I have an idea for a Christmas movie. A self-absorbed, penny-pinching individual is visited by ghosts who insist that if he doesn’t change his ways, he is destined to misery. Sound familiar?

First written in 1843, the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol has inspired over 140 films and appeared as plot points countless others where characters are performing the plays, reading the book or even watching one of the movies. There are hundreds of books, graphic novels and other media featuring the novella.

This prolific story has one aspect that makes it particularly attractive: public domain.

Being nearly 180 years old, A Christmas Carol is a great piece of IP that’s in public domain, meaning as long as it’s been 70 years since the death of the author (this varies depending on the country), the public owns the material. The first film to take advantage of this work is a 1901 title Scrooge, or Marley’s Ghost, which had a running time of 6 minutes 20 seconds.

32 years ago, Bill Murray starred in a version of this classic tale titled Scrooged, which tells the story of media mogul Frank Cross who cares more about himself and his money than those around him. Who cares if it’s Christmas? He will fire someone, neglect the homeless, make his single-mom assistant work and destroy the spirit of the season at the expense of ratings for a Christmas Eve production on his network…a live, multinational version of A Christmas Carol — a very meta concept.

How did Scrooged tell the story of Ebenezer Scrooge? And what can writers learn from this holiday classic inspired by A Christmas Carol?

Who is Scrooge?

Scrooge has become a verb unto itself. Anyone who can’t fathom the spirit of the holiday season is a “Scrooge.” This character also popularized the expression “bah-humbug.”

Ebenezer Scrooge though is more than just a man who doesn’t like Christmas, he’s a miser who hoards money and refuses to dole any out to family, his employee or charity. He resides in a massive home that he refuses to heat, he’s that miserly. The ultimate question becomes who is this guy and why does he behave in this manner?

In Scrooged, Frank Cross (Murray) takes on the role of a Christmas Scrooge. While he’s not opposed to spending his allotted money for an epic TV show, he’s the kind of person whose ambitions became bigger than his ethics, and he can never be wrong. When an employee offers a contradictory opinion, Cross fires him. He commands nothing less than loyalty to himself.

This is Ebenezer Scrooge: someone who seemingly makes it a point to ruin everyone else’s Christmas because he can’t see the joy the holiday brings or how his actions impact anyone other than himself.

He’s a true protagonist who must be made an example of by the creative mind.

Who are the ghosts?

The first ghost to visit Scrooge is Marley, his former business partner. Destined to walk the afterlife in heavy chains, Marley was what Scrooge has become. While it’s too late for Marley to right his errors, he wants to ensure that Scrooge doesn’t fall into the same afterlife of hell that awaits him. Scrooge is dubious – obviously this is a dream, which is why Marley states that Scrooge can expect three more ghosts to visit him.

The visitation by several ghosts to shine a spotlight on key aspects of people’s lives have been used so much it’s hard to keep track. It’s in Hallmark rom-coms, TV shows and cartoons. It’s no unlike the Groundhog Day repeating-the-same-day-over concept used frequently nowadays.

The ghost thing is a great trick, if you can make it original.

And Scrooged does. There are the conventional ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, but the former two are played with a comedic spin, brilliantly by David Johansen and Carol Kane, respectively. Scrooged doesn’t bill itself other than a holiday comedy and found a fresh way to tell the story.

Ghosts and spirits have a bad rap for being scary, but in A Christmas Carol they serve a different purpose. They make Scrooge see the person he has become and why he’s trudging down the wrong path. They never tell him what to do but rather make him question his choices.

Unlike Clarence the angel in It’s a Wonderful Life who needs George Bailey to change his ways to get his wings, these ghosts simply are guides with no purpose other than taking the Scrooge figure on their journey — there doesn’t seem to be a reward or consequence should they succeed or fail.

The lost love

In the original novella, there is a brief hint of Scrooge’s love life. At one point he’s engaged, but his fiancé ends it realizing that his love for her will never match his love of money. As the Ghost of Christmas Past shows this heartbreaking scene, the reader can note that this is one of many instances that drive Scrooge to become the person he is in the present. Scrooged takes a wildly different approach.

Frank’s love interest is Claire (Allen) whose heart is filled with charity and giving. Most modern versions of the story have this bigger love story. Unless the writer is looking to create a faithful version of the original, as was done in the 2009 animated version of A Christmas Carol, which starred Jim Carrey and was written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, a love interest is considered a must.

When it comes to love, many loose versions of the Charles Dickens classic are about someone being visited by the exes, including Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) and Boyfriends of Christmas Past (2021).

Scrooge's arc

Nothing makes A Christmas Carol work like Scrooge’s arc. It’s quite definitive as he goes from curmudgeon miser to joyous, charitable giver. Scrooged, regarding Frank’s arc, is no exception.

It’s not the destination though, it’s the journey. The film flaunts Frank’s cruelty and mission from the very beginning. As the company is putting the final marketing assets in place for the live version of A Christmas Carol, he chooses a violent, terrifying commercial advertisement that has nothing to do with the production because he thinks people need to be scared into not missing it. He fires an employee, chooses cheap and horrible gifts for everyone including his brother and continues through his day as a self-absorbed jerk.

From there, it’s the visitation of the ghosts and his reflection on life that slowly changes his ways.

Everyone knows the story. They know who the Scrooge-like figure is and who he will be at the end of the movie.

Essentially, there are no surprises. We know the destination.

What makes the movie fun and intriguing is seeing how this version would play out. Whether it’s Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, Bill Murray or Patrick Stewart, the writers are choosing to retell a classic in a way that appeals to its intended audience.

As a note to writers, there are plenty of works in the public domain waiting to be turned into a new classic.

Scrooged stars Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait and Alfre Woodard, was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O’Donoghue, and was directed by Richard Donner.