4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
It was inevitable that A Christmas Carol would make an appearance sooner or later on this list, just as my choice would inevitably produce debate. There are so many versions from which to choose, many of them very good, and even choosing between the accepted classics is pretty hard. Alasdair Sim's version from 1951 came close to making this list, as did the George C. Scott version from 1978. But in the end, I settled on the version that I grew up with, and which got me into Dickens in the first place. On the very slim chance that you've never heard the story, A Christmas Carol concerns one of Dickens' most famous protagonists, Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly moneylender with no time for charity, kindness or Christmas. Having been persuaded with great difficulty to close his shop after Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited in the night by three ghosts, who take him through Christmases past, present and future in order that he might change his ways. Directed by Jim Henson's eldest son Brian, The Muppet Christmas Carol is both a proper Muppet movie and a reasonably faithful retelling of Dickens' story. Michael Caine combines the best elements of many previous Scrooges, and the songs are generally very catchy and cheerful. With characters you know and love, and some surprisingly adept production values, the film makes Dickens accessible for the family without taking off the rough edges. In short, it thoroughly deserves its reputation as a cornerstone of Christmas television.