Chuck Jones Christmas Masterpiece

It's Christmas Eve, babe, and I figured I'd give all of my readers a nice present... Via Vox, I found a really lovely animated version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, directed by Richard Williams






The executive producer is Bastard fave Chuck Jones, whose autobiography, Chuck Amuck, is a must-read. Warner Brothers animator Ken Harris is also in on the project.

I love the look of this feature, with its artwork patterned after John Leech's illustrations for the book. The Ghost of Christmas Past is appropriately outré, and the details of the Ghost of Christmas Present appropriately ages during its sojourn with Scrooge. The story is told with an economy of words, with the breaking of Scrooge's engagement being a particularly poignant moment. The feature is suffused with melancholy, which makes Scrooge's redemption a particularly welcome relief.

It's a marvel how short this animated film is, yet how complete... there is absolutely no wasted effort in this little gem. It's reminiscent of another Chuck Jones Christmas collaboration that is near and dear to my heart, and would make a lovely companion piece. You can't have too many nice redemption narratives these days.