A Christmas Carol, animated.

If you’re like me… you can’t stomach the computerized junk that passes for animation these days. It being Christmas and all, I have the perfect solution for you; a 1971 animated short that clocks in at 25 minutes that’s based on Charles Dickens’ 1843 tale, A Christmas Carol.

It’s almost a perfect adaptation, even though it’s a bit short. My favorite character in the animation is The Ghost of Christmas Past, an ethereal, triple faced, female spirit that is somehow alluring, but should nevertheless make you want to run. The film’s animation style was based on the engravings from the original 1843 printing of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Richard Williams directed the animated Dickens story, and Chuck Jones was the producer. Perhaps you don’t remember Mr. Williams (1933-2019). He was a Canadian-British animator perhaps best known for serving as animation director for Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He also created animated opening sequences for movies like What’s New Pussycat? (1965) and The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). And if you don’t know Chuck Jones (1912-2002), then you’re not a real American.

Jones was the brilliant American animator who created the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts for Warner Bros. His magic brought to life Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, on the silver screen and on TV sets across America.

Richard Williams and Chuck Jones picked a superlative crew of animators to work on A Christmas Carol, which in 1972 won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The film faithfully adheres to the Dickens’ tale, and its animation style is uniquely beautiful; in fact, some scenes are so darkly intense that they’ll scare young children… and maybe a few adults.

And so, a Merry Christmas to us all my dears. God Bless us, God bless us, everyone.