Un villancico

This short, which won an Academy Award, is the best animated adaptation that I've yet seen and is better than a couple of the live-action versions. Everything is top-notch-animation, voice-casting (particularly Sim reprising his performance as Scrooge), production values. The adaptation is quite true to the tone and spirit of the original work, even with the necessary truncation imposed by the brief length. Good to have it in print. Most recommended.

This is the best animated version of the hoary old Dickens tale ever brought to the screen. This is no assembly-line cartoon; this is a Victorian lithograph brought to life. Splendid artwork, dizzying camera angles, magnificent and painstaking animation at its best. There are master craftsmen at work here; no shortcuts or sloppy work. The only criticism I could make of it is that it's too short. I sure wish that Santa had given them an unlimited budget to work with. Probably not suitable for younger children, as some of the images are a little terrifying (the children under the robe of the second spirit send chills up my spine every time I see it). I first saw it on PBS back in 1972, I think, and it has haunted me ever since. I was fortunate enough to find a copy on eBay, and it was as good as I had remembered from 30 years back. It's a rotten shame that it's been neglected by the networks ("A Christmas Story" and "Miracle on 34th Street" are great films, but they flog them to death every Christmas). If you want to get in the Christmas spirit, do yourself a favor and beg, borrow or steal a copy of this film.

This "movie" WAS Christmas at our house when I was a child! I would love to see it again. My children have never seen this version which is the greatest ever! I have watched every version of A Christmas Carol I have ever come across and have always been disappointed. We even went to see it performed live in the theater and, although it was good, it lacked the emotional qualities of this version. I realize that by it being animated, the producers were able to add special effects and stick closer to the dreamlike quality of the original Dickens tale. This movie has been one of my favorites all my life and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Dickens or just a lover of Christmas.

I wish someone would release this lost gem on DVD or even video. So much garbage is shown at Christmas I just don't know what goes on in the minds of television programming staff that they won't show this masterpiece. It looks beautiful and the writing, directing and acting are superb. I last remember seeing it on regular old commercial television when I was a child back in 1977. I also remember that during a commercial break they showed a 7-UP commercial starring Jeffrey Holder. I have never forgotten it. Truthfully, this version is better than any of the live action versions that I have seen except perhaps the 1951 production entitled "Scrooge" starring Alastair Simm who reprises the role of Scrooge in this version. Simm is the best Scrooge ever. If you like "A Christmas Carol" email the programming people at Turner Classic Movies, American Movie Classics and Cartoon Network and beg them and harass them to show this wonderful film.

This is by far the best animated version of the Dickens classic. The renderings and animation are dark and mysteriously sketch-like, with none of the shiny flatness that mars most commercial animation. And the script is amazingly faithful in tone to the original.

It's sometimes difficult to find on videotape, but it is well worth the effort.