I'll admit to enjoying most of it. I could have done without the Rockettes, but some scenes worked very well. Anything using "A Place Called Home" was especially nice. For a TV movie, especially, it's worth seeing if you like *A Christmas Carol.*
For me, the very best *Christmas Carol* of all is The Muppets' version. Love Michael Caine as Scrooge.
I enjoy the music
shareI just finished it and I loved it. I really enjoyed the music too. I haven't seen the Albert Finny one so I can't compare it.
I thought the costumes and the dancing in the snow was good. And the old Scrooge was played well too.
shareI don't get the hate. This has been my favorite version for years. I also love the Muppets' version too.
shareThere are over 80 versions of this. You're going to find people who dislike any one of them.
FYI: My favorite version is Scrooge (1970) with Albert Finney.
Being a musical, this version is immediately going to alienate a fair number of people. Some people don't like musicals, no matter how good they are. Personally, I can enjoy the occasional musical but I don't like it when the musical numbers come at you non-stop, and in this one they do. There's barely a moment to breathe from one song to the next.
Another issue is that all the sets look very much like sets. Maybe in homage to its stage roots they weren't even trying to convince anyone that these are real locations in London, but everything is clearly artificial and the flat lighting just further hammers this home. (Furthermore, why is it always daytime? A Christmas Carol is a nighttime story.)
And lastly, this version makes a lot of departures from Dickens' story. They are relatively small departures, but they are frequent and that is going to annoy purists. (Did it serve any real purpose to change Fan's name to Emily?)
Overall I thought this adaptation provided a mildly interesting and unique experience but I didn't love it and will probably never watch it again.
For the record, my favorites are, in this order, 1951 with Sim, 1984 with Scott, 1999 with Stewart and 1938 with Owen.