On Christmas Eve of 1836,
Ebenezer Scrooge's best friend and business partner
Jacob Marley dies. Seven years later he becomes a surly businessman living in
Victorian London who refuses to partake in the merriment of Christmas. On
Christmas Eve in 1843, he declines an invitation to his nephew Fred's
Christmas dinner, harshly dismisses two gentlemen who are collecting donations for the poor, and only reluctantly allows his employee
Bob Cratchit to have Christmas Day off. That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob, who is bound in chains. He informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him over the course of three nights, and he must heed their warnings or suffer a similar fate to his. At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the
Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows him visions of his early life, such as his lonely days in
boarding school, his relationship with his younger sister Fan, and his time as an apprentice under the benevolent
Mr. Fezziwig. The young Scrooge met a young woman named Belle, with whom he fell in love, but his focus on accruing wealth drove them apart. Overwhelmed, Scrooge extinguishes the Ghost's flame and returns home. Scrooge next meets the merry
Ghost of Christmas Present, who shows how others find joy on Christmas Day. Scrooge and the Ghost visit Bob's house and he learns his family is content with their small dinner and meagre home. Scrooge takes pity on Bob's ill son
Tiny Tim, whom the Ghost reveals might not survive until next Christmas. They next visit Fred's house, where Fred insists the guests raise a toast to Scrooge in spite of his stinginess. Before the Ghost dies, he shows Scrooge the evils of "Ignorance" and "Want". The
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears to Scrooge and shows him a hypothetical future where people respond to an unknown man's death with apathy and even satisfaction. Faced with the man's covered body, Scrooge asks to see tenderness associated with death, and the Ghost shows him the Cratchit family mourning the death of Tiny Tim. Finally, the Ghost takes Scrooge to a cemetery and points out a tombstone bearing Scrooge's name, confirming that he is the dead man; the stone further indicates that his death will fall on Christmas Day of an undisclosed and possibly imminent year. Horrified, Scrooge vows to change his ways before finding himself back in his bedroom. Discovering it is Christmas Day, a gleeful Scrooge begins spreading happiness and joy around London, anonymously sending the Cratchits a turkey, providing charity to one of the gentlemen, and attending Fred's Christmas dinner. The next day, Scrooge raises Bob's salary and pledges his support for the Cratchits. Scrooge becomes a father figure to Tiny Tim, who overcomes his ailments and is restored to health, treating everyone with kindness, generosity, and compassion, thus embodying the Christmas spirit. == Cast ==