people be played with human characters and that kind of be our point of view is good. Yeah.
00:25:46
Speaker
Yeah. Okay.
00:25:51
Speaker
Yeah. Um, do you guys have anything else to say just cause it's kind of, kind of a quicker, it's quick read, it's quick film. Do we have anything else to add in regards to our characters?
00:26:05
Speaker
I think that's a good place to wrap up the character arcs. We can go into the rest next week's episode, the story arc, but that'll be exciting. Perfect. All right. Well, thanks for joining us, everybody, on this week's episode of Book Watch covering a Christmas Carol and the characters. Join us next week ah when we talk about the plot and how well the Muppets Christmas Carol follows the plot of Charles Dickens' classic story. See you next week.
00:26:31
Speaker
Bye. That's a wrap for this week's episode of book watch. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of page to screen adaptations with us. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a rating and review wherever you listen and share it with a fellow book and movie lover.
00:26:47
Speaker
If you prefer to watch along, you can check out the show on YouTube, youtube.com slash at book, watch podcast. You can follow the show on Instagram at bookwatchpodcast. And you can follow me, Sarah Day, on Instagram at captain.mcd. That's M-C-D-E-E.
00:27:07
Speaker
And you can follow me, Jordan, on Instagram at jjcorrito. That's C-A-R-R-I-D-O. And you can follow me, Chris, at cyborgnight404. That's night with a K.
00:27:19
Speaker
You can also join the conversation in the Book Watch Lounge on Facebook at facebook.com slash groups slash bookwatch lounge. If you'd like to support the podcast, you can join the Patreon at patreon.com slash bookwatch podcast. Tears start at only $4 a month and we would love to have you over there. Have a favorite adaptation you'd like us to cover or a book you think deserves a screen adaptation or just want to let us know of any feedback. Send us an email at bookwatchpodcast at gmail.com.
00:27:48
Speaker
Until next time, keep reading, keep watching, and we will see you next week.