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A musical setting for Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a natural, and this holiday TV-movie (based on the Broadway version) generously crams music into its quick spin through the venerable story. Kelsey Grammer uses his musical pipes (and some of his "master thespian" style of acting) as Ebenezer Scrooge, the man whose miserliness needs no introduction here. There's some experienced musical-comedy talent in the cast, from small roles to large, with expert stuff from Jesse L. Martin (who was in Rent, the Broadway musical, before he joined the Law & Order team) as the ghost of Christmas Present and Jane Krakowski as the ghost of Christmas Past. Jason Alexander, another TV person with a background in stage musicals, does deftly as the chain-rattling Jacob Marley's ghost (and his number is one of the most tuneful of the mixed bag of songs). Alan Menken, the veteran tunesmith of Beauty and the Beast fame, contributes the music, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime); the bigger numbers are spirited but a little rote. (The Styne-Merrill songs from a wackier version of the story, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, are a more memorable bunch.) This version moves so quickly across the main points of the story that Scrooge's redemption feels a tad rushed, but maybe the songs are supposed to be the point. Still, the razzle-berry dressing is missed. --Robert Horton
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun version ......,
By JT (RIchmond, BC) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) (DVD)
This is a fun and different version of the Christmas Carol. I really like Kelsey Grammar as scrooge. I think that this movie works because it is lighthearted and perfectly fits in with the Christmas season.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews) 13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
It was better live...,
By Broadway Guy "broadwaybaby101" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) (DVD)
If you were ever in New York around Christmas time from 1994 to it's tenth and final year in 2003 the number one show to see would have been Madison Square Garden's A CHRISTMAS CAROL presented first in 1994 with Walter Charles as Scrooge and in later years F. Murray Abraham and even Tim Curry! The stage adaptation was the most elaborate spectacle you could ever wish to see on-stage with magical sets, fantastic costumes and even an indoor snowfall! Realistically, there was no way to transfer this magic to the screen, but it was attempted anyway, and what we are left with is the charm of the material. Any musical based on a Charles Dickens novel is heading in the right direction from the start. Add to the equation the beautiful music of Alan Menken (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas and even Little Shop of Horrors!) and the perfectly poignant lyrics by Lyn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical, Once on this Island and A Man of No Importance) and the material is sure to stand up... and it does. However, that was in 1995.In later years the authors continued to make rather bizarre changes to the score that, essentially were exceedingly inferior to their counterpart songs. The best example would be replacing the beautifully dark opening song "The Years are Passing By" from the original stage version with the totally lame "Jolly Good Time". This was apparently done in an effort to make the show less daunting for kids, but this is Charles Dickens and therefor in doing so you are destroying the very foundation of your source material. Some of the revisions, however, are very nice indeed like the inclusion of the new song "You Mean More to Me" which is just pure heaven. Unfortunately the script presented for this television version was the revised script from the later versions of the show and not the one from 1995. So the material does not hold up quite as strong. Thankfully, we have an all-star cast to pull the focus away from that and they succeed. Kelsey Grammer is a serviceable Scrooge and the ensemble of Broadway veterans lead us through a nightmare tale that will ultimately put you in the Christmas spirit, and that, if anything, could have been Dicken's intentions all along. If you can find it, definitely pick up the 1995 original cast recording of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, but for the visuals, this DVD will do just fine. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good... But has flaws,
A Kid's Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) (DVD)
I saw this on TV when it first aired, even then I was already in a show of A Christmas Carol as Young Man Scrooge, read the book, saw many movie verisions, and loved it. When I saw this I loved it, not for Kelsey Grammar, no not for Jason Alexander, I loved it for Ruthie Henshall, Jane Krakowski, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jesse L. Martin. Their acting and singing shine in this production. With great choreography, music, acting, pretty good directing, what got me down on this dvd was the sloppy editing. The editing is terrible! Usually it dosen't bother me all that much, but on this it is so bad, I couldn't stand it. But with great music with a cd available of it, I still love this story and this movie, but it does have flaws as all movies do, but still a good product. I like that it has commentary and just a little benhind the scenes look. I give this a tree for the editing and Kelsey's performance, but great music, choreography, singing, and acting.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a Christmas Carol purist, you may not like this. BUT,
By T Stokes - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) (DVD)
I really did. Although the story did not follow the Dickens version to the letter, the story was told in enough similarity that you picked it up. Jason Alexander as Marley was great, and Jane Krakowski was as beautiful as ever. This was well done, and if you are looking for a lighter version of A Christmas Carol, get this. My favorite serious version is still George C. Scott.
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