Tag Archives: ebenezer scrooge

November 17, 2023

Super7 Super Size Disney’s Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge

By Joe
“Ehhbenezer Scoooooooge!”

Before Christmas and The Christmas Spot can begin, we have another Christmas toy to look at. This one comes courtesy of Super7 and its Super Size line. The Super Size line is a line of vinyl figures that stand around 17″ in height. These are big figures, and being that they’re vinyl, they’re not really articulated. They’re kind of like jumbo versions of their ReAction figures and some of them are basically direct adaptations of that line. They’re also really expensive and when you combine that with how much real estate they take up it makes it a hard line to truly collect.

This is what you came here for.

Last year, Super7 went after my heart by adding Scrooge McDuck to their line of Super Size offerings. And it wasn’t just Scrooge McDuck in his adventuring attire, it’s Scrooge as Ebenezer Scrooge from Mickey’s Christmas Carol, one of the greatest Christmas specials of all-time. How could I resist? Well, there were two-hundred and ninety-five reasons for me to resist that temptation. The MSRP basically made this one a nonstarter, even if I wanted it badly. I just couldn’t see myself spending three-hundred bucks on a vinyl statue. It just wasn’t going to happen. Lucky for me, waiting paid off. Recently, Amazon had a sale on this particular figure and it dropped to a tick over half-off. At under $150 bucks, now we’re talking. I even gave it some thought overnight, while also allowing the wife to maybe consider it as a Christmas gift, before pouncing. Now I have a new Christmas decoration for 2023 and, I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with my decision.

Not quite.

Scrooge arrived in a massive, brown, shipper. On it lists the product and it would appear this figure is one of 1,004. For a $300 vinyl toy of a cartoon duck, a thousand units is probably all that was made and it’s not really that surprising that some made it to the clearance section. Inside that brown shipper was a plain, white, box and inside that was the product’s box. It’s a glossy, deep, purple box with shiny gold trim. On the front and back is a silhouette of Scrooge from when he’s searching his room for spirits before going to bed and it’s done in a glossy rose gold. On the top is a simple Disney logo and on the sides it reads Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Actually, on one side it says that, on the other side it reads Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts. Whoops! I’m assuming all of the boxes feature this misprint and that mine isn’t unique. It’s definitely the type of goof few companies would spend money to fix.

Inside this box is the actual figure. Scrooge is in a blister bubble with one zip-tie at the right arm. Getting him out is rather painless, and once removed he stands with relative ease on a flat surface. Scrooge is depicted as he was before retiring for the evening so he has his purple cap and gown on. To the top of the feathers on his brow, he’s just a tick under 17″ and pretty dense so he has a nice weight to him. The cap and gown are done with soft goods and it’s a plush material so it brings in its own texture. It doesn’t really match the look of the animation as a result, but it does add a little more prestige to the presentation than just a flat material. The hat is removable and it just rests on his head. There is a stiff insert sewn into the front of it to help it maintain its shape and it sits on his head just fine. There’s no easy way to remove the gown if you would rather Scrooge be naked or if you wanted to dress him up in something else. You would have to attempt to disassemble the figure to get it off, or cut it.

It would have been nice if this doll were in-scale with Scrooge. Oh well.

This is a vinyl figure, so the presentation is pretty simple as a result. Most of it is done with colored vinyl. The eyes might be the only area that’s actually painted. Even so, it looks really nice. There’s a softness to the finish which is customary with vinyl and since it’s a matte finish it works really well. Scrooge has a scowl on his face which is befitting the character and the hair on the back of his head is done in gray which is consistent with his presentation in the short. The glasses are glued in place and have clear, plastic, lenses and look great. The right hand is in a gripping pose while the left is open and flat. If I have any criticism to levy here, maybe I’d have shaped that left hand in a more natural, relaxed, position, but it’s fine. And he looks good with the hat on or off so take your pick.

Excepting the clothing, the only accessory here is a lit candlestick and holder. For what it is, it looks great. The flame is a translucent yellow and the holder is bronze in color. It fits over Scrooge’s index finger with relative ease and it’s not too heavy either. As for the articulation, if you’ve ever bought a vinyl figure before then you know there isn’t much to be found. Scrooge actually has more than I would have expected. Every joint is a simple swivel and he has one in the neck, shoulders, wrists, diaphragm, legs, and ankles. The diaphragm is actually surprising and nice to have. It’s the only spot that allows for some nuance as you can make Scrooge look like he’s peering around the corner or something. Rotating at the legs will pitch the figure forward or back if you want him more hunched or not. The ankles aren’t particularly useful though to the point that I’m surprised they bothered as it’s the one joint you can’t hide. The rest are either hidden by the clothing or just not plainly visible.

He’s definitely “Super Sized” compared with the Funko Scrooge McDuck.

This Super Size version of Scrooge is really one of those “what you see is what you get” type of releases. I will say, pictures don’t really do the figure’s size justice. It’s pretty damn big and feels big, even if it’s not much bigger than some quarter scale figures I have. Mostly, it just looks really nice. I love this thing. Would I have loved it at 300 bucks? Maybe, after the sting of paying for it subsided. The price I paid for it puts it in the range of a lot of quarter scale stuff. It’s even a lot less than the sixth scale Mondo figures I love. Those figures are true action figures with a lot of paint, accessories, and articulation. The comparison to a quarter scale figure, like a NECA TMNT release, feels more apt though. While those figures have more stuff and more articulation, they’re pretty heavy and I basically find a pose they can handle and leave them.

You’ll be able to tell when I took this thanks to the Christmas countdown.

This is a figure that doesn’t need a whole lot of articulation. The vinyl toy approach is what works, and it turned out really well. It reminds me of the old store display characters, some which still exist in Disney World, that would be motorized where just their head rotates and an arm might go up and down or something. My mom even has one of Winnie the Pooh, somewhat ironically, in a nightshirt with a lit candle. I love that aesthetic and if I had more resources (and more space) I’d go after vintage items like that. I’d also probably have the Super Size Brave Little Tailor Mickey Mouse, but I truly have no where to put such a thing. With Scrooge, he’s a Christmas decoration so I can find somewhere to place him for a month out of the year, even if it’s a bit cumbersome. I basically do the same thing with a Christmas tree each year. If you’re like me and a have love for the cartoon this character is taken from then you’ll probably love this item. I can’t really recommend it at full price, but I definitely endorse it while it’s available for around the price I got it. Aye Super7, you drive a hard bargain.

Check out more from Mickey’s Christmas Carol and Scrooge McDuck:

Dec. 25 – Mickey’s Christmas Carol

We made it! Another year in the books, and another Christmas has come. Indulge in it. Bask in it, for it only comes once a year, and not to get too dramatic, but you never know how many you’re going to get. And we’re ending this year’s edition of The Christmas Spot with another throwback…

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PhatMojo DuckTales – Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck

It’s been nearly a year since DuckTales returned to television airwaves. Scrooge McDuck, along with his nephews and surrogate niece Webby are back to solve mysteries and rewrite history. It’s a fun show that adheres more to the work of Carl Barks than to the series that ran in the 1980s while also doing its…

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Dec. 1 – DuckTales – “Last Christmas!”

It’s that time of year once again! Every day goods are a little pricier, egg nog is invading the dairy case at every grocery store, and red and green versions of every candy in existence flourish in the seasonal section of department stores. Yes, it is Christmas time and it would be obnoxious if it…

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December 22, 2013

Scrooged

By Joe

Scrooged (1988)

Scrooged (1988)

Richard Donner is known primarily for being the director who convinced you that a man could fly, but he also directed and produced the first Christmas movie I ever saw where the lead character was something more than despicable.  In a way, Scrooged is kind of a precursor to a film like Bad Santa where the audience isn’t supposed to like or even feel much empathy for the lead role.  And even though Scrooged is a take on A Christmas Carol, the leading male in the Scrooge-like role just seems far more unlikable than any Scrooge I ever bore witness to.

The Scrooge in this film is played by Bill Murray, an actor who has made an awful lot of money portraying selfish, sarcastic, and cynical characters that audiences are able to embrace because that character offers some redeeming qualities.  Murray’s Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters ultimately embraces his hero role and puts his life on the line for the city of New York.  Groundhog Day’s Phil Connors is quite the unlikable character at the film’s onset, but throughout the movie he’s redeemed and becomes a better person in the end.  In Scrooged Murray plays Frank Cross, a television executive whose ambition in life is entirely career oriented.  Unlike many depictions of Scrooge, he’s not necessarily out solely for financial gain (though that’s definitely a part of it, and he’s pretty cheap) as his main ambition appears to be to rise to the top of the career ladder.  He’s ruthless, self-centered, and shows no empathy for the people around him.  As a television executive, he approves a television spot for an upcoming live edition of A Christmas Carol that has an apocalyptic feel opting to lure in viewers through fear and intimidation rather than on the strength of the program he’s pushing.  He shows no regard for his loyal secretary, Grace (played by Alfre Woodard and the film’s Bob Cratchit), and makes her work late with no Christmas bonus, and when one of his subordinates (Bobcat Goldthwait’s Eliot Loudermilk) disagrees with his absurd TV spot he has him fired.  Usually we can laugh at a Bill Murray character even when he’s a jerk.  With Frank Cross, we can’t even laugh at him because he’s too good at being mean.

Carol Kane's character is likely to draw the most laughs.

Carol Kane’s character is likely to draw the most laughs.

I am an unabashed Bill Murray fan.  I love him in pretty much any role.  I don’t know exactly what it is about Murray that appeals to me so much.  He’s obviously a great actor whose range still seems to surprise people whenever he takes on a more dramatic role.  He’s best known for comedies and I certainly have a nostalgic affinity for Ghostbusters.  He also reminds me of my own father so that can’t hurt.  With that said, even I find it hard to watch the first half hour of Scrooged.  Frank Cross is a terrible person and he gets away with so much.  His brother James (John Murray, Bill’s real-life brother) is willing to forgive his short-comings to a fault, while ex-girlfriend Claire (Karen Allen) almost seems to ignore his numerous flaws.  We never quite see how the two characters broke-up, just a hurt Claire proposing they take a break when Frank once again chooses his career over her, and we get the sense that Frank just shrugged his shoulders and forgot to ever follow-up on that break.  I watched the film recently with my fiancé who remarked that she kind of hated the movie while we were in its early stages and I couldn’t blame her.  I do wonder if perhaps Murray and Donner felt like Murray was too likable as an actor at this stage in his career and that they needed to over-do just how awful Frank is to counteract that.  The film does benefit some from this overly cruel Scrooge as the character is redeemed by the film’s conclusion, but I still get the sense the Cross character was overdone.  Not only is he too cruel, he’s not always believable in his cruelty.  And it’s somewhat surprising that this character even could be redeemed.

The film's makeup effects are still impressive today.

The film’s makeup effects are still impressive today.

The film was initially hyped as a special effects bonanza.  Given that the film was released in 1988, these effects are not impressive by today’s standards.  The effects are mostly put to use with the film’s ghosts.  Just like in A Christmas Carol, Frank is visited by three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.  All take on an appearance and character to better suit this film’s setting of 1980’s New York.  The first ghost, played by David Johansen, is a cab driver who takes Frank on a tour of his past giving the audience insight into his childhood and past relationship with Claire.  Christmas Present is played by Carol Kane and she is portrayed as a violent fairy-type.  She repeatedly strikes Frank and is likely to be the character who induces the most laughs.  The Ghost of Christmas Future is depicted as a Grim Reaper-like figure whose main twist is a television screen for a face (and his “body” is revealed as a mass of screaming souls that looked revolting in the 80’s but kind of cheesy now).  A lot of makeup effects are in use with the ghosts, and the best is probably reserved for the Marley character played by John Forsythe.  His decomposing body is grossly, and convincingly, portrayed on-screen with lots of gray and a dusty, flaky, texture.

Eliot doesn't respond well to being fired.

Eliot doesn’t respond well to being fired.

For the film’s comedy, it tends to rely on a grab bag of tricks as opposed to resorting to one style.  A lot of the “humor” in the film’s early scenes are of the dark variety as the audience is asked to laugh at the misfortune of others.  It’s horribly mean-spirited, and some won’t find any laughs at all.  As the film moves along the humor becomes more dialogue and situation specific with less of a mean tone.  There’s also physical comedy, notably from the Ghost of Christmas Present and later in the film when Goldthwait’s Eliot goes off the deep-end.  It’s not a rip-roaringly funny film, but the laughs are spread around well once it gets past the early parts.  The score is done by Danny Elfman and it’s a pretty typical Elfman type of score.  People seem to either love or loathe Elfman but I’ve never had anything against him and find his score suitable here.

Since this is a take on A Christmas Carol, Frank is shown the error of his ways and comes around by the film’s conclusion.  Just like how his cruelty felt overdone, the big redemption scene feels similar as Frank hi-jacks the live television production of A Christmas Carol to share his new-found appreciation for Christmas with the world. It’s uncomfortably funny and drawn out, but does provide the happy ending most were probably hoping for.  The film’s beginning and its end make it feel like the film is a lot longer than its 101 minutes running-time, but by the time it did end my fiancé had come around and proclaimed it “cute.”  I suspect most viewers will have the same experience.  Scrooged is too flawed a film to be a true Christmas classic, but it is well acted and differs enough from other clones of the source material to make it a worth-while viewing experience.  Those looking for something a little less saccharine in their Christmas movies will probably get the most out of Scrooged.

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