A Christmas Carol (1982) - full transcript
On Christmas Eve, an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley. The deceased partner was in his lifetime as mean and miserly as Scrooge is now and he warns him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife. Scrooge dismisses the apparition but the first of the three ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, visits as promised. Scrooge sees those events in his past life, both happy and sad, that forged his character. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows him how many currently celebrate Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him how he will be remembered once he is gone. To his delight, the spirits complete their visits in one night giving him the opportunity to mend his ways.
♪
♪
♪ Peace on Earth and mercy mild ♪
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
♪
Thank you, sir, and a Merry Christmas to you.
Thank you, sir.
♪ With angelic host proclaim
♪
(dog barking)
Merry Christmas!
♪
♪
♪
♪
Bah!
♪
Good morning, Mr. Scrooge.
♪
♪
A Merry Christmas, uncle, God Bless you.
Bah humbug!
Christmas, a humbug?
Uncle, you don't mean that.
Yes, I do.
Merry Christmas indeed.
Why should a poor man like you be merry?
It's my nature.
Why should a rich man like you be so grumpy?
Bah humbug.
Don't be cross on Christmas Eve, uncle.
What better time to be cross?
All you fools going about saying "Merry Christmas"
when all you are is a year older yet not an hour richer.
But uncle...
You keep Christmas in your way,
and I'll keep it in mine.
I'm sorry to hear you speak like this, uncle.
I think of Christmas as a time of forgiveness
and joy.
(clapping)
♪
One more sound out of you, Bob Cratchit,
and you celebrate Christmas by losing your job.
♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪
(gasps)
What's this wreath for?
I'm not dead.
It's a Christmas decoration, uncle.
We have plenty at our house, where I hope you'll join us
for dinner.
Have I ever come to your house for dinner?
No, uncle, you've refused
every invitation.
Then why should I come now?
Because it's Christmas!
Bah humbug!
But uncle!
Good afternoon.
(knocking)
Merry Christmas, uncle.
♪
That's what I think of your Christmas.
And a Happy New Year, uncle.
You, get on with your work.
♪
Here you are, Merry Christmas.
Thank you, sir.
(knocking)
Yes?
Scrooge and Marley's, I believe?
It's not the Bank of England.
Indeed not.
Do I have the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge
or Mr. Marley?
Mr. Marley died seven years ago this very night.
Oh, then this is a somber anniversary.
But we have no doubt his generosity lives on
in his surviving partner.
(coughing)
At this festive time of the year, sir,
I urge you to consider the plight of the poor.
Many thousands are in need of comforts
that we have grown used to.
There are many who suffer greatly,
Mr. Scrooge.
Are there no prisons?
Yes, but...
And the workhouses, where the simplest
population gathers?
Are they not still in operation?
They are indeed.
I wish I could say they were not.
They're hardly the sort of place
that brings Christmas cheer
to the mind or the body.
With this in mind, a few of us
are trying to raise a fund to buy the poor
some food and drink and means of warmth.
We choose this time because it is now
that want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices.
What shall I put you down for?
Nothing.
Oh, you wish to be anonymous.
I wish to be left alone.
I don't make merry at Christmas,
and I can't afford to make idle people merry.
Oh, but these people aren't idle, Mr. Scrooge.
Many of them work very hard.
Then be good enough to let me
do the same.
Good day, gentlemen.
Good day to you, sir.
♪
♪
♪
You'll be wanting tomorrow off, I suppose.
If that's convenient, sir.
It's not convenient to pay a day's wages
for no work.
Oh, it's only once a year, sir.
That's a poor excuse.
Go ahead, then, have your blasted
Christmas for all the good it'll do you.
Yes, Mr. Scrooge.
And a Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Make sure you're early the next day.
♪
(children cheering)
♪
It's daddy.
Now, you all know how to play
Blind Man's Bluff?
Yes!
All right, here I come.
Who's here?
Martha.
Belinda.
Peter.
(laughing)
Ray.
That was Tiny Tim.
Hurry, Tiny Tim, don't let daddy catch you.
♪
I caught you.
You've got it all wrong, Tiny Tim.
(laughing)
(loud chattering)
♪
Bah!
(laughing)
Humbug.
♪
♪
It's humbug still.
♪
(crashing)
Ah!
♪
Humbug.
♪
(bell ringing)
Humbug still.
I won't believe it.
(loud, discordant sounds)
(clock striking)
♪
What do you want with me?
A great deal.
Yes?
Who are you?
Ask me who I was.
Who were you, then?
In life, I was your partner...
Jacob Marley.
What do you want of me?
Can you--can you sit down?
I can.
Do it then.
You don't believe in me.
No, I don't.
Can you see me?
Yes.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Then why do you doubt your senses?
They can be affected by what I've eaten.
You may have been caused by a big blob of mustard.
There's more of gravy, than of grave about you.
[laughing]
♪
Mercy, mercy!
How does your stomach feel now?
Please tell me why you've come
to trouble me?
You're a level-headed man--
some would say too level-headed.
Do you believe in me?
I believe in you.
But I don't understand all...
this.
My chains.
I wear the chains I forged in life.
My spirit never went beyond our office.
I spared no dime for charity
or my fellow man.
Hello, Mr. Marley.
I had no wife, no children.
All I did was count money.
♪
Everyone has a spirit
and if that spirit does not go forth in life,
it is condemned to do so after death.
♪
It is doomed to wander through the world
and see what it might have shared in life.
For seven years, I have traveled
with no rest, no peace.
My only companion has been remorse,
remorse for the lost opportunity.
Why did I walk through life
with my eyes cast down?
Does this pattern seem familiar to you,
Ebenezer Scrooge?
Have you forged a chain for yourself
as long and heavy as mine?
Look at this banker's book, Ebenezer.
Does it seem familiar to you?
You were always a good man of business, Jacob.
Have you learned nothing?
I am here tonight to warn you,
so you can have a chance of escaping my fate.
You were always a good friend to me.
You will be haunted...
by three spirits.
You said I had a chance to escape your fate.
That's it.
Are you cold?
I'm frozen.
Then put some coal on the fire.
Coal's too expensive.
♪
I hope you will learn from these
three spirits, Ebenezer.
Expect the first tomorrow
when the bell tolls one.
Couldn't I take them all at once
and have it over, Jacob?
The spirits are your hope, Ebenezer.
You will see me no more,
but you will remember what I said.
♪
Help me, help me.
Please help me,
I'm sorry.
Help me, help me, help.
♪
♪
(clock striking)
♪
♪
(clock striking)
♪
Are you the spirit, sir, who's coming
was foretold to me?
I am.
Who and what are you?
I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Long past?
No, your past.
What has brought you here?
Your welfare.
Oh, much obliged.
Your reclamation then.
Rise, and walk with me.
But, it's a cold night, and I'm in need of rest.
Besides, I don't know if I trust you.
Humbug.
But I have a cold.
You will warm enough after the life you've led.
You mean, there is such a place as hell?
Your past is hell enough.
Take hold of my arm.
But I am a mortal.
I might fall and hurt myself
if we go out the window.
We're not going out the window.
♪
Good heavens,
I was bred in this place.
I was a boy here.
What's that on your cheek?
A pimple.
Now come on, come on.
Take me where you must.
(birds chirping)
♪
You remember the way?
I could walk it blindfold.
♪
♪
I knew this man.
Merry Christmas.
These are but shadows of the things that have been.
They cannot see us.
♪
The school is not quite deserted.
But it's Christmas Eve.
A solitary child, neglected by his friends,
waits there in the school.
♪
Who is this child?
♪
♪
Look, it's Ali Baba.
One Christmas he came to visit when this boy
was left all alone.
The boy saw him in the window
just like that.
The boy must have been dreaming.
♪
Yes, yes, it must have been a dream.
The boy was probably lonely.
Yes, yes.
♪
Do you know him?
Yes.
Tell me who it is.
It...
it's me.
♪
What's the matter?
There was a boy just like that
singing a Christmas carol at my door yesterday.
And you gave him some money?
♪
Let's see another Christmas.
♪
(carriage approaching)
I've come to bring you home, dear brother.
Home?
Are you sure, little Fan?
Yes, yes, home for good.
Home forever.
Who sent you?
Father did.
He sent me in a coach to get you.
Oh, father's so much kinder now
than he used to be, and home is like heaven.
Oh, come on, we're going
to have the merriest Christmas
of all time.
You're quite a woman, little Fan.
(laughing)
♪
Farewell, Master Scrooge.
Goodbye, sir.
♪
She was always a delicate girl,
your sister, but she had a big heart.
The biggest heart.
She died a woman and had, if I'm right,
some children.
One child.
Ah, yes.
Your nephew, Fred.
You didn't enjoy your school days?
I wanted to go home.
I wanted to grow up.
But tell me, where are you taking me?
♪
♪
Do you know this place?
Know it?
I was apprenticed here.
Why, it's old Fezziwig.
Bless his heart.
Fezziwig's alive again.
♪
Hey there, Ebenezer, Dick!
It's me, and there's Dick, too.
Well, boys, no more work today,
it's Christmas Eve-- but first, it's time
to put the shutters up.
♪
Now, let's have some space here.
Dick, you move the desks,
Ebenezer, you get the broom.
♪
That's the way, boys.
My daughters should be here any minute.
♪
♪
It looks like a party.
It was.
Dear old Fezziwig.
He knew how to give a party.
What's the matter with you?
Got a beetle in your pants?
Your trouble is you've got no sense of fun.
Some people have said that
of one Ebenezer Scrooge.
Bah humbug.
Come in, my dears and my dearest, too.
♪
Come on, boys.
Don't be backward in coming forward.
It's not ladies' choice tonight.
(laughing)
Strike up, fiddler!
Let's have a tune we can dance to!
♪
(clapping)
♪
You dance very well.
That's the spirit, you don't have
to sing for your supper here,
but you must surely dance for your appetite.
♪
I was a dancer and a half.
♪
I don't want to miss any of this.
♪
(clapping)
♪
Let's have some food, everyone.
Mrs. Fezziwig has laid on a spread.
♪
I hope you'll force a bit down.
♪
♪
♪
(clapping)
♪
Merry Christmas, Dick.
It's a small thing to make these silly people
full of gratitude.
Small?
He spent three, perhaps four pounds
on this little party,
yet, look how warmly they thank him.
♪
Merry Christmas to you.
What has old Fezziwig done to deserve all this thanks?
Now, look here.
Yes?
It isn't the money he spent on the party
that counts.
Then what is it?
He has the power to make these people
happy or unhappy.
He's chosen to make them happy.
Who cares what it cost?
Huh?
What's the matter?
Good morning, Mr. Scrooge.
You'll be wanting tomorrow off.
♪
And a Merry Christmas to you, sir.
♪
Make sure you're early the next day.
♪
Those are strange thoughts to come
from Ebenezer Scrooge.
My time grows short.
Come quickly.
Haven't you finished with me yet?
Can't I go back to my bed?
No, Ebenezer.
I have not finished with you yet.
♪
You were a bit older here, were you 35?
Twenty-five.
The face is that of a 35-year-old.
I was 25.
She's a pretty girl.
Her name was Adela, was it not?
Belle, Belle for beautiful.
Why do you look older?
What were you doing?
I was making my way in the world.
You were making money.
Yes.
Do we have to see this?
She is about to speak to you.
Don't you want to hear it?
No.
You said once you worshipped me.
Dear Belle, I still do.
No, another idol has displaced me.
What idol?
The golden one.
You think I worship money?
Not money, gain.
Your one passion has become to gain more.
All your other passions have fallen away.
There is nothing the world is harder on than poverty.
You fear the world too much.
There's no place in your life for me.
Our love was born when we were
young and poor and happy to be so.
We felt that we would improve our fortune,
and then in good season we would marry.
Along the way, that love has died.
The man I knew has vanished.
My feelings for you are the same
they always were.
When you first said you loved me,
you were another man.
I find it hard to recognize you now.
You must watch this.
I loved her.
If you met me now, would you seek me out
and try to win me?
You seem to think not.
I know you, Ebenezer.
If you were free now, you would only
have a place in your heart for a rich girl.
Then you would think you were gaining something.
You seem very sure of this.
It's what I fear.
♪
What you say is humbug.
That may well be, but I'm sure you will
think of me when I am gone as just an unprofitable dream.
You're not going?
I am, and may you be happy in the life you've chosen.
♪
You're torturing me.
Where are my chains?
I may as well be like Marley's ghost
and die a thousand deaths.
There is more to this particular story.
No, please.
Let me go home.
I'll be a different man, just let me live again.
There is one shadow more.
No!
♪
♪
Let me go!
Help!
♪
Ah!
♪
Where are we?
I don't remember this.
♪
You've never been here.
Go and look through that window.
♪
It's just three brats making a mess.
I mean, it's three delightful children
playing happy games.
Look further.
♪
It's Belle.
Not Belle, her daughter.
Then where is Belle?
Here she comes.
♪
I suppose that's her husband.
Yes, fine-looking fellow, isn't he?
♪
Belle, I saw an old friend of yours
this afternoon.
Who was it?
Come on, guess.
How can I? Oh, wait a minute.
(laughing)
Well, who was it?
Ebenezer Scrooge?
Mr. Scrooge it was.
I passed his office window,
and there he was all alone.
His partner is dying, I hear.
Poor old Scrooge.
He was working away, all alone in the world.
Spirit, remove me from this place.
These are shadows of things that have been.
They are not of my making.
Take me away.
Take me away from here, I can't stand anymore.
♪
♪
Ah!
♪
(clock striking)
♪
♪
Come in, Mr. Scrooge.
Come in, I say.
I am the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Look at me.
You've never seen the like of me before?
Never.
Have you met any of my older brothers?
I don't think I have.
Not one of them?
How many brothers do you have?
More than 1800.
Imagine providing for a family that size.
By the year 2000, there will be 2000 of us.
Oh, I see.
Spirit, take me where you wish.
I shall.
I learned a lesson last night.
If you have anything to teach me,
let me profit by it.
Touch my robe.
♪
What are we doing here?
I've got some work to do.
♪
♪
Why did you do that?
To make that poor man's turkey
taste like a rich man's pheasant.
I don't like turkey or pheasant.
What do you like?
Cold toast and a cup of tea.
You know how to enjoy yourself,
don't you?
Why do you have to help these people, anyway?
They're poor, they have no stove of their own.
They have to queue here on a winter's day
to use the baker's oven.
♪
They'd be better off with cold toast
and a cup of tea.
You can't share that with a family.
♪
Hey, who do you think you're pushing?
You.
(grunting)
♪
Would you like to take my place?
No, no, you go ahead.
You've gone a bit far, haven't you?
Perhaps you're right.
♪
It was an act of God.
Oh, yeah-- what, on Christmas Day?
You keep your place and I'll keep mine.
Right.
Happy now?
No.
Why not?
Because I haven't got a Christmas dinner.
I thought you didn't like turkey.
♪
It's not the turkey, it's the--
Company?
Bah humbug!
[laughing]
I'll take you to a Christmas dinner.
♪
Ah!
♪
♪
Bah humbug!
♪
♪
What time's dinner, Mother?
Soon.
♪
Martha, you're late.
I'm sorry, Mother, but we had to work
late last night and clear up this morning.
Working on Christmas Day, what is the world coming to?
Come and warm yourself by the fire, Martha.
Wait-- Father's on his way home now,
why don't you hide yourself from him?
Yes, Martha, yes.
All right, but where shall I hide?
Here, quickly.
♪
What time's dinner, Mother?
Soon.
♪
Here's Father.
♪
Here he is.
And what a good boy he's been.
Mother, I'm hungry.
Yes, dear, we'll be eating soon.
Where's Martha?
She's not coming.
Not coming?
Why, it's Christmas Day.
She's hiding behind the sofa, ya fool!
♪
Here I am, Father!
Now we're all together.
Tell me, how did Tiny Tim behave in church?
Much better than most.
He's good as gold and even better.
He gets thoughtful sitting by himself.
He's a very thoughtful boy.
Not a dreamer but more of a thinker,
and what he thinks for one so young.
♪
He said he hoped people would see him in church,
and see that he was a cripple...
...and then they could remember on Christmas Day
who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.
♪
Mother, what time's dinner?
Oh, he's a thoughtful boy, all right.
♪
What's the matter with you?
Nothing.
♪
Spirit...
...tell me if Tiny Tim will live.
♪
I see a vacant seat
and a wooden crutch without an owner,
carefully preserved.
If these shadows remain unaltered by the future,
the child will die.
No, no!
Oh, no, kind spirit,
say he will be spared.
♪
Hooray!
♪
Why are you so upset?
Didn't you say there was a surplus
in the population?
♪
Oh, Peter, you've dirtied Father's shirt!
Never mind.
A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears.
God bless us.
God bless us everyone.
Yes, indeed Tiny Tim.
♪
Feeling hungry, are you?
♪
♪
I give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast.
Wish I had him here.
I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast on.
Come on, dear.
It's Christmas Day.
Even on Christmas Day, I'm sure he's the same odious,
stingy, hard, unfeeling man he is
all the year round.
Now, my dear.
You know he is, Robert.
No one knows it better than you do.
Poor fellow.
My dear, Christmas Day.
I'll drink his health for your sake and the day's,
but not for his.
Long life to him.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
He'll be very merry and very happy,
I have no doubt.
♪
Now let's drink a toast to Peter,
who'll soon be a man of business,
and bringing home five and six pence a week.
To Peter.
How much do you pay that clerk of yours?
Um, fift--
shillings, um...
Speak up!
Fifteen shillings a week.
Bob!
Bob Cratchit, I'm sorry!
I'm sorry!
They can't hear you.
♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
♪ Peace on Earth and mercy mild ♪
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
♪
♪
Where are we going?
You'll see.
♪
Everyone seems to be having Christmas dinner.
Everyone except Ebenezer Scrooge.
But I haven't got a family.
What good is Christmas dinner for one?
You had a sister.
Yes, little Fan.
And she had a son.
Yes.
And the son invited you to Christmas dinner.
♪
♪
Come on Topper, you tell us what we should play.
I couldn't, I'm no good at games.
Well then, he's come to the wrong place,
hasn't he, May?
Yes, he has.
We play so many games on Christmas Day.
Blind Man's Bluff, Forfeit--
-All sorts of card games. -Yes and no.
Make up your mind.
Fred!
That's the name of the game.
I don't know how to play it.
I'll teach you.
I'd be most grateful.
I think he's interested in the teacher,
not the lesson.
This family just keeps getting bigger.
Still, the more the merrier,
don't you agree?
Yes and no.
(laughing)
Come on, let's play the game.
Wait a minute, I don't know how to play.
You'll pick it up, Topper.
Now, what am I thinking of?
Is it an animal?
Yes.
Is it alive?
Yes.
-Does it live in London? -Oh, yes.
Oh, come on, Topper, you haven't asked a question.
Is there any more turkey?
(laughing)
♪
Is it a disagreeable animal?
Yes.
Does it enjoy Christmas?
No.
Oh, does it growl a lot?
Yes.
I know, I know.
It's your Uncle Scrooge.
That's right.
Is he an animal?
(laughing)
Yes and no.
He's the most disagreeable animal on earth.
I have no patience with him.
He said Christmas was humbug.
God bless him.
Oh, I feel sorry for him.
So do I.
Who suffers from his bad temper?
Only himself.
Here's to Uncle Scrooge
and the Merry Christmas he wouldn't wish to us all.
I've seen enough.
Have you seen what you've missed?
Yes, now take me away.
What's the matter?
My life upon this globe is very brief.
It ends tonight.
Come on, Topper.
You tell us what we should play.
I couldn't.
♪
♪
What is that?
Spirit, are they yours?
They are Man's.
The boy is Ignorance.
The girl is Want.
Have they no refuge?
Are there no prisons?
Are there no workhouses?
Stop, stop!
You use my words against me.
♪
Are you the third spirit?
Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?
Speak to me!
You were about to show me shadows of the things
that have not happened, but will happen.
Is that so, spirit?
Does that mean yes?
♪
The other spirits talked to me.
Their purpose was to do me good.
But you say nothing.
I can't even see your eyes.
♪
Lead on, I will follow you.
♪
♪
What about him?
I'd advise against it on two counts.
Oh, yes?
First, he's chopped off his perch,
and second, he never gave a penny
to any charity as long as he lived.
When did he die?
Last night.
What about his clerk?
That poor chap, he gets fifteen shilling a week.
♪
Who were they talking about?
Who's dead?
♪
I don't want any lunch, I'm not hungry.
♪
All right, I'm coming.
♪
That's my place.
I'm here every day at one o'clock.
I understand.
This is the future, isn't it?
I see I've carried out my resolution
to work through the lunch hour.
They've put their prices up?
♪
♪
Where are we?
♪
(laughing)
Oh, good day to you, Joe.
♪
(laughing)
♪
Let the charwoman be first, then the laundress,
and the undertaker's man can be third.
That's my charwoman.
You couldn't have met in a better place.
Come into the parlor.
♪
You're not strangers to me.
♪
We're well matched, huh?
(laughing)
♪
Well matched, we are.
Every person has a right to take care of themselves.
He always did.
That's true.
No man more so.
Who's the worse for a loss of a few things like these?
Not a dead man.
No, indeed.
Then come on, don't be shy.
we're all in the same boat.
If he wanted to keep these things after he died,
he should have been more...
...human?
If he had, he would've had someone
to look after him when he was struck with death.
Well, too late now.
Come on then, who's first?
Huh, I'm not afraid to be first.
There's no shame in it for me.
♪
That's your account,
and I wouldn't give another six pence
if I was to be boiled for not doing it.
Who's next?
♪
That man knows how to drive a bargain.
I always give too much to the ladies.
Huh, good.
Now you can undo my bundle.
♪
Bed curtains?
That's what they are.
You don't mean to say you took 'em down,
rings and all, with him lying there?
What of it?
You were born to make your fortune,
you'll certainly do it.
(laughing)
Well, this is the end of it.
He frightened everyone away from him when he was alive,
to profit us when he was dead.
Spirit, I understand.
The case of this unhappy man might be my own.
My life tends that way now.
But-- good heavens.
What is this?
♪
♪
Spirit, this is a fearful place.
In leaving it, I shall not leave its lesson,
trust me.
Let us go.
♪
I understand you,
and I would do it if I could,
but I have not the power, spirit,
I have not the power.
Ah!
Please, take me elsewhere.
Let me see some tenderness connected with death.
♪
♪
The color hurts my eyes.
Your father's late.
I think he's walking a little slower
than he used to the last few evenings.
I've known him walk with Tiny Tim on his shoulder.
He walked very fast, indeed.
I saw him do it often.
But he was light to carry
and his father loved him.
It was no trouble.
Here he is.
♪
Don't mind it, Father.
Don't be grieved.
My little child.
My little, little child.
♪
♪
Are you all right, Father?
Yes, Belinda.
I was just thinking that however and whenever
we part from one another...
I'm sure we shall, none of us,
forget poor Tiny Tim.
Never, Father.
And I know that when we remember how patient and how mild he was,
we won't quarrel easily among ourselves
and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it.
No, Father.
And now we must try to be happy.
Will you try to be happy, Belinda?
I'll try as hard as I can, Father.
The first thing you must do is smile.
♪
Poor little chap.
♪
Tell me, spirit,
who was the man we saw lying dead?
♪
Something tells me we will soon part, spirit.
♪
This is the place where I work.
But that's not me.
♪
A few of us are trying to raise a fund
to buy the poor some food and means of warmth.
Good day to you, sir.
That's not me, at all.
♪
Spirit, you don't understand.
I want to see myself in the future.
I want to see what will become of me.
♪
You'll show me?
Oh, thank heaven.
This way?
Then, off we go.
♪
Before I come any closer, answer me one question.
Are these the shadows of the things that will be
or are they shadows of things that only may be?
♪
People can change.
And if they change, their ends must change, too.
Tell me that's the case with what you show me.
♪
Am I...
...that man who lay on the bed?
♪
No, spirit.
Oh, no, no!
Spirit, hear me!
I am not the man I was!
I will not be the man I was!
Why show me this if I am past all hope?
Good spirit, tell me I may yet change
these shadows you have shown me
by leading an altered life.
I will honor Christmas in my heart
and try to keep it all the year.
All three spirits will live within me
and so will the lessons they have taught.
No spirit, I can't let you go.
I will hold you till you tell me if I am spared.
Speak to me!
♪
I will live in the past, the present,
and the future.
The spirits of all three shall survive within me.
Oh, Jacob Marley,
Heaven and Christmastime be praised for this.
I say it on my knees.
There's the door, Jacob, where you came in.
There's the sofa where the Ghost of Christmas Present sat.
There's the window where I saw the wandering spirits.
♪
Goodbye, Jacob, goodbye.
(laughing)
(bell tolling)
♪
Hey, you there!
Me?
What's today, my fine fellow?
Today, it's Christmas Day.
Then I haven't missed it.
The spirits did it all in one night.
They can do anything they like.
Of course they can.
Hey.
Hello, my fine fellow.
Hello.
No, wait.
Do you know the poultry shop in the next street?
I should hope I did.
Good lad.
Do you know if they've sold their prize turkey?
You mean the one as big as me?
That's the one.
It's hanging there now.
Then go and buy it.
I mean it.
Bring it back with you
and I'll give you half a crown.
♪
(crowd talking)
♪
♪
Good morning to you, sir.
What a fine turkey!
They said it was the best they have.
I want it sent to a Mr. Bob Cratchit
of Camden Town.
Here's the address.
Wait, wait, wait.
It's too big to carry that far.
That's for the turkey.
And that's for the cab.
But this is more...
Thank you very much, sir.
♪
And there's your half crown, my fine fellow.
Excuse me, sir, you are Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge?
I am, you've heard of me?
I thought I did.
Merry Christmas.
♪
♪
Good morning, sirs.
Oh, uh, good morning.
Mr. Scrooge.
The same.
You will recall that yesterday I was dubious
about the sum I would promise for your collection.
You were very dubious.
I have made up my mind.
♪
(whispering)
Bless my soul!
Come and see me in my office tomorrow.
I shall!
It is Mr. Scrooge, isn't it?
It is indeed.
Merry Christmas.
♪
Ah, yes, your nephew.
Bah humbug.
♪
Is there any more turkey?
(laughing)
♪
Hello, Fred.
Merry Christmas.
Who is it, Fred?
I don't recognize the voice.
Merry Christmas, my dear.
Oh, oh!
Come in, Uncle.
♪
That was a fine meal, my dear.
Here, here!
And now, who's going to sing us a song?
You start, dear.
No, guests first.
Who'll be the first volunteer?
I'll sing.
-You, Uncle? -Yes.
All right, are you in good voice?
I think so.
Play, my dear.
Oh, yes.
♪
♪ Hark the herald angels ♪
♪ Sing
♪ Sing
♪ Glory to the newborn
♪ King
♪ King
(laughing)
(clapping)
That's the spirit, Uncle.
It's an old tune, but a good one.
♪
♪
Thank you, Mr. Marley.
♪
♪
Good morning.
Good morning, sir.
Or is it afternoon?
I'm sorry I'm late, sir.
Step this way, please.
It's only once a year, sir, and...
I won't do it again.
I was making rather merry yesterday.
Oh, yes?
And what was the cause of the merriment?
It was Christmas Day, sir.
Someone sent us a turkey by mistake.
You couldn't afford a turkey?
Not one that big.
Did all your family enjoy the turkey?
Oh, yes, sir.
What about the youngest?
Tiny Tim, we call him.
He had three helpings.
Phew.
Sir?
Well, if you can't afford a turkey,
then we'll have to do something about it.
How would you like it if I raised your salary?
I mean it, Bob.
A Merry Christmas to you.
Now put some more coal on the fire
and we'll discuss your raise.
It would be a pleasure, sir.
♪
♪
♪
♪ Peace on Earth and mercy mild ♪
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
♪
Thank you, sir, and a Merry Christmas to you.
Thank you, sir.
♪ With angelic host proclaim
♪
(dog barking)
Merry Christmas!
♪
♪
♪
♪
Bah!
♪
Good morning, Mr. Scrooge.
♪
♪
A Merry Christmas, uncle, God Bless you.
Bah humbug!
Christmas, a humbug?
Uncle, you don't mean that.
Yes, I do.
Merry Christmas indeed.
Why should a poor man like you be merry?
It's my nature.
Why should a rich man like you be so grumpy?
Bah humbug.
Don't be cross on Christmas Eve, uncle.
What better time to be cross?
All you fools going about saying "Merry Christmas"
when all you are is a year older yet not an hour richer.
But uncle...
You keep Christmas in your way,
and I'll keep it in mine.
I'm sorry to hear you speak like this, uncle.
I think of Christmas as a time of forgiveness
and joy.
(clapping)
♪
One more sound out of you, Bob Cratchit,
and you celebrate Christmas by losing your job.
♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪
(gasps)
What's this wreath for?
I'm not dead.
It's a Christmas decoration, uncle.
We have plenty at our house, where I hope you'll join us
for dinner.
Have I ever come to your house for dinner?
No, uncle, you've refused
every invitation.
Then why should I come now?
Because it's Christmas!
Bah humbug!
But uncle!
Good afternoon.
(knocking)
Merry Christmas, uncle.
♪
That's what I think of your Christmas.
And a Happy New Year, uncle.
You, get on with your work.
♪
Here you are, Merry Christmas.
Thank you, sir.
(knocking)
Yes?
Scrooge and Marley's, I believe?
It's not the Bank of England.
Indeed not.
Do I have the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge
or Mr. Marley?
Mr. Marley died seven years ago this very night.
Oh, then this is a somber anniversary.
But we have no doubt his generosity lives on
in his surviving partner.
(coughing)
At this festive time of the year, sir,
I urge you to consider the plight of the poor.
Many thousands are in need of comforts
that we have grown used to.
There are many who suffer greatly,
Mr. Scrooge.
Are there no prisons?
Yes, but...
And the workhouses, where the simplest
population gathers?
Are they not still in operation?
They are indeed.
I wish I could say they were not.
They're hardly the sort of place
that brings Christmas cheer
to the mind or the body.
With this in mind, a few of us
are trying to raise a fund to buy the poor
some food and drink and means of warmth.
We choose this time because it is now
that want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices.
What shall I put you down for?
Nothing.
Oh, you wish to be anonymous.
I wish to be left alone.
I don't make merry at Christmas,
and I can't afford to make idle people merry.
Oh, but these people aren't idle, Mr. Scrooge.
Many of them work very hard.
Then be good enough to let me
do the same.
Good day, gentlemen.
Good day to you, sir.
♪
♪
♪
You'll be wanting tomorrow off, I suppose.
If that's convenient, sir.
It's not convenient to pay a day's wages
for no work.
Oh, it's only once a year, sir.
That's a poor excuse.
Go ahead, then, have your blasted
Christmas for all the good it'll do you.
Yes, Mr. Scrooge.
And a Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Make sure you're early the next day.
♪
(children cheering)
♪
It's daddy.
Now, you all know how to play
Blind Man's Bluff?
Yes!
All right, here I come.
Who's here?
Martha.
Belinda.
Peter.
(laughing)
Ray.
That was Tiny Tim.
Hurry, Tiny Tim, don't let daddy catch you.
♪
I caught you.
You've got it all wrong, Tiny Tim.
(laughing)
(loud chattering)
♪
Bah!
(laughing)
Humbug.
♪
♪
It's humbug still.
♪
(crashing)
Ah!
♪
Humbug.
♪
(bell ringing)
Humbug still.
I won't believe it.
(loud, discordant sounds)
(clock striking)
♪
What do you want with me?
A great deal.
Yes?
Who are you?
Ask me who I was.
Who were you, then?
In life, I was your partner...
Jacob Marley.
What do you want of me?
Can you--can you sit down?
I can.
Do it then.
You don't believe in me.
No, I don't.
Can you see me?
Yes.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Then why do you doubt your senses?
They can be affected by what I've eaten.
You may have been caused by a big blob of mustard.
There's more of gravy, than of grave about you.
[laughing]
♪
Mercy, mercy!
How does your stomach feel now?
Please tell me why you've come
to trouble me?
You're a level-headed man--
some would say too level-headed.
Do you believe in me?
I believe in you.
But I don't understand all...
this.
My chains.
I wear the chains I forged in life.
My spirit never went beyond our office.
I spared no dime for charity
or my fellow man.
Hello, Mr. Marley.
I had no wife, no children.
All I did was count money.
♪
Everyone has a spirit
and if that spirit does not go forth in life,
it is condemned to do so after death.
♪
It is doomed to wander through the world
and see what it might have shared in life.
For seven years, I have traveled
with no rest, no peace.
My only companion has been remorse,
remorse for the lost opportunity.
Why did I walk through life
with my eyes cast down?
Does this pattern seem familiar to you,
Ebenezer Scrooge?
Have you forged a chain for yourself
as long and heavy as mine?
Look at this banker's book, Ebenezer.
Does it seem familiar to you?
You were always a good man of business, Jacob.
Have you learned nothing?
I am here tonight to warn you,
so you can have a chance of escaping my fate.
You were always a good friend to me.
You will be haunted...
by three spirits.
You said I had a chance to escape your fate.
That's it.
Are you cold?
I'm frozen.
Then put some coal on the fire.
Coal's too expensive.
♪
I hope you will learn from these
three spirits, Ebenezer.
Expect the first tomorrow
when the bell tolls one.
Couldn't I take them all at once
and have it over, Jacob?
The spirits are your hope, Ebenezer.
You will see me no more,
but you will remember what I said.
♪
Help me, help me.
Please help me,
I'm sorry.
Help me, help me, help.
♪
♪
(clock striking)
♪
♪
(clock striking)
♪
Are you the spirit, sir, who's coming
was foretold to me?
I am.
Who and what are you?
I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Long past?
No, your past.
What has brought you here?
Your welfare.
Oh, much obliged.
Your reclamation then.
Rise, and walk with me.
But, it's a cold night, and I'm in need of rest.
Besides, I don't know if I trust you.
Humbug.
But I have a cold.
You will warm enough after the life you've led.
You mean, there is such a place as hell?
Your past is hell enough.
Take hold of my arm.
But I am a mortal.
I might fall and hurt myself
if we go out the window.
We're not going out the window.
♪
Good heavens,
I was bred in this place.
I was a boy here.
What's that on your cheek?
A pimple.
Now come on, come on.
Take me where you must.
(birds chirping)
♪
You remember the way?
I could walk it blindfold.
♪
♪
I knew this man.
Merry Christmas.
These are but shadows of the things that have been.
They cannot see us.
♪
The school is not quite deserted.
But it's Christmas Eve.
A solitary child, neglected by his friends,
waits there in the school.
♪
Who is this child?
♪
♪
Look, it's Ali Baba.
One Christmas he came to visit when this boy
was left all alone.
The boy saw him in the window
just like that.
The boy must have been dreaming.
♪
Yes, yes, it must have been a dream.
The boy was probably lonely.
Yes, yes.
♪
Do you know him?
Yes.
Tell me who it is.
It...
it's me.
♪
What's the matter?
There was a boy just like that
singing a Christmas carol at my door yesterday.
And you gave him some money?
♪
Let's see another Christmas.
♪
(carriage approaching)
I've come to bring you home, dear brother.
Home?
Are you sure, little Fan?
Yes, yes, home for good.
Home forever.
Who sent you?
Father did.
He sent me in a coach to get you.
Oh, father's so much kinder now
than he used to be, and home is like heaven.
Oh, come on, we're going
to have the merriest Christmas
of all time.
You're quite a woman, little Fan.
(laughing)
♪
Farewell, Master Scrooge.
Goodbye, sir.
♪
She was always a delicate girl,
your sister, but she had a big heart.
The biggest heart.
She died a woman and had, if I'm right,
some children.
One child.
Ah, yes.
Your nephew, Fred.
You didn't enjoy your school days?
I wanted to go home.
I wanted to grow up.
But tell me, where are you taking me?
♪
♪
Do you know this place?
Know it?
I was apprenticed here.
Why, it's old Fezziwig.
Bless his heart.
Fezziwig's alive again.
♪
Hey there, Ebenezer, Dick!
It's me, and there's Dick, too.
Well, boys, no more work today,
it's Christmas Eve-- but first, it's time
to put the shutters up.
♪
Now, let's have some space here.
Dick, you move the desks,
Ebenezer, you get the broom.
♪
That's the way, boys.
My daughters should be here any minute.
♪
♪
It looks like a party.
It was.
Dear old Fezziwig.
He knew how to give a party.
What's the matter with you?
Got a beetle in your pants?
Your trouble is you've got no sense of fun.
Some people have said that
of one Ebenezer Scrooge.
Bah humbug.
Come in, my dears and my dearest, too.
♪
Come on, boys.
Don't be backward in coming forward.
It's not ladies' choice tonight.
(laughing)
Strike up, fiddler!
Let's have a tune we can dance to!
♪
(clapping)
♪
You dance very well.
That's the spirit, you don't have
to sing for your supper here,
but you must surely dance for your appetite.
♪
I was a dancer and a half.
♪
I don't want to miss any of this.
♪
(clapping)
♪
Let's have some food, everyone.
Mrs. Fezziwig has laid on a spread.
♪
I hope you'll force a bit down.
♪
♪
♪
(clapping)
♪
Merry Christmas, Dick.
It's a small thing to make these silly people
full of gratitude.
Small?
He spent three, perhaps four pounds
on this little party,
yet, look how warmly they thank him.
♪
Merry Christmas to you.
What has old Fezziwig done to deserve all this thanks?
Now, look here.
Yes?
It isn't the money he spent on the party
that counts.
Then what is it?
He has the power to make these people
happy or unhappy.
He's chosen to make them happy.
Who cares what it cost?
Huh?
What's the matter?
Good morning, Mr. Scrooge.
You'll be wanting tomorrow off.
♪
And a Merry Christmas to you, sir.
♪
Make sure you're early the next day.
♪
Those are strange thoughts to come
from Ebenezer Scrooge.
My time grows short.
Come quickly.
Haven't you finished with me yet?
Can't I go back to my bed?
No, Ebenezer.
I have not finished with you yet.
♪
You were a bit older here, were you 35?
Twenty-five.
The face is that of a 35-year-old.
I was 25.
She's a pretty girl.
Her name was Adela, was it not?
Belle, Belle for beautiful.
Why do you look older?
What were you doing?
I was making my way in the world.
You were making money.
Yes.
Do we have to see this?
She is about to speak to you.
Don't you want to hear it?
No.
You said once you worshipped me.
Dear Belle, I still do.
No, another idol has displaced me.
What idol?
The golden one.
You think I worship money?
Not money, gain.
Your one passion has become to gain more.
All your other passions have fallen away.
There is nothing the world is harder on than poverty.
You fear the world too much.
There's no place in your life for me.
Our love was born when we were
young and poor and happy to be so.
We felt that we would improve our fortune,
and then in good season we would marry.
Along the way, that love has died.
The man I knew has vanished.
My feelings for you are the same
they always were.
When you first said you loved me,
you were another man.
I find it hard to recognize you now.
You must watch this.
I loved her.
If you met me now, would you seek me out
and try to win me?
You seem to think not.
I know you, Ebenezer.
If you were free now, you would only
have a place in your heart for a rich girl.
Then you would think you were gaining something.
You seem very sure of this.
It's what I fear.
♪
What you say is humbug.
That may well be, but I'm sure you will
think of me when I am gone as just an unprofitable dream.
You're not going?
I am, and may you be happy in the life you've chosen.
♪
You're torturing me.
Where are my chains?
I may as well be like Marley's ghost
and die a thousand deaths.
There is more to this particular story.
No, please.
Let me go home.
I'll be a different man, just let me live again.
There is one shadow more.
No!
♪
♪
Let me go!
Help!
♪
Ah!
♪
Where are we?
I don't remember this.
♪
You've never been here.
Go and look through that window.
♪
It's just three brats making a mess.
I mean, it's three delightful children
playing happy games.
Look further.
♪
It's Belle.
Not Belle, her daughter.
Then where is Belle?
Here she comes.
♪
I suppose that's her husband.
Yes, fine-looking fellow, isn't he?
♪
Belle, I saw an old friend of yours
this afternoon.
Who was it?
Come on, guess.
How can I? Oh, wait a minute.
(laughing)
Well, who was it?
Ebenezer Scrooge?
Mr. Scrooge it was.
I passed his office window,
and there he was all alone.
His partner is dying, I hear.
Poor old Scrooge.
He was working away, all alone in the world.
Spirit, remove me from this place.
These are shadows of things that have been.
They are not of my making.
Take me away.
Take me away from here, I can't stand anymore.
♪
♪
Ah!
♪
(clock striking)
♪
♪
Come in, Mr. Scrooge.
Come in, I say.
I am the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Look at me.
You've never seen the like of me before?
Never.
Have you met any of my older brothers?
I don't think I have.
Not one of them?
How many brothers do you have?
More than 1800.
Imagine providing for a family that size.
By the year 2000, there will be 2000 of us.
Oh, I see.
Spirit, take me where you wish.
I shall.
I learned a lesson last night.
If you have anything to teach me,
let me profit by it.
Touch my robe.
♪
What are we doing here?
I've got some work to do.
♪
♪
Why did you do that?
To make that poor man's turkey
taste like a rich man's pheasant.
I don't like turkey or pheasant.
What do you like?
Cold toast and a cup of tea.
You know how to enjoy yourself,
don't you?
Why do you have to help these people, anyway?
They're poor, they have no stove of their own.
They have to queue here on a winter's day
to use the baker's oven.
♪
They'd be better off with cold toast
and a cup of tea.
You can't share that with a family.
♪
Hey, who do you think you're pushing?
You.
(grunting)
♪
Would you like to take my place?
No, no, you go ahead.
You've gone a bit far, haven't you?
Perhaps you're right.
♪
It was an act of God.
Oh, yeah-- what, on Christmas Day?
You keep your place and I'll keep mine.
Right.
Happy now?
No.
Why not?
Because I haven't got a Christmas dinner.
I thought you didn't like turkey.
♪
It's not the turkey, it's the--
Company?
Bah humbug!
[laughing]
I'll take you to a Christmas dinner.
♪
Ah!
♪
♪
Bah humbug!
♪
♪
What time's dinner, Mother?
Soon.
♪
Martha, you're late.
I'm sorry, Mother, but we had to work
late last night and clear up this morning.
Working on Christmas Day, what is the world coming to?
Come and warm yourself by the fire, Martha.
Wait-- Father's on his way home now,
why don't you hide yourself from him?
Yes, Martha, yes.
All right, but where shall I hide?
Here, quickly.
♪
What time's dinner, Mother?
Soon.
♪
Here's Father.
♪
Here he is.
And what a good boy he's been.
Mother, I'm hungry.
Yes, dear, we'll be eating soon.
Where's Martha?
She's not coming.
Not coming?
Why, it's Christmas Day.
She's hiding behind the sofa, ya fool!
♪
Here I am, Father!
Now we're all together.
Tell me, how did Tiny Tim behave in church?
Much better than most.
He's good as gold and even better.
He gets thoughtful sitting by himself.
He's a very thoughtful boy.
Not a dreamer but more of a thinker,
and what he thinks for one so young.
♪
He said he hoped people would see him in church,
and see that he was a cripple...
...and then they could remember on Christmas Day
who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.
♪
Mother, what time's dinner?
Oh, he's a thoughtful boy, all right.
♪
What's the matter with you?
Nothing.
♪
Spirit...
...tell me if Tiny Tim will live.
♪
I see a vacant seat
and a wooden crutch without an owner,
carefully preserved.
If these shadows remain unaltered by the future,
the child will die.
No, no!
Oh, no, kind spirit,
say he will be spared.
♪
Hooray!
♪
Why are you so upset?
Didn't you say there was a surplus
in the population?
♪
Oh, Peter, you've dirtied Father's shirt!
Never mind.
A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears.
God bless us.
God bless us everyone.
Yes, indeed Tiny Tim.
♪
Feeling hungry, are you?
♪
♪
I give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast.
Wish I had him here.
I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast on.
Come on, dear.
It's Christmas Day.
Even on Christmas Day, I'm sure he's the same odious,
stingy, hard, unfeeling man he is
all the year round.
Now, my dear.
You know he is, Robert.
No one knows it better than you do.
Poor fellow.
My dear, Christmas Day.
I'll drink his health for your sake and the day's,
but not for his.
Long life to him.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
He'll be very merry and very happy,
I have no doubt.
♪
Now let's drink a toast to Peter,
who'll soon be a man of business,
and bringing home five and six pence a week.
To Peter.
How much do you pay that clerk of yours?
Um, fift--
shillings, um...
Speak up!
Fifteen shillings a week.
Bob!
Bob Cratchit, I'm sorry!
I'm sorry!
They can't hear you.
♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪
♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪
♪ Peace on Earth and mercy mild ♪
♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
♪
♪
Where are we going?
You'll see.
♪
Everyone seems to be having Christmas dinner.
Everyone except Ebenezer Scrooge.
But I haven't got a family.
What good is Christmas dinner for one?
You had a sister.
Yes, little Fan.
And she had a son.
Yes.
And the son invited you to Christmas dinner.
♪
♪
Come on Topper, you tell us what we should play.
I couldn't, I'm no good at games.
Well then, he's come to the wrong place,
hasn't he, May?
Yes, he has.
We play so many games on Christmas Day.
Blind Man's Bluff, Forfeit--
-All sorts of card games. -Yes and no.
Make up your mind.
Fred!
That's the name of the game.
I don't know how to play it.
I'll teach you.
I'd be most grateful.
I think he's interested in the teacher,
not the lesson.
This family just keeps getting bigger.
Still, the more the merrier,
don't you agree?
Yes and no.
(laughing)
Come on, let's play the game.
Wait a minute, I don't know how to play.
You'll pick it up, Topper.
Now, what am I thinking of?
Is it an animal?
Yes.
Is it alive?
Yes.
-Does it live in London? -Oh, yes.
Oh, come on, Topper, you haven't asked a question.
Is there any more turkey?
(laughing)
♪
Is it a disagreeable animal?
Yes.
Does it enjoy Christmas?
No.
Oh, does it growl a lot?
Yes.
I know, I know.
It's your Uncle Scrooge.
That's right.
Is he an animal?
(laughing)
Yes and no.
He's the most disagreeable animal on earth.
I have no patience with him.
He said Christmas was humbug.
God bless him.
Oh, I feel sorry for him.
So do I.
Who suffers from his bad temper?
Only himself.
Here's to Uncle Scrooge
and the Merry Christmas he wouldn't wish to us all.
I've seen enough.
Have you seen what you've missed?
Yes, now take me away.
What's the matter?
My life upon this globe is very brief.
It ends tonight.
Come on, Topper.
You tell us what we should play.
I couldn't.
♪
♪
What is that?
Spirit, are they yours?
They are Man's.
The boy is Ignorance.
The girl is Want.
Have they no refuge?
Are there no prisons?
Are there no workhouses?
Stop, stop!
You use my words against me.
♪
Are you the third spirit?
Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?
Speak to me!
You were about to show me shadows of the things
that have not happened, but will happen.
Is that so, spirit?
Does that mean yes?
♪
The other spirits talked to me.
Their purpose was to do me good.
But you say nothing.
I can't even see your eyes.
♪
Lead on, I will follow you.
♪
♪
What about him?
I'd advise against it on two counts.
Oh, yes?
First, he's chopped off his perch,
and second, he never gave a penny
to any charity as long as he lived.
When did he die?
Last night.
What about his clerk?
That poor chap, he gets fifteen shilling a week.
♪
Who were they talking about?
Who's dead?
♪
I don't want any lunch, I'm not hungry.
♪
All right, I'm coming.
♪
That's my place.
I'm here every day at one o'clock.
I understand.
This is the future, isn't it?
I see I've carried out my resolution
to work through the lunch hour.
They've put their prices up?
♪
♪
Where are we?
♪
(laughing)
Oh, good day to you, Joe.
♪
(laughing)
♪
Let the charwoman be first, then the laundress,
and the undertaker's man can be third.
That's my charwoman.
You couldn't have met in a better place.
Come into the parlor.
♪
You're not strangers to me.
♪
We're well matched, huh?
(laughing)
♪
Well matched, we are.
Every person has a right to take care of themselves.
He always did.
That's true.
No man more so.
Who's the worse for a loss of a few things like these?
Not a dead man.
No, indeed.
Then come on, don't be shy.
we're all in the same boat.
If he wanted to keep these things after he died,
he should have been more...
...human?
If he had, he would've had someone
to look after him when he was struck with death.
Well, too late now.
Come on then, who's first?
Huh, I'm not afraid to be first.
There's no shame in it for me.
♪
That's your account,
and I wouldn't give another six pence
if I was to be boiled for not doing it.
Who's next?
♪
That man knows how to drive a bargain.
I always give too much to the ladies.
Huh, good.
Now you can undo my bundle.
♪
Bed curtains?
That's what they are.
You don't mean to say you took 'em down,
rings and all, with him lying there?
What of it?
You were born to make your fortune,
you'll certainly do it.
(laughing)
Well, this is the end of it.
He frightened everyone away from him when he was alive,
to profit us when he was dead.
Spirit, I understand.
The case of this unhappy man might be my own.
My life tends that way now.
But-- good heavens.
What is this?
♪
♪
Spirit, this is a fearful place.
In leaving it, I shall not leave its lesson,
trust me.
Let us go.
♪
I understand you,
and I would do it if I could,
but I have not the power, spirit,
I have not the power.
Ah!
Please, take me elsewhere.
Let me see some tenderness connected with death.
♪
♪
The color hurts my eyes.
Your father's late.
I think he's walking a little slower
than he used to the last few evenings.
I've known him walk with Tiny Tim on his shoulder.
He walked very fast, indeed.
I saw him do it often.
But he was light to carry
and his father loved him.
It was no trouble.
Here he is.
♪
Don't mind it, Father.
Don't be grieved.
My little child.
My little, little child.
♪
♪
Are you all right, Father?
Yes, Belinda.
I was just thinking that however and whenever
we part from one another...
I'm sure we shall, none of us,
forget poor Tiny Tim.
Never, Father.
And I know that when we remember how patient and how mild he was,
we won't quarrel easily among ourselves
and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it.
No, Father.
And now we must try to be happy.
Will you try to be happy, Belinda?
I'll try as hard as I can, Father.
The first thing you must do is smile.
♪
Poor little chap.
♪
Tell me, spirit,
who was the man we saw lying dead?
♪
Something tells me we will soon part, spirit.
♪
This is the place where I work.
But that's not me.
♪
A few of us are trying to raise a fund
to buy the poor some food and means of warmth.
Good day to you, sir.
That's not me, at all.
♪
Spirit, you don't understand.
I want to see myself in the future.
I want to see what will become of me.
♪
You'll show me?
Oh, thank heaven.
This way?
Then, off we go.
♪
Before I come any closer, answer me one question.
Are these the shadows of the things that will be
or are they shadows of things that only may be?
♪
People can change.
And if they change, their ends must change, too.
Tell me that's the case with what you show me.
♪
Am I...
...that man who lay on the bed?
♪
No, spirit.
Oh, no, no!
Spirit, hear me!
I am not the man I was!
I will not be the man I was!
Why show me this if I am past all hope?
Good spirit, tell me I may yet change
these shadows you have shown me
by leading an altered life.
I will honor Christmas in my heart
and try to keep it all the year.
All three spirits will live within me
and so will the lessons they have taught.
No spirit, I can't let you go.
I will hold you till you tell me if I am spared.
Speak to me!
♪
I will live in the past, the present,
and the future.
The spirits of all three shall survive within me.
Oh, Jacob Marley,
Heaven and Christmastime be praised for this.
I say it on my knees.
There's the door, Jacob, where you came in.
There's the sofa where the Ghost of Christmas Present sat.
There's the window where I saw the wandering spirits.
♪
Goodbye, Jacob, goodbye.
(laughing)
(bell tolling)
♪
Hey, you there!
Me?
What's today, my fine fellow?
Today, it's Christmas Day.
Then I haven't missed it.
The spirits did it all in one night.
They can do anything they like.
Of course they can.
Hey.
Hello, my fine fellow.
Hello.
No, wait.
Do you know the poultry shop in the next street?
I should hope I did.
Good lad.
Do you know if they've sold their prize turkey?
You mean the one as big as me?
That's the one.
It's hanging there now.
Then go and buy it.
I mean it.
Bring it back with you
and I'll give you half a crown.
♪
(crowd talking)
♪
♪
Good morning to you, sir.
What a fine turkey!
They said it was the best they have.
I want it sent to a Mr. Bob Cratchit
of Camden Town.
Here's the address.
Wait, wait, wait.
It's too big to carry that far.
That's for the turkey.
And that's for the cab.
But this is more...
Thank you very much, sir.
♪
And there's your half crown, my fine fellow.
Excuse me, sir, you are Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge?
I am, you've heard of me?
I thought I did.
Merry Christmas.
♪
♪
Good morning, sirs.
Oh, uh, good morning.
Mr. Scrooge.
The same.
You will recall that yesterday I was dubious
about the sum I would promise for your collection.
You were very dubious.
I have made up my mind.
♪
(whispering)
Bless my soul!
Come and see me in my office tomorrow.
I shall!
It is Mr. Scrooge, isn't it?
It is indeed.
Merry Christmas.
♪
Ah, yes, your nephew.
Bah humbug.
♪
Is there any more turkey?
(laughing)
♪
Hello, Fred.
Merry Christmas.
Who is it, Fred?
I don't recognize the voice.
Merry Christmas, my dear.
Oh, oh!
Come in, Uncle.
♪
That was a fine meal, my dear.
Here, here!
And now, who's going to sing us a song?
You start, dear.
No, guests first.
Who'll be the first volunteer?
I'll sing.
-You, Uncle? -Yes.
All right, are you in good voice?
I think so.
Play, my dear.
Oh, yes.
♪
♪ Hark the herald angels ♪
♪ Sing
♪ Sing
♪ Glory to the newborn
♪ King
♪ King
(laughing)
(clapping)
That's the spirit, Uncle.
It's an old tune, but a good one.
♪
♪
Thank you, Mr. Marley.
♪
♪
Good morning.
Good morning, sir.
Or is it afternoon?
I'm sorry I'm late, sir.
Step this way, please.
It's only once a year, sir, and...
I won't do it again.
I was making rather merry yesterday.
Oh, yes?
And what was the cause of the merriment?
It was Christmas Day, sir.
Someone sent us a turkey by mistake.
You couldn't afford a turkey?
Not one that big.
Did all your family enjoy the turkey?
Oh, yes, sir.
What about the youngest?
Tiny Tim, we call him.
He had three helpings.
Phew.
Sir?
Well, if you can't afford a turkey,
then we'll have to do something about it.
How would you like it if I raised your salary?
I mean it, Bob.
A Merry Christmas to you.
Now put some more coal on the fire
and we'll discuss your raise.
It would be a pleasure, sir.
♪
♪