Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
|violence||No gore, but the film contains a lot of macabe imagery and several jump-out-of-your-seat moments which may frighten children under 10. Mild slapstick violence during the chase sequences.|
|profanity||Scrooge mutters "Bugger it" once, "Hell" is said once or twice, as well as "ass" but nothing worse than that.|
|alcohol||Snuff is used briefly by a character. Characters raise glasses of ale and wine during party sequences.|
|frightening||The ghosts that visit Scrooge can be frightening in their own ways. Young children might be most frightened of Jacob Marley's ghost whose appearance is ghoulish and who wails loudly when not speaking in a creepy voice. At one point, his jaw becomes unhinged and he continues trying talking to Scrooge like that until he re-fastens his jaw. The sequence leading up to his appearance as he drags his chains up to Scrooge's bedchamber is very suspenseful. The Ghost of Christmas Present reveals two malnourished, angry children who represent Ignorance and Want who each act savage and insane. The Ghost of Christmas Present dies a disturbing death. As a clock tolls, he ages and becomes a skeleton who then fades to dust all while laughing. The Christmas Yet to Come sequence can frighten young children and includes a fast-paced chase sequence with wild dogs and demonic horses. As a very faithful version of the Dickens story, death and one's own mortality are the dominant themes of the film. The films contains imagery of corpses, coffins and cemeteries as well as a lot of dialogue about death, dying and regret.|