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First of all, don't let the title fool you. " A Sesame Street Christmas Carol " really doesn't have a whole lot to do with Charles Dickens. Copyright 2006 Sony Wonder Oh, sure. This 2006 Sony Wonder release does borrow a few key concepts from that classic holiday tale. In that -- on...

Over the past 37 installments of JHM's " Scrooge U " series, we've shown that "A Christmas Carol" is a surprisingly flexible property. That even when you change Ebenezer Scrooge's race , sex & nationality or shift this holiday tale's setting from 1840s London to...

"Tell the truth. You're getting kind of tired of writing about ' A Christmas Carol ,' aren't you?" No, this wasn't an e-mail that some disgruntled JHM reader sent me. But -- rather -- the ever-wise & patient Nancy (Who -- FYI -- has been formatting each & every one...

Does the name " GoodTimes Home Video " sound familiar to you? If you're an animation fan, it probably should. Given that this is the infamous production company that churned out all of those cheap Disney knock-offs. With the hope that consumers might then get confused and accidentally buy...

Are you a fan of William Shatner 's Emmy Award-winning work on ABC 's " Boston Legal "? If so, then you should be aware that one of the main reasons that William was cast as daffy Denny Crane was because " The Practice " creator David E. Kelley supposedly caught Shatner's...

You know, if things had just gone a little bit differently, all us Disney dweebs would have had something truly spectacular to celebrate this holiday season. You see, 2006 was supposed to be the year that Walt Disney Home Entertainment finally released " Song of the South " on DVD. This limited...

Belle has always been one of the more intriguing characters in Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale. The woman who gave Ebenezer Scrooge back his engagement ring because she was the first to see how hard his heart was becoming. Whatever became of Belle after she walked out of Ebenezer's life...

Some adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" are like a huge holiday meal. Rich, meaty, memorable. Really stick-to-your-ribs kind of shows. And then there are those holiday specials like " A Diva's Christmas Caro l." Which are the television equivalent of Chinese food. Don't get...

There seems to be a wide variety of opinion when it comes to the Patrick Stewart version of " A Christmas Carol ." Some Dickens fans find this 1999 TV movie to be rather cold and joyless, while still others admire this adaptation for the extremely naturalistic approach that Stewart takes toward...

As I mentioned in this past Sunday's review of " Ebbie ," " A Christmas Carol " is a surprisingly resilient story. It can survive a change of location or time period. Even giving Ebenezer Scrooge a sex change operation doesn't necessarily undercut the emotional effectiveness...

To be honest, I don't know quite how to feel yet about this particular animated version of " A Christmas Carol ." By that I mean: I've watched this DIC Entertainment production back-to-front twice now. And there are aspects of this 1997 holiday special that I have to admit I find incredibly...

On paper, this sounds like such a clever idea. Shifting the location of "A Christmas Carol" out to the Old West. I mean, what better place is there to tell a ghost story than around a campfire? And then the truly genius notion of hiring Academy Award-winner Jack Palance to play a westernized...

There's nothing wrong with " A Flintstones Christmas Carol " that a sharp pair of scissors couldn't take care of. Copyright 1999 Turner Home Entertainment To explain: In its heart of hearts, this William Hanna, Joseph Barbera & Buzz Potamkin production really wants to be a faithful...

Over the past few days, we've talked about some of the different forms that "A Christmas Carol" can take. There's the fairly faithful adaptation (I.E. " The Muppet Christmas Carol "), the out-right parody (" Blackadder's Christmas Carol ") as well as that truly...

Just how good is The Muppet Christmas Carol "? Well, to be honest, that depends on whether or not you saw the version that ran in theaters back in 1992 OR the version of this Brian Henson film that now runs on television and/or is currently available for sale on DVD. "What's the difference...

You know, when you think about it, "A Christmas Carol" has contributed many memorable phrases to our holiday vernacular. These include: "Bah, Humbug!" "God bless us, every one! " And, of course, my personal favorite: "The b*tch hit me with a toaster." Wait a minute...

For "A Christmas Carol" fans, it's one of the guilty pleasures of watching " Scrooged ." Those brief glimpses you get of that totally ridiculous version of "Scrooge" that Bill Murray & Co. were struggling to get on the air. Copyright 1999 Paramount Home Entertainment...

I don't really need to explain who Basil Rathbone was, right? I mean, we're talking about the acclaimed actor who crossed swords with Errol Flynn in " The Adventures of Robin Hood ," traded quips with Danny Kaye in " The Court Jester " and even served as the narrator of the...

It is one of my favorite Hollywood "What If" stories. And -- appropriately enough -- you can read a full-blown account of this tale over on one of my favorite blogs, Mark Evanier's great " newsfromme.com ." Here's the Reader's Digest version: W.C. Fields (Who was a Dickens...

Okay. I know. We all love those moments in "A Christmas Carol" after Scrooge has been redeemed. When the old skinflint tries to make amends to all those he's wronged over the years. That's when Dickens' classic holiday tale becomes truly heart-warming. But -- prior to this point...