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International Journal of English and Literature (IJEL) ISSN(P): 2249-6912; ISSN(E): 2249-8028 Vol. 6, Issue 2, Apr 2016, 77-82 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd

MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL: A DERIVATION

THAT IS NOT DERIVATIVE

AYANA BENJAMIN Department of and Literature, University of Kerala, Kerala, India Department of Creative Writing, University of Aberystwyth, Wales, Kerala, India ABSTRACT

My research paper titled Mickey’s Christmas Carol: A Derivation That Is Not Derivative is a comparative study of ’s novella and the screenplay of the 1983 movie, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. I will be looking into aspects such as the voice of the narrator, introduction, humour and exaggeration. Disney compresses the story to a 25-minute , with the dialogues almost completely rewritten. Unlike many other productions of A Christmas Carol, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” also lacks a narratorial voice which often necessitates the characters to take up the responsibility of the narrator in the novella. I am also interested in how and team, who adapted the story, has altered the dialogues to suit the nature and identities of

the Disney characters who play the roles. A large proportion of the screenplay has strong intertextual elements Original Article suggesting concepts and themes introduced at length in previous Disney movies. Do sthey impede with the style and message of Dickens, and whether it is an undesirable effect is a question I would like to discuss. In Literature through Film Stam writes ‘An adaptation is automatically different and original due to the change of medium.’ Derridean deconstruction dismantled the hierarchy of ‘original’ and ‘copy’ and Bakhtinian ‘proto-poststructuralist’ conception of the author suggests a devalourisation of artistic ‘originality’. I will try to establish the screenplay of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” as a creative work in its own right despite its origin in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. In Linda Hutcheon’s words, ‘an adaptation is a derivation that is not derivative – a work that is second without being secondary’.

KEYWORDS: Disney, Adaptation, Intertexuality, Originality, Film, Dickens

Received: Mar 10, 2016; Accepted: Mar 25, 2016; Published: Apr 07, 2016; Paper Id.: IJELAPR2016013

INTRODUCTION

The Canadian academic Linda Hutcheon in her 2006 book A Theory of Adaptation attempts to describe what an adaptation is. She writes that it is (a) An acknowledged transposition of a recognizable work or works (b) A creative and an interpretive act of appropriation/salvaging (c) An extended intertextual engagement with the adapted work. Her conclusion is that ‘an adaptation is a derivation that is not derivative – a work that is second without being secondary.’

Dickens’ writing has been seen by critics such as Eisenstein as very filmic. A Christmas Carol is a major example, a work that has proved to be very adaptable with recurring reworkings and reproductions for almost two centuries. Dickens was concerned about the situation of the poor and children in the Victorian society which finds expression in A Christmas Carol . Dickens was facing bankruptcy at the time he wrote A Christmas Carol , and had been thinking of quitting the writing profession. However, the popularity of the novella saved his career.

www.tjprc.org [email protected] 78 Ayana Benjamin

The earliest adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Disney is the 1983 movie, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” directed and co-written by Burny Mattinson. The movie was advertised as Mickey’s great come back to the big screen. This is interesting as Mickey is not given the role of the protagonist or any character which particularly stands out from the rest. However, the movie is still known as ‘the movie that returned to the big screen’.

For the purpose of this research I have used the movie script available at www.springfieldspringfield.com, and the Hazell, Watson & Viney edition of the novella. It should be noted that as I am using a movie script and not an original copy of the screenplay, any authorial or directorial instructions included in the screenplay by the team of writers who worked for the movie will be missing in my discussion. In fact, as per the information in the video, “The Making of Mickey’s Christmas Carol” no such single complete formal document was written.

Numerous internet resources, both academic and non-academic, defines originality as ‘the aspect of created or invented works by [which they can be identified] as being new or novel, and thus can be distinguished from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or derivative works. It is a work created with a unique style and substance.’ In William Verrone’s view, film adaptations ‘are intrinsically new texts wherein the spectator forms meaning based on the immediate experience of watching the film. Some prior knowledge of the adapted text may be helpful, but it is not necessary to enjoy the film as its own new thing.’

In the next section, I will be discussing some of the characteristics of the movie script that makes it different from the novella.

FEATURES OF THE SCRIPT

Absence of a Narratorial Voice : Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has a very prominent narratorial voice. The voice converses with the readers – gives opinions, makes comments, wonderfully paints the atmosphere and backdrops, contributes towards the portrayal of characters and gives suggestions to the readers as to what opinions or feelings they should form of various situations and characters in the story. The voice adapts its rhythm, tone and speed to the events it narrates. For instance, there is a world of difference between the style in which Mr Fezziwig’s Christmas party is described and the visit of the of Christmas Yet to Come is described.

Unlike some productions of A Christmas Carol , like “The Muppet Christmas Carol”, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” does not have a narrator. So the weight of the narration is taken up by various characters and the visuals in the movie. For instance, the character of and the very important information that he has been dead for seven years when the story begins are presented to the audience by Ebenezer in a soliloquy. Many of the characters take upon themselves to reveal their own nature and attitudes either through dialogues or through actions. For example, rather than a narrator telling the audience how ruthless a moneylender was Scrooge, we hear him go over his books: ‘Let's see now, 50 pounds, plus his 80% interest compounded daily…’

Exaggeration : The story that Dickens narrates in almost seventy pages is presented in just 25 minutes by Disney. This means that each scene should have an intensity that can quickly reveal characters and situations rather than reinforcing certain features by presenting them at work in various contexts or elaborating on a situation. Dickens’ Scrooge gives his employee a whole day of on the 25 th of December with full pay. However Scrooge McDuck’s character gives only a half a day off to Mickey’s Cratchit, and docks half a day’s pay. In A Christmas Carol , Belle releases Scrooge from their engagement as his nature has altered and priorities have changed. While Scrooge does not behave like a

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 6.1 Mickey’s Christmas Carol: A Derivation that is Not Derivative 79 sensitive lover, he isn’t an outright brute in the novella. However, Disney’s Scrooge is approached by an Isabelle who has bought a honeymoon cottage and is waiting to be married. Scrooge forecloses the mortgage as her last payment was an hour late. These scenes help portray the character of Scrooge within a very limited time.

Another example is the events during the visit of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, which finally transform Scrooge completely. In the novella, the take Scrooge to numerous places, some described in details and some just mentioned or listed out. Dickens’ Scrooge is witness to a variety of experiences during the visits. However, Disney had to create verisimilitude regarding the transformation of Scrooge within a very short time period. Hence, they have made the final scene involving the spirit rather terrifying, with the evil laugh of who plays the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, the taunting remark that Scrooge is ‘the richest man in the cemetery’ and Scrooge almost falling into a burning hell. In the novella, we find that the ghost feels kindness towards Scrooge when he weeps at the knowledge that he is the dead man buried in the cemetery. But McDuck’s character does not receive any sympathy from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Humour : Dickens’ work is largely didactic while Disney, true to its role as an entertainment industry, provides a fun-filled package in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is an emotional journey, with empathising readers going through pains, regrets, merriment, excitement, fear, repentance, hope and a lot more. “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is so full of humour that the spectators are not likely to remain sorry or frightened for more than a couple of minutes when they will find themselves smiling at a dialogue, an intertextual reference or physical . It is not likely to have the sort of impact Dickens work had although it does convey the same message. It is said that Thomas Carlyle was so touched by Dickens’ story that he ‘rushed out to buy a turkey with which to entertain his friends’.

When the portly gentlemen visit Scrooge, the first person played by Ratty says, ‘we are soliciting funds for the indigent and destitute’, which Moley paraphrases for a puzzled Scrooge, ‘We’re collecting for the poor’. Jacob Marley enters Scrooge’s room tripping on Scrooge’s walking stick commenting, ‘Gosh, kind of slippery’, and leaves tripping on the first step of the staircase giving out a typical howl. Seeing him being a klutz, despite being a ghost, shakes away the horrors of a dead person’s visit and reminds the audience that it is the fumbling bumbling Goofy that they are watching after all. Isabelle flirts with a young Ebenezer, ‘My eyes are closed, my lips are puckered and I am standing under the mistletoe’ and Scrooge replies, ‘You are also standing on my foot’.

Dialogues to Suit Actors : The Disney writers have written dialogues in such a way as to match the characteristics of the Disney characters well known to the audience. For instance, although Goofy portrays Marley’s ghost, which is meant to be eerie and frightening, we find his dialogues not very unusual for Goofy. He says, ‘I'm forced to carry these heavy chains through eternity.’ Then he stops a second with a stupid expression before adding, ‘Maybe even longer’. The pompous dialogues of Ratty contrasted with the naïve responses of Moley is another example. Moley is a character very much loved by Disney fans and it would have seemed very farfetched to give him any different style of speech or manners. Scrooge McDuck, being a Scottish character, speaks in a Scottish dialect while there is no reference of being a Scotsman in A Christmas Carol . So he refers to his younger self as the ‘shy lad in the corner’ and asks about Tiny Tim, ‘what's wrong with that kind lad ?’ Introduction of this kind of dialogues helps the Disney fans accept their favourite characters in the new roles. However, the Scottishness of his speech is more noticeable in accent and pronunciation than in vocabulary and structure of sentences, and hence beyond the scope of this paper.

Intertextuality with Other Disney Works : “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” abounds in intertextual elements. This is one of the aspects of the work that makes it very rich. Each character brings with it numerous ideas, stories, values and www.tjprc.org [email protected] 80 Ayana Benjamin morals from previous Disney movies and TV productions. For instance, Willie the Giant repeats some of his dialogues from “Mickey and the Beanstalk” often adapting it to the purposes of the current story. Thus he smells a ‘stingy little English man’(sic) instead of Mickey, Donald and Goofy, and he is still unable to pronounce the name of his favourite dish -- chocolate pot roast with pistachio. Although Mrs Cratchit expresses her displeasure with her husband’s employer in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol , true to her nature refrains from any bitter remarks. We know very little about the portly gentlemen introduced by Dickens. However, Ratty and Moley are very familiar to Disney fans and this gives them a prominence in the story that the characters do not receive in the novella. It is significant that they remain true to their nature as evident in the movies such as “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad”.

Style and Message: Dickens style of writing is very descriptive, didactic and replete with imageries. For instance, he evokes the family atmosphere at Cratchit’s house with details of events, setting and dialogues, while frequently moralising. Disney has chosen actors quite suitable for the roles they are playing and are largely relieved of the job to impress upon their loyal audience the nature of each character. The spectators who have watched Mickey and Minnie in company of their nephews and nieces do not have to stretch their imagination to take in the atmosphere at Cratchit’s house. And of course, film has the additional benefits of music and visuals, along with the verbal expressions thus facilitating the script to take a lesser role than words do in a novella. To take the same example, the events that happen in the Cratchit household could be comprehended even without any dialogues.

Despite the humour, despite the intertextuality that is likely to inspire an audience to reminiscent of older Disney movies which could be seen as distracting from the plot at hand, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is able to send the message of caring for fellow beings and holding the Christmas spirit. The time constraint does not allow the movie to draw an audience into it and guide them through the experiences that Scrooge goes through in such an involving fashion that Dickens is able to. However, with the sympathy and familiarity audience bring to the Disney characters, it becomes quite possible to have a similar, not the same, impact on the audience as A Christmas Carol has on its readers.

CONCLUSIONS

Screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen says that writing an original screenplay is a simple task as one is free while ‘Adapting literary works to film is, without a doubt, a creative undertaking, but the task requires a kind of selective interpretation, along with the ability to recreate and sustain an established mood’. It seems that despite adaptation being lately accepted as a new work and not obliged to be ‘faithful’, there is always a pressure to be in some way true to the original. Christa Albrecht-Crane and Dennis Cutchins argue that a novel to film adaptation is never a matter of ‘sameness’ but rather one of ‘difference’. In the case of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”, the difference is not in the message conveyed by the tale, but in how it is conveyed.

Verrone says, ‘Translations also indicate that there is a change in spectatorship, from reading to viewing, if it is a novel-to-film adaptation, for instance.’ Disney is mainly aiming at a different population to that catered by Dickens. Just as Dickens’ audience come with a certain pre-knowledge, for instance, the Victorian social conditions and Joe Miller jokes, the Disney audience are familiar with the actors, used to having certain messages passed on to them in a short period of time, and able to make certain connections between music, dialogues and actions. There are certain expectations on the movie that is different from the expectations the Dickens’ admirers had on his works. For instance, a Disney audience do not expect extended sentimentality or moralising for which Dickens is well-known.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 6.1 Mickey’s Christmas Carol: A Derivation that is Not Derivative 81

While there are moments of grief and grave thoughts, Mickey’s Christmas Carol keeps a merry atmosphere for the most part. The visit by the first ghost in the novella is very eerie and Scrooge is careful not to offend it. McDuck’s Scrooge is visited by the high spirited ‘actor’ . From the moment they start conversation, the two exchange retorts:

• Scrooge: Oh, I thought you'd be taller. : Hmph. Listen, Scrooge, if men were measured by kindness, you'd be no bigger than a speck of dust.

• Ghost of Christmas Past: Come on, Scrooge, it's time to go. Scrooge: Then go. [Turning over in his bed to go back to sleep]

The message of good cheer and kindness is not delivered through long speeches, or leading the audience through terrifying or traumatising experiences. This is achieved by making use of the natural sympathy of the Disney fans towards their beloved actors. By showing these actors in their misery, poverty, regrets and joy, Disney is able to move the hearts of its audience. The children Ignorance and Want are absent in the Disney production. This might point to the difference in the nature of the society to which Disney caters. This might also be why Scrooge brings to the Cratchits a sack full of toys along with a turkey that isn’t even mentioned anywhere in the script. A Disney audience is more likely to understand the happiness of receiving toys rather than the happiness of satiating hunger.

Thomas Leitch in his work Film Adaptation and Its Discontents points out that the aim of the video “The Making of Mickey’s Christmas Carol” released along with “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is to shift the subject of ‘classic’ from Dickens to Disney and root Dickens in Disney prehistory. This shows that Disney has made a conscious effort to make this adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” not secondary to the novella, despite coming after it in time. The creators of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” were not weighed by the awareness of such situations as the suffering of the poor, child labour and unfair laws, and driven by a desire to bring social changes. This difference in the spirit behind the creation of these works is very obvious in the results. Thus it is quite clear that despite having its origin in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol , “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is not a derivative or a copy. It has enough originality and novelty to claim an existence as a genuine work of art and a product for entertainment.

REFERENCES

1. Billpeters. “1983 – Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. Dailymotion. 12 Mar 2011. Web

2. Bodeen, DeWitt. “The Adapting Art.” Films in Review14, 1963.

3. Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. London: Hazel, Watson & Viney Ltd, 1843.

4. Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation. London: Routledge, 2006.

5. Jude Law. “The Making of Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. Youtube. 21 Oct 2012.Web

6. Leitch, Thomas. Film Adaptations and Its Discontents. Baltimore: JHU Press, 2009.

7. Lundquist, Jack. Masters Thesis. “A “Time-Conscious” Christmas Carol”. All Theses and Dissertations. Brigham Young University, 2013.

8. McFarlane, Brian. Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1996.

9. “Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) Movie script”. http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=mickeys- christmas-carol

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10. Standiford, Les. The Man Who Invented Christmas. Crown/Archetype, 2008.

11. Van der Klis, Andriesa. BA Thesis. “A Discussion of Linda Hutcheon’s Theory of Adaptation in Relation to Fletcher’s The Tamer Tamed as an Adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew”. Utrecht University, 2013

12. Verrone, William. Adaptation and the Avant-Garde: Alternative Perspectives on Adaptation Theory and Practice. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.4049 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 6.1