Scrooge

How To Be A Christmas Story Villain

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

The-Grinch-classic-christmas-cartoons-17601683-380-285Two names have become synonymous with evil at Christmas – Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch.

For all of the goodness kindness of Christmas that Buddy The Elf and Santa Claus reflect, Scrooge and The Grinch are their antitheses – the mascots for the naughty list.

If anyone we know is being stingy and grounchy at the holidays we call them a Scrooge. If anyone is being greedy or cranky we call them a Grinch.

Scrooge and The Grinch are the ultimate Christmas story villains. Selfish, harsh, mean spirited – they are symbolic of every attitude we strive to avoid this time of the year.

I think it’s about time we change that though. I think it ought to be a compliment when someone calls you a Scrooge or a Grinch.  Continue reading →

Remaking Christmas

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

muppet-christmas-carol-5-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-a-muppet-christmas-carolIt’s just not Christmas for me without “The Muppet Christmas Carol”.

We all have that one Christmas special or movie we have to make time for during the holiday season. And sure, I love “Elf” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Charlie Brown Christmas” and of course “Die Hard”. But “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is my personal favorite Christmas movie.

The original music is infectious. The emotions are heartfelt. Michael Caine as Scrooge should have won an Oscar.

If you’ve never been won over by the charms of the movie you might think this is all blasphemous. You might think adding Kermit and Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat to Charles Dickens’ classic story to be a literary crime.

But what makes “The Muppet Christmas Carol” work so well is that it really doesn’t stray from the author’s original story. Continue reading →