25 Superlative Scrooges

As seen in: Grumpy Cat?s Worst Christmas Ever (2014)
The cantankerous cat (née Tardar Sauce) has a pretty high bar to hop over to earn this particular distinction, but based on the Lifetime movie's promo alone, Grumpy Cat is fighting for her spot among the foremost holiday haters of all time.

As seen in: Scrooge, Or Marley's Ghost (1901)
Ebenezer Scrooge was first committed to film thanks to pioneering producer R.W. Paul and British magician/director Walter R. Booth. The 35mm silent short, which ran six minutes and 20 seconds, was so revolutionary for its use of dissolves, intertitles, and superimposition that King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra ordered a command performance during their holiday trip to Sandringham House.

As seen in: Scrooge (1951)
''Other Christmas Carols need not apply.'' So said EW more than 50 years after Scottish character actor Alastair Sim turned in his timeless take on A Christmas Carol (also how the film was billed in the U.S.). Many consider Sim's Scrooge the go-to iteration of Dickens' character.

As seen in: Scrooged (1988)
TV exec Frank Cross is completely indifferent to suffering, human or otherwise (witness: he doesn't flinch at the thought of stapling antlers on mice). While he's the coolest Scrooge of them all (because Bill Murray), he's easily the most heartless, too.

As seen in: ''Epic Rap Battles of History: Donald Trump vs. Ebenezer'' (2013)
Charles Dickens surely never thought this day would come. Zach Sherwin's rhyme-spitting Ebenizzle stepped up to the mic for a face-off that paid homage to The Little Mermaid, incorporated a Yeezy impersonator, and referenced ''a Dickens of a dump.''

As seen in: A Christmas Carol (2009)
Jim Carrey played both Scrooge and the three spirits haunting him in Robert Zemeckis' 3-D, motion-capture update. Reviews were mixed, though many praised the film's visual artistry, which was as vivid as it was nightmare-inducing.

As seen in: Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962), Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979), Beavis and Butt-head (1995), and Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
Quincy Magoo, Yosemite Sam, Beavis, and Daffy Duck. Fair to say these four characters have nothing in common except that they've all hum-ed and bah-ed.

As seen in: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Michael Caine joined Kermit & Co. for this Hensonian rendition featuring songs by Paul Williams. Like any smart person, Caine let the Muppets occupy the spotlight because the only thing scarier than the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is the wrath of a Piggy scorned.

As seen in: A Christmas Carol (1984)
George C. Scott earned an Emmy nod for his bah-humbugging bulldog portrayal. The film, which aired on CBS in the States and theatrically in the U.K., hewed more closely to Dickens' original than most, delved deeper into Ebenezer Scrooge's complicated relationship with his father, and juxtaposed the miser's prosperity alongside his über-frugality.

As seen in: Ebbie (1995), A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000), A Carol Christmas (2003), and Christmas Cupid (2010)
Here's to the ladies who scrunch. In a series of TV movies, Ebbie (Susan Lucci), Ebony (Vanessa Williams), Carol Cartman (Tori Spelling), and Sloane Spencer (Christina Milian) proved that greed and griping wasn't only a man's work.

As seen in: The Stingiest Man in Town (1954, 1978)
Basil Rathbone (a.k.a. the guy who defined Sherlock Holmes before Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch) and Walter Matthau each took a swing at Scrooge—Rathbone in the '54 live-action musical and Matthau in 1978's animated remake. Unlike most other versions, the late '70s riff on Dickens' story was told from the point of view of a puntastic insect named B.A.H. Humbug.

As heard in: ''Green Chri$tma$'' (1958)
Comedian Stan Freberg dinged commercial titans Coca-Cola and Marlboro with this audio indictment of the commercialization of Christmas. After a battle to get the single released by Capitol, it was simultaneously banned by radio stations (under pressure from advertising pros) and praised by those listeners who could get their hands on it. Ironically, Marlboro approached Freberg to craft an advertising campaign—as did Coke, whose offer he accepted.

As seen in: ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' (1988)
Rowan Atkinson led a cast that included, among others, Robbie Coltrane, Hugh Laurie, and Jim Broadbent. Flipping the narrative, Ebenezer Blackadder transforms a mook who gets fleeced by all around him to a cruel calculator who realizes that ''Bad guys have all the fun.''

As seen in: Scrooge (1970)
Albert Finney snagged the only Golden Globe statuette for playing the curmudgeon in this musical, but it earned four more nods, plus four Oscar nominations and a BAFTA hat tip.

As seen in: An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998)
As established, All Dogs Go to Heaven is a disturbing film. Ernest Borgnine took over the role of Carface Carruthers for this ABC TV movie, voicing the snarling thief who can hypnotize the other dogs with a whistle. Weird enough for ya?

As seen in: A Christmas Carol (1999)
Between portraying Scrooge in playhouses and hitting movie theaters as Professor Charles Xavier, Patrick Stewart took his take on the iconic role to a TNT TV adaptation. Alas, Stewart's Scrooge had to learn his lessons the old-fashioned way—not through mutant mind reading.

As seen in: Doctor Who (2010)
Fan armies unite! Albus Dumbledore himself, a.k.a. Michael Gambon, played Kazran Sardick in the December 2010 Who special, ''A Christmas Carol.''

As seen in: A Christmas Carol (1973)
Marcel Marceau. As Ebenezer Scrooge. We have?no words.