Two Men, One Scrooge - Part Four

Just getting back in from my Christmas shopping, I realize that we still have many more Scrooges to get through before the 25th hits us like a ton of fruitcake.

And you may remember in my last installment that this next look would be of some stingy old men who were a bit on the drawn side.

That's right; today we look at a couple of Dickensian characterizations who look and act cartoonish because they ARE cartoons.  So here we go:

NAME: Mr. Magoo

CHARACTER: Mr. Magoo/Ebenezer Scrooge

MOVIE: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

CHARACTERISTICS: more squinty-eyed than any other Scrooge, uses paintings for mirrors, sings about coins

PROS: not really a Scrooge (though he played one on TV), easy to identify from boy age to old man, can seemingly count coins very well even without any indication that he can see the coins

CONS: can tell when Bob Cratchit is sneaking some coal despite the fact that his eyes never open, only says "humbug" a couple of times, a little too round-faced to scowl very effectively

HOW HE CELEBRATES HIS REDEMPTION: wishes a horse a "Merry Christmas", nearly destroys the Broadway theater the play is performing in, stars in a TV special that started the whole cycle of animated network Christmas specials

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Ringle, ringle, coins when they jingle, make such a lovely sound."


NAME: Scrooge McDuck

CHARACTER: Ebenezer Scrooge

MOVIE: Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

CHARACTERISTICS: lilting Scottish brogue, dresses brightly for a miser, one of the very few people scared by a ghostly apparition that looks like Goofy

PROS: does a very effective job of pinching pennies (even with wings for hands), puts a lot of heart into those "bah humbug"s, gets all his laundry done by Mickey Mouse

CONS: likes hanging wreaths on moles' noses, forecloses on marriage cottages purchased by his own fiancee, a disturbing penchant for not wearing pants

HOW HE CELEBRATES HIS REDEMPTION: almost causes a horse carriage to crash, puts his top hat OVER Tiny Tim's head, still manages to save a few coins by not buying a goose for the Cratchits in the end

FAVORITE QUOTE: "My partner, Jacob Marley, dead seven years today. Oh, he was a good'n. He robbed from the widows and swindled the poor. In his will, he left me enough money to pay for his tombstone, and I had him buried at sea!"

I'm sure I can dig up a couple more or so Scrooges in the next day or so - let's hope so!

Dope out.

- TGWD