The Badly Animated Marvel Christmas Carol

The concept of J Jonah Jameson as Dicken's Scrooge is so fitting and perfect, it's surprising it hasn't been done before..or maybe it has, but definitely not as funny, irreverent and off-the-wall in this expertly voice-acted Christmas special.

Loosely based on the Dicken's classic but set in the Badly Animated Marvel Universe (BAMU), this holiday special weaves an entertaining and hilarious tale of redemption. While the plot seemingly takes a random turn in the third act, astute viewers who utilize the pause button will understand that what seemed like throw-away bits of dialog or a side article that only appears for a moment, actually tells the entire story of the events that take place.

While you wouldn't expect a 60 minute cartoon that placed the spotlight on the Daily Bugle's irascible publisher's shoulders to be interesting throughout, Derek "Hendercrazy" Henderson's performance as JJJ captures the essence of the character beautifully. Much like the Badly Animated universe the show is based on,this JJJ is slightly off-kilter, askew if you will (if you've seen the regular Badly Animated Spider-Man and Avengers cartoons), but the Marvel Christmas Carol takes the oddball up a notch and sometimes is so out there, you'll be laughing at how bizarre it is. Like all good satire, the characters play it straight, and aren't afraid to call out strange behavior even in the midst of their own strange behavior.

With JJJ in the drivers seat as Scrooge, that leaves Peter Parker (Michael Potok) and Betty Brant (Holly Lindin) in the Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit roles respectively. Much like in the Dicken's novel, it will be Betty Brant going head to head with JJJ as she tries desperately to deal with her bosses' miserly and sexist behavior. Lindin's powerhouse performance as Betty Brant is worth the price of admission alone. This Ms. Brant is no shrinking violet as portrayed in the 60's Spider-Man cartoon; she's a 21st century woman who is "take charge" and essentially knows she's running the empire while JJJ's day-to-day behavior grows more erratic. Potok's Peter Parker spends more time defending his sexual orientation from sly remarks made by his Aunt May (also voiced by Lindin) which is a running gag in Smith's Badly Animated Spider-Man series. Potok has an impressive resume of voice acting, but his run as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Badly Animated series is fantastic. He captures the frustrated underdog quality of Parker, while channeling the smart ass Spider-Man we know and love from the comic books. I would easily watch Marvel made cartoons with these fine voice actors at the helm.

Filled with homages galore, and with more than a gentle nod to some other holiday classics (Cole Smith's pseudo Burl Ives Snowman steals the show in every scene he's in) The Badly Animated Marvel Christmas Carol won't disappoint Marvel geeks when it comes to its plethora of fan service.

B-List Marvel characters like Dr. Strange, The Vulture, Deadpool and even Stan Lee himself (but not really) round out the Unholy Trinity + 1 of ghosts whom appear to hapless JJJ and you'll find yourself hard pressed to pick a favorite. While all of the actors do an excellent job portraying these heroes and villains, it's Andrew Akin's prissy anal-retentive, hyper-opinionated portrayal of Dr. Strange (The Ghost of Christmas Past) that stands out, simply because his is such a different take on Marvel's Master of the Arcane Arts. Since there are far too many characters and voice actors to mention, I defy anyone not to enjoy the performances on hand by everyone involved as it's extremely high-quality. I've watched professional cartoons that don't have the acting chops most of these budding pros have – and I'm sure some of them ARE pros or soon will be.

Once the plot gets up and running, you'll encounter everyone from The Avengers to the X-Men, Daredevil, Punisher and even Moon Knight, who is called out for his cloyingly uncool "old man trying to be hip" behavior by a teenage Spider-Man. It's wonderfully funny stuff. If superheroes were real, you can imagine them having these types of conversations.

Animation fanatics aren't going to be knocked out over the style, but I implore you to look beyond the animation. This is, at its heart, a dialog driven story although there are too many site gags to mention. Think of TBAMCC as the Tarantino-movie of cartoons. Writer/creator Vaughn Smith whose only credits include the Badly Animated series (ie: I couldn't find out anything else that he's done) might not be the best animator or assembler (I'm unsure what this refers to technically) but his writing is top-notch.

The 60 minute run time is long especially for today's 3 minute attention spans and could have been edited down some certainly, but there aren't too many scenes I would have wanted removed. In fact, the length of the cartoon and the fact that it's available on video sites such as Youtube appears to be an in-joke in and of itself. I won't spoil anything, but Santa wants you to watch it to the end...or you'll be punished.

The Badly Animated Marvel Christmas Carol is, from what I can gather, fan made, but it's been crafted with care and respect to these legendary characters. This is the second time this year I've watched this and I can tell you it will become annual holiday viewing. Don't miss it and as Stan would say "Nuff said."