A JETSON CHRISTMAS CAROL (1985) – Christmas Carol-A- Thon 2021, my 12th annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon, continues here at Balladeer’s Blog! This 1985 animated version of the Dickens classic incorporates the characters from the Hanna Barbera program The Jetsons. They were a family who were the far-future counterparts of the Stone Age family The Flintstones.
A Jetson Christmas Carol is not very good but it’s a lot better than the irritatingly awful Flintstones Christmas Carol. If you know the characters you can fill in the blanks yourself:
George Jetson is the substitute for the novel’s put-upon Bob Cratchit, and finds himself ordered to work very late on Christmas Eve, disappointing his wife Jane and their kids Elroy and Judy.
George’s boss Mr Spacely nastily enjoys treating his employees terribly while holing up in his office and wallowing in all his money. Needless to say Spacely is the stand-in for Ebenezer Scrooge
Astro, the Jetsons’ dog, is the unlikely replacement for Tiny Tim. The dog swallows one of the sprockets from his Yuletide gift of a robotic cat to chase around. Accidentally swallowing that Spacely brand sprocket endangers the canine’s life.
From there it’s fairly standard: Miserly Mr Spacely gets visited by the ghost of his late partner Marsley (sic) who warns him to mend his ways. Then come the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
These spirits are the lamest part of this whole lackluster production. Christmas Past is a large computer, Christmas Present is an actual talking gift box (Christmas Present – get it) and Christmas Yet to Come looks like a giant version of the futuristic phones used on the Patrick McGoohan series The Prisoner.
Our miserly businessman is shown visions of his past in which he slave-drives a very young George Jetson at his Lemonade Stand and years later tells his wife he loves money more than he loves her.
For the Christmas Present portion of the tale Spacely is shown the plight of the Jetsons’ dog Astro, who is as sure to die as Tiny Tim. The Christmas Yet to Come segment is stripped of all emotion by showing that Spacely was financially ruined when the Jetsons sued him because of the way one of his company’s sprockets caused Astro’s death.
Naturally the visits from the spirits prompt Spacely to change his ways. The next morning he has a private veterinarian cure Astro, gives George a raise and hands out gifts to the entire Jetson family.
This is such a “meh” version of the Carol that for me it works best very early on in the Holiday season, like maybe one of the first Carols watched on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Not even the voice talents of Mel Blanc, Phil Hartman, Daws Butler, Ruth Buzzi, Foster Brooks, Didi Conn and Rene Auberjonois can elevate this bland little thing.
FOR MORE VERSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/category/a-christmas-carol-2/
Balladeer's Blog 
Hmm, you’re not selling this one to me, so, I might pass on it this year! 😉
You’re not missing much. This is blah.
Haha, dare we say … blah humbug? 😉
Ha! We could, I guess!
Beats hell out of some of the “new” stuff. Nice post – as is your usual. Thanks.
No problem! Thanks for the comment!
I loved the program, “The Jetsons;” I can still remember the theme song. Please keep up your encouraging work.
Will do! Thanks for the kind words!
You are very welcome.
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Hanna Barbera made some awesome cartoon shows and Jetson’s was always cool! Meet George Jetson! I like all that stuff, Yogi bear and all of them!
Remember the Roman Holidays, a Roman Empire version of the Flintstones and Jetsons.
That’s a good point! The actual Roman Empire before its collapse got very decadent and too much Bread and Circus led to all manner of debauchery and pagan lusts! Sort as I see it when they had an Emperor with no cloths and a madman thinking he was God like now we have an emperor with no cloths America’s own man of perdition Biden who is a most crooked, rotten to the core heathen of a man in the head position of the Greatest nation! Bad sign of the times! Is our nation going to collapse like the Roman Empire did or will a revival come first! We thought with Trump it may have been but the evil ruined any chance of that lasting!
I agree, but there really was a cartoon series from Hanna-Barbera called the Roman Holidays that was just like the Jetsons and Flintstones but set in Rome.
HUH! Don’t recall; did they bury that one? I’ll have to look into it.
Thanks for the info!
You’re welcome! It’s often overlooked.
I guess so as I kinda remember now a tad but in a while I can look it up!
Be safe and healthy Friend!
Have a very nice day!
🌈🌞 😉 👍 🙏
Thank you! Same to you!
Yup! It was coming back to me as I totally forgot until you reminded me but it was short lived one reason why it slipped my memory; only 13 episodes!!! Maybe they should have skipped the 13th episode and just gone straight to the 14th like some buildings have been built; lol!
Nice to reflect on the long lost and forgotten now and again! Thanks!
Ha! Maybe they should have! It should have lasted longer.
Yup, I don’t see why now!
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Take care!
I will you too!
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You got me curious so went looking and this was so easy to find the very clip of the show intro hat was flying around in my memory!
Really great!
Good stuff as in nice entertainment; family style!
Yes it was!
Absolutely!
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How coincidental that you should rate this one right while I’m playing it on HBO Max.
Wow! That is a hell of a coincidence.
Yeah, just like how I learned about Albert Finney’s death right while HIS version was playing on youtube. Anyway, despite how brief it is, this variation seems to work better in parts for me.
I understand.
If you don’t mind my pointing out, that list of voice performers you gave. Well, I think that was probably a general cast list of those who’ve periodically lent their voices to the whole series. Because according to every list I’ve seen, the only ones you’ve mentioned who were actually in this particular episode are Blanc and Butler.
Wow! Did not know that. Another reason not to use IMDb to check such things I guess. No problem mentioning that, glad you did.
LET’S GO BRANDON!
You said it!