Product Details

• Actors: Walter Matthau, Tom Bosley, Theodore Bikel, Robert Morse, Dennis Day
• Directors: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
• Writers: Charles Dickens, Janice Torre, Romeo Muller
• Producers: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass, Masaki Îzuka
• Format: Animated, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: December 21, 1993
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301760379
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,281 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This cartoon version of A Christmas Carol hails from the production house of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass--the team that brought you just about every other Christmas special you saw as a kid (including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). Reinvented as a 49-minute musical ghost story, Stingiest stars the voice of Walter Matthau as the bedeviled Scrooge and Tom Bosley as the Jiminy Cricket-type narrator, B. Humbug, Esq. The 1978 animation is serviceable and the songs are sometimes catchy and clever (a reformed Scrooge tunefully ponders "Man's happiness should be my profit / His suffering my loss"). But since the cartoonists downplayed the scariness of the ghosts and the cute songs just slow the action, the cartoon's intended youthful audience may be end up feeling a bit restless. (Suitable for all ages) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good musical "Chrsitmas Carol", September 23, 2001

By 

Jim Jr (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stingiest Man in Town [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Way, way back at the time of live televison and only black and white pictures, "Stingiest Man In Town" was a Chrsitmas special with Basil Rathbone as Scrooge. It was a musical and, except for an LP recording of the score, quickly faded away. I can still remember sitting glued to the TV watching it. I have the recording and it is always out at holiday time. This was the seed from which this cartoon grew. The scenes were linked, not by Mr. Humbug, but by a quartet of Christmas carolers played by the Four Lads. It is a show that lived only in my momories as I listened to the recording.
Then those wonderful producers, Rankin and Bass took the original TV version and converted it to an animated special. While I would really like a tape of the original, this version is a great substitute. Rankin and Bass always have produced quality programs and this one is no different. It is one of the most enjoyable of the animated versions of this classic Dicken's work. The songs add a lightness to the story which can sometimes become boged down in so much social commentary that it becomes depressing instead of uplifting.
For family viewing, this is an excellent version fo "Christmas Carol" for younger audiences (but adults can hear some lovely music too). When the children are put to bed, the parents can then get out the wonderful Patrick Stewart or George C. Scott versions and enjoy it on another level. For another musical version, check out "Scrooge" with Albert Finney.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, a must see for Xmas time, January 26, 2004

By 

Luis Toro (Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. Honduras) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stingiest Man in Town [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I really hope they release this one on DVD. It's the most magical and tender version of Dickens's inmortal tale, filled with songs so powerful that will recall that child within you, felling the glow of Xmas the way It's meant to. It's a family tradition to share this animated treasure for us and it just gets better every year. It is just timeless

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please put out on Blue-Ray or DVD!, October 7, 2011

By 

Siliwishes "carterja" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stingiest Man in Town [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Grew up watching this and want a copy! My old recorded VHS is dying. I love the songs and everything Rankin/Bass. Gives me happy feelings.