Chuck and Mr. Stingy.

On Monday I wanted to kick off the week with Peanuts. The Charlie Brown Christmas Special had always been endearing in its use of the gang, particularly Chuck, Linus, and Lucy. Scroeder plays his piano with Lucy insisting on Jingle Bells...her way. Much to Scroeder's chagrin,  that is. Chuck trying to find a tree, eventually locating a flimsy one, Chuck tries to get in the Christmas spirit but his peers just consider him such a blockhead.  Linus eventually tells us the reason for the season and Chuck realizes the true meaning of Christmas, leaving him not quite as jaded.  The gang coming together after laughing poor Charlie into further depression and decorating the tree is what it's all about. I was mentioning to my wife that it just seems like these felt longer when I was a kid.

 Last night it seemed to come on and was over in no time. Charlie's tree looking mighty puny, losing it's green, needing some tender loving care, and how he wants it to be treated as special just needed some kind attention. Linus comforts Charlie, who needs similar kindness. Lucy serves as an antagonist who nudges Chuck with irksome needling. But in the end all are well. Brings the holiday to life for me. I'm  a Peanuts mark so I always look forward to the holidays so I can revisit these. I noticed there is another Christmas special that serves as a sequel. I hope to get to it this month if possible.

I kind of had myself an animated double feature, and once again considering the Yuletide season is alive and well in our house--and I'm a Christmas Carol nut--another Scrooge adaptation fit the bill. This is more obscure than others, The Stingiest Man in Town, a Rankin/Bass release from 1978 featuring Japanese animation of Dickensian Londoners. Matthau is the voice of Scrooge and Bosley is narrating bug taking us through the story.

Here's a relic worth discovering either for the first time or again! If you are a fan of A Christmas Carol and Ole Ebenezer, the miser, then "The Stingiest Man in Town" is certain to bring you delight. With Walter Matthau voicing Scrooge, Tom Bosley (of Happy Days and Father Dowling Mysteries) as narrator Humbug (a bug named after Scrooge's typical reaction to merry season greeters), Theodore Bikel as the grave Ghost of Marley, Dennis Day as the cheery nephew Fred, and Paul Frees lending his distinctive voice to Christmas Past and Present.

I was especially impressed with Jacob Marley's specter's visit to Scrooge, the animated musical sequence where we see their partnership and greed's destroying their soul and the avarice of it all consuming them. Here, though, Humbug joins us on Scrooge's journey, seeing and experiencing what the miser does. And the visit to his past (what isn't covered by the Marley retelling to Scrooge) does really show how Scrooge's devotion to the almighty coin detonates what could have been a loving marriage. The visit to see his sister at her and his youth is left out which is disappointing as I think there's a lot of potency in her death and Scrooge's adoration for her (and how her demise left a gaping wound that left him broken) from a dramatic standpoint. However, Scrooge's "dismissal" and irritation of his nephew who stopped by to wish him a Merry Christmas gets its own song so that does show the miser's ill will towards him in correlation with the sister's death. But this key emotional component is sadly missing for the most part. When it comes to A Christmas Carol, certain details are often left out or avoided for the sake of time. I would love for the BBC to really give us a mini-series type of version someday. Anyway, I think the Christmas Present sequence is equally as good as the Christmas Past as the jolly giant with a large beard is compared to Santa in the animation. Of course, Scrooge visits the house of his employee, Bob Cratchet, and is touched by the poverty of the man's family and ailing illness of Tiny Tim. There's even a tribute musical sequence to Jesus as a babe in the manger which I found unexpected. Scrooge even briefly visits his nephew's house, during their dinner, and realizes how wrong he was not to except the invite. As in many other versions, Scrooge is overcome with grief over Tim's (and Bob's) misfortune. If there is a flaw is the quick Christmas Future sequence. This is over in a flash, with a minor visit to see where his items are sold by his laundress after his death, and the trip to his grave where he begs for his life to be salvaged. The aftermath is once again on track as Scrooge's benevolence prospers for all those who aren't as fortunate as he has been, with Cratchet and his nephew both benefiting (as does poor folks on the streets) thanks to his transformation.

A lot of musical interludes are featured, including Matthau singing, so prepare for that when you watch this animated special. This is hand drawn, as opposed to the typical stop motion one associates with Rankin/Bass productions, but there are some fine sequences that stand out, such as the ghosts burdened like Marley, and the Christmas tree toys dancing with Scrooge. There are some nice "time lapse" transitions during flashbacks, and a real sense of understanding the melodramatic highs and lows of the story regarding Scrooge during key points in his tumultuous life. A real find if you pick up the Christmas Classics set currently out during the holiday season. Could be a sleeper gem that seems less significant when compared to something like How the Grinch Stole Christmas but might just wind up being a special part of your viewing during the season going forward for years to come. A delight for me, that's for sure.