Richard Williams' A Christmas Carol

Ironically, Abe, who had directed the first animated treatment of A Christmas Carol (Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol) was enlisted to work on yet another version of Dickens’ classic story when executive producer Chuck Jones suggested him to UK animation director and producer, Richard Williams, to work on his half hour TV special. The film took a far different approach to the same material and it was beautifully drawn in the style of original Christmas Carol illustrator, John Leech. Each and every frame was hand drawn on cels with grease pencil, requiring top notch draftsmen as their drawings would actually be seen on screen. The half hour special, although produced for TV, was released theatrically where it qualified for and won, the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject in 1972.