Michael May's Blog, page 21

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Jim Carrey (2009)

After his apocryphal fall from orbit at the end of Christmas Past's visit, Robert Zemeckis' Scrooge is still flat on the floor when the clock tolls One and he hears a distant chuckling that grows louder as the dark bedroom grows brighter. Scrooge looks to where the light is coming from and sees it twinkling and spilling around the edges of the parlor door. 
Once Scrooge has gotten to his feet, the door flies open on its own to reveal a golden lit room bountifully decorated with candles and garland. In addition to being more festive, the room is also much bigger and taller than it was when we last saw it. A variety of chiming clocks fill the air with sweet sounds as the Ghost's laugh gets still louder and more boisterous. And as the camera pans across, it finally reveals a mountain of food with the Ghost perched on top of it. 
The Ghost is so high above Scrooge that it's tough to get a sense of scale, but he certainly gives the impression of being enormous, both physically and spiritually. His horn-shaped torch is decorative, but doesn't have the usual, ridged texture of a cornucopia. It works though and the light from it is extremely bright. He's bare chested and has long, brown hair, though once again his holly crown has no icicles.
His green robe is also ornately decorated with embroidery, but the fur trim is light brown instead of white. And it's so long that we never see his feet and whether or not he's wearing any shoes. I peeked ahead and we don't even see his feet when he pulls back the robe to reveal Ignorance and Want. He has another robe underneath. Modest about his toes, this Ghost.
He's wearing the empty sheath and Scrooge even comments on it. Like the rest of this Ghost's clothing and accessories, there's a lot of detail on it and it looks quite old, but it's not rusted. When Scrooge points out that it's empty, the Ghost looks at it and seems surprised and shrugs. "Peace on Earth! Good will toward men!" I like that the movie pauses to explain that detail. It's not necessary to understanding what's going on, but if you're going to include the scabbard, as most versions do, you might as well acknowledge its symbolism.
I also like that when he talks about having 1800 older brothers, he adds, "Eighteen hundred and forty-two, to be exact." It's like we're getting helpful little annotations.
That said, though, I don't love this version of Christmas Present. Like the other Christmas Ghosts in the movie, it's also played by Jim Carrey, which is a gimmick. There's no reason for it in the story and he's not the best choice for the role. He looks like Jim Carrey in a wig and fake beard, his laugh is manic, and his half-hearted Scot accent isn't contributing anything.
Carrey's Scrooge continues to be strong though. He continues to be humble and respectful, even though he doesn't explicitly say anything about the lesson he learned from the previous ghost. "Spirit," he simply says, "Conduct me where you will."
So the Spirit laughs again and lowers the belt of his robe to the floor so that Scrooge can grab it. When Scrooge does, the belt lights up, the mountain of food begins to disappear, and the room changes in a way that's unique to this version. We'll save that to talk about next year though.

AfterLunch | Bond Novels – Diamonds Are Forever

I cover Ian Fleming's fourth James Bond novel, Diamonds Are Forever, in another solo episode. Bond returns to the United States to bust up a mob-run diamond smuggling operation, but how do these hoods measure up as a threat to a spy used to taking on mad industrialists and agents of the Soviets' assassination bureau? And what about Tiffany Case?
Download or listen to the episode here.

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Scrooge McDuck (1983)

Mickey's Christmas Carol opens this scene with Scrooge in bed, still distraught over reliving his break-up with Isabelle. I suspect that's as close as we'll get to his acknowledgment to the Ghost of Christmas Present that he's still learning from the previous Spirit, but it's enough for now.

This version is one of those that had Marley announce that all three Spirits would visit in one evening, so Scrooge's little bedside clock chimes Two and not One before the next Ghost arrives. Scrooge isn't nervously anticipating the new Ghost; he's still beating himself up about Isabelle when a light comes on through his bedcurtains and he hears, "Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum!"

He peeks through the curtains and sees as lavishly decorated a room as we've had so far. This version has Scrooge living in pretty much just one room, so Scrooge doesn't even have to get out of bed to see what the Ghost has done.

Since we're dealing with a giant ghost, Disney has cast Willie the Giant from the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun and Fancy Free (1947). Willie's kind of a dumb character, which is funny, but that does mean we're not going to get the joyful, ultra compassionate character I love so much from other versions. But because Willie was created as an antagonist for "Mickey and the Beanstalk," he's going to be a bit threatening to Scrooge and that may not be entirely inappropriate as we go through these next scenes. 

Physically, Willie doesn't have either a beard or long hair, but he's dressed correctly in the green robe with white trim and the holly crown (still no icicles, though). His chest isn't particularly exposed, but then maybe that's best when this version isn't defined by his heart the way that others are. He's not wearing a shirt under the robe though, so that's something.

He also doesn't have bare feet (and won't really need them since we won't get Ignorance and Want in this version). Instead, he's wearing medieval hose like he did in "Beanstalk." He has no sheath or scabbard of any kind and doesn't even have the iconic cornucopia-shaped torch. He'll find another light source when they get outside, which will be funny, but I still miss that torch. Like I said, though, the room is packed with food and the Spirit is sitting on a literal throne that's covered in and surrounded by it. 

Scrooge is initially terrified of the Ghost, but after Willie declares that Scrooge is too distasteful and miserly to be appetizing to even a man-eating giant, Scrooge becomes more like his old self. Willie refers to the much more appealing food around them and Scrooge is greedily interested (unlike his earlier reaction to Donald's description of Christmas dinner). 

In lieu of Willie's actually being an exemplar of love and generosity himself, Disney has Scrooge ask where all the food came from, which prompts Willie to explain that it's "from the heart" and to give a speech about the generosity that Scrooge has "long denied your fellow man." That's what I mean about Willie's antagonistic background being a benefit. When he confronts Scrooge about his failings, it carries weight that little Jiminy Cricket - as fussy as he can be - could never bring.

Scrooge is still resistant though. He asks when anyone has ever been generous to him, clearly forgetting about the vision of Fezziwig he just experienced. But then again, the Fezziwig scene was really all about Isabelle for Scrooge.

Willie's first response to Scrooge's accusation is that "you've never given them reason" to be generous. That always makes me a little nervous, because I always forget what he says next. I don't like the implication that generosity is something that should be earned. Clearly people have been generous to Scrooge. Just look at Donald's consistent, annual invitation to Christmas dinner. That's a much stronger argument and happily it's where Willie is going next.

He tells Scrooge that there are people who care about him, but Scrooge is incredulous. By this time, Willie has already stuffed Scrooge in his giant pocket, so he lifts the roof off of Scrooge's house so that they can both leave and see what Willie's talking about.

This Scrooge is a tough nut to crack, so it works symbolically that the Spirit doesn't even ask him to take the minor action of touching the Spirit's robe. Instead, Scrooge is forcibly brought along with no choice in the matter.

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Walter Matthau (1978)

Rankin-Bass' version of The Stingiest Man in Town ended the previous scene with Scrooge falling asleep in bed as usual. But instead of immediately having him wake up again, the story cuts outside to Scrooge's window where our old friend BAH Humbug is peering in and wondering how Scrooge got back. He stayed behind when Scrooge left with the Ghost of Christmas Past, so he's not as caught up on events as we viewers are. 
Just as Humbug is trying to figure this out, the big, nearby church clock strikes One and worries the little bug. Inside, though, Scrooge is still fast asleep and not thinking at all about the impending arrival of the next ghost. In fact, he's awakened by the Spirit's boisterous, jolly laughter coming from the next room. Scrooge wonders what the sound is, but Humbug knows. "Looks like the Number Two Ghost is right on time!" I think that's a random train schedule joke and if it is, I like it.
Scrooge still isn't getting out of bed, so the door to his room opens on its own and a bright, yellow light pours in just as the TV special cuts to commercial. When we come back, Humbug is now inside and looking toward the open door and the bright light alongside Scrooge. 
Scrooge finally gets out of bed and goes to check things out, where we see his redecorated parlor. It's not covered in food, but there's a festive tree next to a table that has a candelabra, a couple of empty wine glasses, and a couple of dishes heaped with meat and fruit. The camera pans across the room to reveal the Ghost standing over a cake, a big cooked bird of some kind, and scattered grapes and potatoes. There's a barrel, presumably filled with wine, and the Ghost has a big, bare foot propped on something round that could be another food container or maybe just a piece of furniture. 
The Ghost is so big that we don't see his face at first, but he's barefoot, has the empty scabbard (not particularly rusted), and his robe is the right colors. He introduces himself as the camera pans up to reveal his broad, bare chest, his standard cornucopia torch, and his holly crown. There are no icicles on the crown, but the biggest alteration from Dickens' version is that this ghost has long, white hair and beard instead of brown. Like with the Marvel Comics version, I assume this is to suggest Santa Claus to North American kids in the audience. As he invites Scrooge to come and know him better, the camera pulls back to reveal his full form.
Since this is a musical version, we get a song here to explain what this Ghost is about. It's not sung by the Ghost himself though, but by toys and ornaments on the Christmas tree that come to life and dance around. It's a fun, earworm of a song with a chorus that goes:

"Listen to the song of the Christmas Spirit,Can't you hear it? Can't you hear it?Listen to the song of the Christmas Spirit,Ringing in the air."

I won't reprint the entire lyrics, but a typical verse goes:

"Tinkling laughs of girls and boysMingle with the jingle of tinkling toys.Words of hope and happy timesSung to the music that chimes."

The point of the song is in the line: "Can't you hear it?" They're asking Scrooge why he can't hear the joy and spirit of Christmastime. Another line goes, "Boys and Girls can sing it too. They sing this song. Why can't you?"
Scrooge is distraught at first and asks the Spirit to stop the singing toys, but instead the Spirit hits Scrooge with a fireball from his torch (which is also what he used to bring the toys to life). Scrooge shrinks to toy (and Humbug) size and the toys quickly come over and pull both Scrooge and Humbug into the dance. Scrooge resists at first, which leads to some slapstick, but Humbug listens to the sound and joins in quickly. And before long, Scrooge has become caught up too and is enjoying himself with Humbug and the rest.
This version leaves out Dickens' line about Scrooge's wanting to continue learning what the previous Ghost taught him, but we see the same basic effect. Scrooge was frightened and saddened by his glimpses at the past, but having been torn down from that experience, he's already being built back up here before this Spirit shows him a single thing. 
At the height of these shenanigans, the Spirit scoops up Scrooge and the Humbug and tosses them out the window where they fly over the city. Scrooge returns to his normal size and is concerned that he's going to fall, but the Spirit (who has followed them out the window) commands Scrooge to "touch the hem of my coat and be lifted."
The "hem" reference is interesting, because it's not from Dickens. It's from a couple of instances in the Gospel of Matthew that refer to people being healed by touching the hem of Jesus' garment. I noticed in the Marley scene that this version is more overtly Christian in its language than other versions, so I imagine that it's making an intentional connection between the Spirit of Christmas Present and the spirit of Christ's teaching. Properly manifested, both have the power to heal.

AfterLunch | A Marvelous Holiday Special

Back on Episode 15 of the old Fourth Chair Army Invasion show, we imagined a live-action TV version of a DC Super Hero Holiday Special comic. Now it's Marvel's turn as Rob and I welcome Michael DiGiovanni, Mike Westfall, and Ben Graham to assign each other super heroes and holiday elements to turn into segments on a Marvelous Holiday Special.
Download or listen to the episode here.

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Alastair Sim (1971)

Richard Williams' cartoon has Scrooge awakened by the clock tolling One, but Scrooge's bedcurtains are already pulled aside and the light is already pouring through his door. He climbs out of bed and shields his face from the brightness as the unseen (by the audience, anyway) Spirit bellows, "Enter, Ebenezer Scrooge!"
Scrooge goes into the other room where the giant-sized ghost does sit on a throne of food. Garland decorates the walls and the only sound other than the Spirit's voice is the crackling fire in his cornucopia-shaped torch. The Spirit's appearance is pretty much like Dickens describes. His robe and trim are the correct colors and the robe is open in the front to reveal the Ghost's broad, bare chest. His chest is oddly colored with a band of brown that I think is supposed to indicate hair. It's the same color brown as the Spirit's long hair and beard, it's just not like any patch of chest hair that I've ever seen.
He has the bare feet though and the swordless sheath, but the sheath isn't particularly rusted, nor are there icicles in the holly crown. The animation has always been very good in this version and there's a lot of detail in this scene around the food, but it skimps in other areas like these parts of the Spirit's costume.
This Scrooge has been humble and compliant since the end of Marley's visit and that continues in this scene. He doesn't talk about the previous night's lesson still working on him, but we've seen that it has and he tells this Ghost that he's willing to profit by whatever the Ghost has to teach him. All the other dialogue is cut out though, including the stuff about the Spirit's older brothers. That's a shame, but this is only a half-hour cartoon, so trims are necessary.
The Spirit of course invites Scrooge to touch his robe and I like the way that Scrooge's hand is engulfed in the fabric as he grabs hold. 

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Teen Titans #13 (1968)

The Teen Titans Christmas Carol is a unique bit of fun in our study, because it isn't an actual adaptation, but simply an adventure inspired by Dickens' story. The Titans have noticed similarities between Dickens' characters and the people involved with their current case, so they're using Christmas Carol tactics to try to redeem a crooked, old sinner named Ebenezer Scrounge.
Kid Flash impersonated the Ghost of Christmas Past and showed Scrounge a photo of his younger self with an old flame. It was a sad, half-hearted attempt to show Scrounge a better version of himself, but we don't really know that Scrounge was all that much better off in the past and there's no reason to think that the tactic will actually work to change Scrounge. Except that of course it will because Bob Haney wrote this and he wasn't exactly known for nuance or subtlety. It'll work because A Christmas Carol worked.
One thing that definitely worked though was that Scrounge thought he was seeing an actual ghost and he was terrified of it. So in this year's scene, he runs out of his junkyard office and tries to make it home through the snow. He's stopped though by Robin (his green glove gives him away to the readers, if not to Scrounge) in yet another half-assed Christmas Ghost cloak like the one Kid Flash used, just a different color. 
He claims that he's here to show Scrounge how his stinginess hurts other people. Scrounge is still scared to death of these ghosts, but hasn't shown any desire to repent yet. 

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Graphic Classics, Volume 19: Christmas Classics

Alex Burrows and Micah Farritor's version give a page and a couple of spill-over panels to this scene. At the end of the last Christmas Past page, Scrooge goes to bed and the final panel of the page has the clock striking One.
On our main page, Scrooge doesn't sit up in anticipation of the next Ghost, but is awakened by banging and crashing sounds coming from his sitting room. There's no light under the door, but he goes to check out the noise and that's when he meets the spirit. Whom I presume made the racket while setting up the Christmas feast?
The largest panel on this page introduces the Ghost who's sitting at a table filled with holiday food that's also spilling onto the floor. It doesn't appear to cover every inch of the room, but it's bountiful. There's also festive garland on the walls. 
The Ghost himself is very large and carries what I'm now considering the standard, one-handed cornucopia-shaped torch. He has the green robe with the white fur trim. And while his chest isn't bared, his robe falls loosely enough on him that we can see he's shirtless underneath it. The robe is also long enough to cover most of his feet and we don't get a good look in this scene, but a peek ahead in the book shows me that he's barefoot.
He has the long, brown hair and the holly wreath, but still no icicles in this version either. He does have the swordless sheath though and kudos to the colorist (Farritor, I presume, but I don't know for sure) for giving the sheath a rusted texture. That makes this the most faithful version yet and I especially like Farritor's design of the Ghost's face with its high cheekbones and large, strong nose. He's quite distinctive.

Scrooge doesn't mention anything about the effect of the previous night's experience on him, but we've seen him strongly affected by it in those scenes. Spelling it out is unnecessary in this version, so all Scrooge needs to say is that if this Ghost has something to teach Scrooge, he's ready to profit from it.
That ends the main page of this scene, leaving the Ghost to invite Scrooge to touch his robe (and Scrooge's actually doing it) in the first panel of the next page that will also have them actually hitting the streets.

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | Campfire’s A Christmas Carol (2010)

Like the Classics Illustrated and Marvel adaptations, Scott McCullar and Naresh Kumar's version gives this scene two pages. The first has Scrooge wake up and pull back his curtains, and the narrative text specifically calls out that he's doing it in order not to be surprised by the next ghost. By the end of the page, Scrooge has seen the light under his door and opened the door to be flooded with brightness.
The second page isn't a splash, but still gives most of its space to dramatically introducing the Ghost. This is my favorite depiction of the feast so far. Food and candles are everywhere and I love the muted, brown and golden color palette. It's very lush and decadent. And the food's extending behind the Ghost gives the impression that he could be sitting on a throne of it.

The Ghost himself is giant-sized, though not supernaturally so (which isn't a requirement). He's got the one-handed cornucopia torch that I like and his robes and fur-trim are the right colors. He's also got the broad, bare chest and long, brown hair. We don't see his feet for a good, long time, but peeking forward in the book, they are bare. He's got the swordless scabbard, too, which is a little more detailed than the Classical Comics version, but still not explicitly rusted. It does have an ancient quality to it though (or maybe I'm reading that into it). Like the Classical Comics version, this Ghost has everything except the icicles in the holly crown.

Kumar's inconsistent depictions of Scrooge early in the adaptation led me to the theory that this version is a malevolent sociopath who may be hallucinating all these ghosts in an effort to climb out of his own insanity. That continues in this scene. When the Ghost asks if Scrooge has ever walked with any of the Ghost's older brothers, Scrooge smiles kindly(?!) as he replies, "Never." There's nothing humble or apologetic about it, but there's also no sense that he's resentful or smug. There's no sense that he's interacting with a real being at all. Or at least that he believes he's interacting with a real being.
The dialogue modifies Scrooge's speech so that he doesn't say anything about having learned a lesson the night before. Instead, he tells the Spirit, "If you have anything to teach me, let's get this lesson done, so I may benefit from it." It's a perfectly inconsistent statement for this confused Scrooge. "Let's get this over with," but also, "I'm willing to change."
The Ghost does invite Scrooge to touch his robe and there's even a small panel focused on Scrooge's doing just that. As irregular as this Scrooge is, he's at least taking steps to get better.

“Come In! And Know Me Better, Man!" | A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (2008)

Classical Comics' version by Sean Michael Wilson and Mike Collins is a long graphic novel with plenty of pages to devote to each scene. Where the earlier two comics give it at most a couple, here it gets four.
The first page deals with Scrooge's waking up at the stroke of 1:00 am and pulling back his curtains in anticipation of the next ghost. The second builds tension as Scrooge waits, then sees the light under the door to the next room, then goes to open the door where he's flooded with light.
The third page is a splash with the introduction of the Ghost of Christmas Present. The banquet is confined to a table, so it doesn't cover every square foot of space, but the table is huge and the lay out of food is lavish. We can't really see what the Ghost is sitting on, but he's got one, giant foot resting on a bunch of kegs. There's also festive garland everywhere. It's an impressive page.
The Ghost is absolutely giant and has the cornucopia torch, looking more in this version the way I usually imagine it than the two-handed affair of Marvel's Ghost. He's got the green robe with the white fur, the big bare chest and shoeless feet, and his hair is long and brown. And though we won't get a good look until the Ghost and Scrooge hit the streets, the Ghost is also wearing the scabbard without a sword (though there's not enough detail to show that it's rusted). The only thing missing from Dickens' description are the icicles on the holly crown, so this is the most accurate representation of the Ghost so far.

The fourth page has the bulk of Scrooge and the Ghost's conversation before leaving the house. This comic has shown some willingness to change in Scrooge that started during Marley's visit and continued into Christmas Past's, so it's fitting that Scrooge recites the line from Dickens about learning a lesson the previous night that's still working on him at present. And the Ghost's inviting Scrooge to touch his robe is a perfect way to end the page before moving to the street for next year's scene.