What The Dickens, It's His 200th Birthday!

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles John Huffam Dickens, generally considered the greatest novelist of the Victoria era. His mixture of humor and pathos brought great attention to the social conditions among all classes -- and underclasses -- of mid-19th century England.

Britain marked the anniversary with the laying of a wreath at his grave in Westminster Abbey in London and a street party in his native Portsmouth.

Dickens died in 1870. Through his works, he added such words to the English dictionary as Dickensian (squalid and poverty-stricken, as in his novels), Scrooge (a mean-spirited miserly person), Fagin (an adult who instructs children in crime) and gamp (British slang for an umbrella -- after Mrs. Sarah Gamp, a nurse in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit, who carried a faded cotton umbrella).

His works have been adapted -- sometimes loosely -- into dozens of cartoons. Here are just a few:


Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (UPA Productions, 1962)
Mr. Magoo's first exposure on network TV was also the first made-for-TV animated special. In addition, it was the first animated TV musical.

A Christmas Carol (Richard Williams Productions, 1971)
Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern repeated their roles as Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley from the 1951 theatrical version of Scrooge. Originally aired on ABC in 1971, this was later released theatrically, winning an Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1973. This aroused some controversy, as it was not initially a theatrical release; Academy rules were subsequently changed to prevent this from recurring. It was the only motion picture version of A Christmas Carol to win an Academy Award.
Oliver And The Artful Dodger (Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1972)
Oliver Twist has been adopted by the wealthy Mr. Brownlow and stands to inherit his fortune. When Mr. Brownlow dies, and his will cannot be located, his wicked nephew Sniperly arrives to claim his uncle's money. Meanwhile, the Artful Dodger now devotes his time to rescuing small children from the greedy clutches of Mr. Bumble, the manager of the local workhouse. This show originally aired in two one-hour parts as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.

Oliver Twist (Filmation Associates, 1974)
Originally released as a 75-minute theatrical film, this feature was re-edited, shortened, and broadcast on NBC in 1981.

The Stingiest Man In Town (Rankin-Bass Productions/Top Craft, 1978)
This American-Japanese co-production was designed by MAD's Paul Coker. Featuring Walter Matthau as Ebenezer Scrooge, Robert Morse as Young Scrooge, and Tom Bosley as the narrator, B.A.H. Humbug.

Mickey's Christmas Carol (Walt Disney Television Animation, 1983
A heartwarming Disney version of Dickens' timeless classic. Mickey plays Bob Cratchit and Scrooge McDuck plays, of course, Scrooge. This half-hour featurette was released with the 1983 re-release of Disney's The Rescuers.

Oliver & Company (Walt Disney Studios, 1988)
Once upon a time in New York City, orphan kitten Oliver (Joey Lawrence) falls in with rascal mutt Dodger (Billy Joel), one of the pickpocket hounds under the watch of human crook Fagin (Dom DeLuise). Oliver & Company was the first film to have a separate computer animation department responsible for all computer imagery. The computer animation portions of the film amounted to more than 11 minutes. In this feature, CG animation was used principally for shots of motor vehicles.

A Flintstones' Christmas Carol (Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1994)
Fred gets the part of Scrooge in the Christmas play at the Bedrock Community Theatre, but inadvertently starts living the part. This one takes place- once again- when Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are babies. Fred is so obsessed with playing the lead in the play that he forgets to buy his family presents.

A Christmas Carol (DiC Entertainment, 1997)
Airing on ABC, this 72-minute animated musical featured Tim Curry as Scrooge and Whoopi Goldberg as the Spirit of Christmas Present.

A Christmas Carol (Mattel/Mainframe Entertainment, 2008)
An adaptation of the classic Dickens story filled with cherished Christmas carols, fabulous fashions and lots of laughs. The tale stars Barbie as Eden Starling the glamorous singing diva of a theater in Victorian London. Along with her snooty cat, Chuzzlewit, Eden selfishly plans to make all the theater performers stay and rehearse on Christmas Day. Not even Eden’s costume designer and childhood friend Catherine can talk Eden out of her self-centered tantrum. It’s up to three very unusual Christmas Spirits to take Eden on a fantastical holiday journey that will open her heart to the spirit of the season and the joy of giving.

A Christmas Carol (Walt Disney Pictures/ImageMovers Digital, 2009)
Disney's first animated movie in IMAX 3D. The film used the same performance capture technique that director Robert Zemeckis used in Polar Express and Beowulf.


Old joke:
He: "Have you ever seen Oliver Twist?"
She: "No, but I've seen it do everything else!"