A Christmas Carol
1843 novella by Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as cards and Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London's street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this is a fully secular story or a Christian allegory.
Published on 19 December, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella favourably. The story was illicitly copied in January 1844; Dickens took legal action against the publishers, who went bankrupt, further reducing Dickens's small profits from the publication. He subsequently wrote four other Christmas stories. In 1849 he began public readings of the story, which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870, the year of his death. "A Christmas Carol" has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages; the story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera and other media.
"A Christmas Carol" captured the zeitgeist of the early Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens acknowledged the influence of the modern Western observance of Christmas and later inspired several aspects of Christmas, including family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.
Plot.
The book is divided into five chapters, which Dickens titled "staves".
Stave one.
"A Christmas Carol" opens on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an ageing miser, dislikes Christmas and refuses a dinner invitation from his nephew Fred. He turns away two men seeking a donation to provide food and heating for the poor and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay to conform to the social custom.
That night Scrooge is visited at home by Marley's ghost, who wanders the Earth entwined by heavy chains and money boxes forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a single chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and must listen or be cursed to carry much heavier chains of his own.
Stave two.
The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooge's boyhood, reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The scenes reveal Scrooge's lonely childhood at boarding school, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, the long-dead mother of Fred, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr Fezziwig, who treated him like a son. Scrooge's neglected fiancée Belle is shown ending their relationship, as she realises that he will never love her as much as he loves money. Finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on the Christmas Eve that Marley died. Scrooge, upset by hearing a description of the man that he has become, demands that the ghost remove him from the house.
Stave three.
The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to a joyous market where people are buying the makings of Christmas dinner and to celebrations of Christmas in a miner's cottage and in a lighthouse. Scrooge and the ghost also visit Fred's Christmas party. A major part of this stave is taken up with Bob Cratchit's family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die unless the course of events changes. Before disappearing, the spirit shows Scrooge two hideous, emaciated children named Ignorance and Want. He tells Scrooge to beware the former above all and mocks Scrooge's concern for their welfare.
Stave four.
The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future. The silent ghost reveals scenes involving the death of a disliked man whose funeral is attended by local businessmen only on condition that lunch is provided. His charwoman, laundress and the local undertaker steal his possessions to sell to a fence. When he asks the spirit to show a single person who feels emotion over his death, he is only given the pleasure of a poor couple who rejoice that his death gives them more time to put their finances in order. When Scrooge asks to see tenderness connected with any death, the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the death of Tiny Tim. The ghost then allows Scrooge to see a neglected grave, with a tombstone bearing Scrooge's name. Sobbing, Scrooge pledges to change his ways.
Stave five.
Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man. He makes a large donation to the charity he rejected the previous day, anonymously sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner and spends the afternoon at Fred's Christmas party. The following day he gives Cratchit an increase in pay, and begins to become a father figure to Tiny Tim. From then on Scrooge treats everyone with kindness, generosity and compassion, embodying the spirit of Christmas.
Background.
The writer Charles Dickens was born to a middle-class family which got into financial difficulties as a result of the spendthrift nature of his father John. In 1824 John was committed to the Marshalsea, a debtors' prison in Southwark, London. Dickens, aged 12, was forced to pawn his collection of books, leave school and work at a dirty and rat-infested shoe-blacking factory. The change in circumstances gave him what his biographer, Michael Slater, describes as a "deep personal and social outrage", which heavily influenced his writing and outlook.
By the end of 1842 Dickens was a well-established author with six major works as well as several short stories, novellas and other pieces. On 31 December that year he began publishing his novel "Martin Chuzzlewit" as a monthly serial; it was his favourite work, but sales were disappointing and he faced temporary financial difficulties.
Celebrating the Christmas season had been growing in popularity through the Victorian era. The Christmas tree was introduced in Britain during the 18th century, and its use was popularised by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In the early 19th century there had been a revival of interest in Christmas carols, following a decline in popularity over the previous hundred years. The publication of Davies Gilbert's 1823 work "Some Ancient Christmas Carols, With the Tunes to Which They Were Formerly Sung in the West of England" and William Sandys's 1833 collection "Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern" led to a growth in the form's popularity in Britain.
Dickens had an interest in Christmas, and his first story on the subject was "Christmas Festivities", published in "Bell's Weekly Messenger" in 1835; the story was then published as "A Christmas Dinner" in "Sketches by Boz" (1836). "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton", another Christmas story, appeared in the 1836 novel "The Pickwick Papers". In the episode, a Mr Wardle describes a misanthropic sexton, Gabriel Grub, who undergoes a Christmas conversion after being visited by goblins who show him the past and future. Slater considers that "the main elements of the "Carol" are present in the story", but not yet in a firm form. The story is followed by a passage about Christmas in Dickens's editorial "Master Humphrey's Clock". The professor of English literature Paul Davis writes that although the "Goblins" story appears to be a prototype of "A Christmas Carol", all Dickens's earlier writings about Christmas influenced the story.
Literary influences.
Dickens was not the first author to celebrate the Christmas season in literature. Among earlier authors who influenced Dickens was Washington Irving, whose 1819–20 work "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." included four essays on old English Christmas traditions that he experienced while staying at Aston Hall near Birmingham. The tales and essays attracted Dickens, and the two authors shared the belief that returning to Christmas traditions might promote a type of social connection that they felt had been lost in the modern world.
Several works had an influence on the writing of "A Christmas Carol", including two essays by his friend Douglas Jerrold: one from an 1841 issue of "Punch", "How Mr. Chokepear Keeps a Merry Christmas" and one from 1843, "The Beauties of the Police". More broadly, Dickens was influenced by fairy tales and nursery stories, which he closely associated with Christmas, because he saw them as stories of conversion and transformation.
Social influences.
Dickens was touched by the lot of poor children in the middle decades of the 19th century. In early 1843 he toured the Cornish tin mines, where he was angered by seeing children working in appalling conditions. The suffering he witnessed there was reinforced by a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several London schools set up for the education of the capital's half-starved, illiterate street children.
In February 1843 the "Second Report of the Children's Employment Commission" was published. It was a parliamentary report exposing the effects of the Industrial Revolution upon working class children. Horrified by what he read, Dickens planned to publish an inexpensive political pamphlet tentatively titled, "An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man's Child", but changed his mind, deferring the pamphlet's production until the end of the year. In March he wrote to Dr Southwood Smith, one of the four commissioners responsible for the "Second Report", about his change in plans: "you will certainly feel that a Sledge hammer has come down with twenty times the force—twenty thousand times the force—I could exert by following out my first idea".
In a fundraising speech on 5 October 1843 at the Manchester Athenaeum, Dickens urged workers and employers to join together to combat ignorance with educational reform, and realised in the days following that the most effective way to reach the broadest segment of the population with his social concerns about poverty and injustice was to write a deeply felt Christmas narrative rather than polemical pamphlets and essays.
Writing history.
By mid-1843 Dickens began to suffer from financial problems. Sales of "Martin Chuzzlewit" were falling off, and his wife, Catherine, was pregnant with their fifth child. Matters worsened when Chapman & Hall, his publishers, threatened to reduce his monthly income by £50 if sales dropped further. He began "A Christmas Carol" in October 1843. Michael Slater, Dickens's biographer, describes the book as being "written at white heat"; it was completed in six weeks, the final pages being written in early December. He built much of the work in his head while taking night-time walks of around London. Dickens's sister-in-law wrote how he "wept, and laughed, and wept again, and excited himself in a most extraordinary manner, in composition". Slater says that "A Christmas Carol" was
intended to open its readers' hearts towards those struggling to survive on the lower rungs of the economic ladder and to encourage practical benevolence, but also to warn of the terrible danger to society created by the toleration of widespread ignorance and actual want among the poor.
George Cruikshank, the illustrator who had earlier worked with Dickens on "Sketches by Boz" (1836) and "Oliver Twist" (1838), introduced him to the caricaturist John Leech. By 24 October Dickens invited Leech to work on "A Christmas Carol", and four hand-coloured etchings and four black-and-white wood engravings by the artist accompanied the text. Dickens's hand-written manuscript of the story does not include the sentence in the penultimate paragraph "... and to Tiny Tim, who did "not" die"; this was added later, during the printing process.
Characters.
The central character of "A Christmas Carol" is Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly London-based businessman, described in the story as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" Kelly writes that Scrooge may have been influenced by Dickens's conflicting feelings for his father, whom he both loved and demonised. This psychological conflict may be responsible for the two radically different Scrooges in the tale—one a cold, stingy and greedy semi-recluse, the other a benevolent, sociable man. The professor of English literature Robert Douglas-Fairhurst considers that in the opening part of the book covering young Scrooge's lonely and unhappy childhood, and his aspiration for money to avoid poverty "is something of a self-parody of Dickens's fears about himself"; the post-transformation parts of the book are how Dickens optimistically sees himself.
Scrooge could also be based on two misers: the eccentric John Elwes, MP, or Jemmy Wood, the owner of the Gloucester Old Bank and also known as "The Gloucester Miser". According to the sociologist Frank W. Elwell, Scrooge's views on the poor are a reflection of those of the demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus, while the miser's questions "Are there no prisons? ... And the Union workhouses? ... The treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" are a reflection of a sarcastic question raised by the philosopher Thomas Carlyle, "Are there not treadmills, gibbets; even hospitals, poor-rates, New Poor-Law?"
There are literary precursors for Scrooge in Dickens's own works. Peter Ackroyd, Dickens's biographer, sees similarities between the character and the elder Martin Chuzzlewit character, although the miser is "a more fantastic image" than the Chuzzlewit patriarch; Ackroyd observes that Chuzzlewit's transformation to a charitable figure is a parallel to that of the miser. Douglas-Fairhurst sees that the minor character Gabriel Grub from "The Pickwick Papers" was also an influence when creating Scrooge. It is possible that Scrooge's name came from a tombstone Dickens had seen on a visit to Edinburgh. The grave was for Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie, whose job was given as a meal man—a corn merchant; Dickens misread the inscription as "mean man". This theory has been described as "a probable Dickens hoax" for which "[n]o one could find any corroborating evidence".
When Dickens was young he lived near a tradesman's premises with the sign "Goodge and Marney", which may have provided the name for Scrooge's former business partner. For the chained Marley, Dickens drew on his memory of a visit to the Western Penitentiary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in March 1842, where he saw—and was affected by seeing—fettered prisoners. For the character Tiny Tim, Dickens used his nephew Henry, a disabled boy who was five at the time "A Christmas Carol" was written. The two figures of Want and Ignorance, sheltering in the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present, were inspired by the children Dickens had seen on his visit to a ragged school in the East End of London.
Themes.
The transformation of Scrooge is central to the story. Davis considers Scrooge to be "a protean figure always in process of reformation"; Kelly writes that the transformation is reflected in the description of Scrooge, who begins as a two-dimensional character, but who then grows into one who "possess[es] an emotional depth [and] a regret for lost opportunities". Some writers, including the Dickens scholar Grace Moore, consider that there is a Christian theme running through "A Christmas Carol", and that the novella should be seen as an allegory of the Christian concept of redemption. Dickens's biographer, Claire Tomalin, sees the conversion of Scrooge as carrying the Christian message that "even the worst of sinners may repent and become a good man". Dickens's attitudes towards organised religion were complex; he based his beliefs and principles on the New Testament. His statement that Marley "had no bowels" is a reference to the "bowels of compassion" mentioned in the First Epistle of John, the reason for his eternal damnation.
Other writers, including Kelly, consider that Dickens put forward a "secular vision of this sacred holiday". The Dickens scholar John O. Jordan argues that "A Christmas Carol" shows what Dickens referred to in a letter to his friend John Forster as his ""Carol" philosophy, cheerful views, sharp anatomisation of humbug, jolly good temper ... and a vein of glowing, hearty, generous, mirthful, beaming reference in everything to Home and Fireside". From a secular viewpoint, the cultural historian Penne Restad suggests that Scrooge's redemption underscores "the conservative, individualistic and patriarchal aspects" of Dickens's ""Carol" philosophy" of charity and altruism.
Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in response to British social attitudes towards poverty, particularly child poverty, and wished to use the novella as a means to put forward his arguments against it. The story shows Scrooge as a paradigm for self-interest, and the possible repercussions of ignoring the poor, especially children—personified by the allegorical figures of Want and Ignorance. The two figures were created to arouse sympathy with readers—as was Tiny Tim. Douglas-Fairhurst observes that the use of such figures allowed Dickens to present his message of the need for charity without alienating his largely middle-class readership.
Publication.
As the result of the disagreements with Chapman and Hall over the commercial failures of "Martin Chuzzlewit", Dickens arranged to pay for the publishing himself, in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Production of "A Christmas Carol" was not without problems. The first printing was meant to have festive green endpapers, but they came out a dull olive colour. Dickens's publisher Chapman and Hall replaced these with yellow endpapers and reworked the title page in harmonising red and blue shades. The final product was bound in red cloth with gilt-edged pages, completed only two days before the publication date of 19 December 1843. Following publication, Dickens arranged for the manuscript to be bound in red Morocco leather and presented as a gift to his solicitor, Thomas Mitton.
Priced at five shillings (equal to £ in 2025 pounds), the first run of 6,000 copies sold out by Christmas Eve. Chapman and Hall issued second and third editions before the new year, and the book continued to sell well into 1844. By the end of 1844 eleven more editions had been released. Since its initial publication the book has been issued in numerous hardback and paperback editions, translated into several languages and has never been out of print. It was Dickens's most popular book in the United States, and sold over two million copies in the hundred years following its first publication there.
The high production costs upon which Dickens insisted led to reduced profits, and the first edition brought him only £230 (equal to £ in 2025 pounds) rather than the £1,000 (equal to £ in 2025 pounds) he expected. A year later, the profits were only £744, and Dickens was deeply disappointed.
Reception.
According to Douglas-Fairhurst, contemporary reviews of "A Christmas Carol" "were almost uniformly kind". "The Illustrated London News" described how the story's "impressive eloquence ... its unfeigned lightness of heart—its playful and sparkling humour ... its gentle spirit of humanity" all put the reader "in good humour with ourselves, with each other, with the season and with the author". The critic from "The Athenaeum", the literary magazine, considered it a "tale to make the reader laugh and cry – to open his hands, and open his heart to charity even toward the uncharitable ... a dainty dish to set before a King." William Makepeace Thackeray, writing in "Fraser's Magazine", described the book as "a national benefit and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness. The last two people I heard speak of it were women; neither knew the other, or the author, and both said, by way of criticism, 'God bless him!'"
The poet Thomas Hood, in his own journal, wrote that "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were ever in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease." The reviewer for "Tait's Edinburgh Magazine"—Theodore Martin, who was usually critical of Dickens's work—spoke well of "A Christmas Carol", noting it was "a noble book, finely felt and calculated to work much social good". After Dickens's death, Margaret Oliphant deplored the turkey and plum pudding aspects of the book but admitted that in the days of its first publication it was regarded as "a new gospel", and noted that the book was unique in that it made people behave better. The religious press generally ignored the tale but, in January 1844, "Christian Remembrancer" thought the tale's old and hackneyed subject was treated in an original way and praised the author's sense of humour and pathos. The writer and social thinker John Ruskin told a friend that he thought Dickens had taken the religion from Christmas, and had imagined it as "mistletoe and pudding—neither resurrection from the dead, nor rising of new stars, nor teaching of wise men, nor shepherds".
There were critics of the book. "The New Monthly Magazine" praised the story, but thought the book's physical excesses—the gilt edges and expensive binding—kept the price high, making it unavailable to the poor. The review recommended that the tale should be printed on cheap paper and priced accordingly. An unnamed writer for "The Westminster Review" mocked Dickens's grasp of economics, asking "Who went without turkey and punch in order that Bob Cratchit might get them—for, unless there were turkeys and punch in surplus, someone must go without".
Dickens had criticised the US in "American Notes" and "Martin Chuzzlewit", making American readers reluctant to embrace his work, but by the end of the American Civil War, the book had gained wide recognition in American households. In 1863 "The New York Times" published an enthusiastic review, noting that the author brought the "old Christmas ... of bygone centuries and remote manor houses, into the living rooms of the poor of today".
Aftermath.
In January 1844 Parley's Illuminated Library published an unauthorised version of the story in a condensed form which they sold for twopence. Dickens wrote to his solicitor
I have not the least doubt that if these Vagabonds can be stopped they must. ... Let us be the "sledge-hammer" in this, or I shall be beset by hundreds of the same crew when I come out with a long story.
Two days after the release of the Parley version, Dickens sued on the basis of copyright infringement and won. The publishers declared themselves bankrupt and Dickens was left to pay £700 in costs. The small profits Dickens earned from "A Christmas Carol" further strained his relationship with his publishers, and he broke with them in favour of Bradbury and Evans, who had been printing his works to that point.
Dickens returned to the tale several times during his life to amend the phrasing and punctuation. He capitalised on the success of the book by publishing other Christmas stories: "The Chimes" (1844), "The Cricket on the Hearth" (1845), "The Battle of Life" (1846) and "The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain" (1848); these were secular conversion tales which acknowledged the progressive societal changes of the previous year, and highlighted those social problems which still needed to be addressed. While the public eagerly bought the later books, the reviewers were highly critical of the stories.
Performances and adaptations.
By 1849 Dickens was engaged with "David Copperfield" and had neither the time nor the inclination to produce another Christmas book. He decided the best way to reach his audience with his "Carol philosophy" was by public readings. During Christmas 1853 he gave a reading in Birmingham Town Hall to the Industrial and Literary Institute. He insisted that tickets be reserved for working-class attendees at quarter-price and the performance was a great success. Thereafter, he read the tale in an abbreviated version 127 times, until 1870 (the year of his death), including at his farewell performance.
In the years following the book's publication, responses to the tale were published by W. M. Swepstone ("Christmas Shadows", 1850), Horatio Alger ("Job Warner's Christmas", 1863), Louisa May Alcott ("A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True", 1882), and others who followed Scrooge's life as a reformed man – or some who thought Dickens had got it wrong and needed to be corrected.
The novella was adapted for the stage almost immediately. Three productions opened on 5 February 1844, one by Edward Stirling, "A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future", being sanctioned by Dickens and running for more than 40 nights. By the close of February 1844 eight rival "A Christmas Carol" theatrical productions were playing in London. The story has been adapted for film and television more than any of Dickens's other works. In 1901 it was produced as "Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost", a silent black-and-white British film; it was one of the first known adaptations of a Dickens work on film, but it is now largely lost. The story was adapted in 1923 for BBC radio. It has been adapted to other media, including opera, ballet, animation, stage musicals and a BBC mime production starring Marcel Marceau.
Davis considers the adaptations have become better remembered than the original. Some of Dickens's scenes—such as visiting the miners and lighthouse keepers—have been forgotten by many, while other events often added—such as Scrooge visiting the Cratchits on Christmas Day—are now thought by many to be part of the original story. Accordingly, Davis distinguishes between the original text and the "remembered version".
Legacy.
The phrase "Merry Christmas" had been around for many years—the earliest known written use was in a letter in 1534—but Dickens's use of the phrase in "A Christmas Carol" popularised it among the Victorian public. The exclamation "Bah! Humbug!" entered popular use in the English language as a retort to anything sentimental or overly festive; the name "Scrooge" became used as a designation for a miser and was added to the "Oxford English Dictionary" as such in 1982.
In the early 19th century the celebration of Christmas was associated in Britain with the countryside and peasant revels, disconnected to the increasing urbanisation and industrialisation taking place. Davis considers that in "A Christmas Carol", Dickens showed that Christmas could be celebrated in towns and cities, despite increasing modernisation. The modern observance of Christmas in English-speaking countries is largely the result of a Victorian-era revival of the holiday. The Oxford Movement of the 1830s and 1840s had produced a resurgence of the traditional rituals and religious observances associated with Christmastide and, with "A Christmas Carol", Dickens captured the zeitgeist while he reflected and reinforced his vision of Christmas.
Dickens advocated a humanitarian focus of the holiday, which influenced several aspects of Christmas that are still celebrated in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit. The historian Ronald Hutton writes that Dickens "linked worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation".
The novelist William Dean Howells, analysing several of Dickens's Christmas stories, including "A Christmas Carol", considered that by 1891 the "pathos appears false and strained; the humor largely horseplay; the characters theatrical; the joviality pumped; the psychology commonplace; the sociology alone funny". The writer James Joyce considered that Dickens took a childish approach with "A Christmas Carol", producing a gap between the naïve optimism of the story and the realities of life at the time.
Ruth Glancy, the professor of English literature, states that the largest impact of "A Christmas Carol" was the influence felt by individual readers. In early 1844 "The Gentleman's Magazine" attributed a rise of charitable giving in Britain to Dickens's novella; in 1874, Robert Louis Stevenson, after reading Dickens's Christmas books, vowed to give generously to those in need, and Thomas Carlyle expressed a generous hospitality by hosting two Christmas dinners after reading the book. In 1867 one American businessman was so moved by attending a reading that he closed his factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a turkey, while in the early years of the 20th century Maud of Wales—the Queen of Norway—sent gifts to London's crippled children signed "With Tiny Tim's Love". On the novella, the author G. K. Chesterton wrote "The beauty and blessing of the story ... lie in the great furnace of real happiness that glows through Scrooge and everything around him. ... Whether the Christmas visions would or would not convert Scrooge, they convert us."
Analysing the changes made to adaptations over time, Davis sees changes to the focus of the story and its characters to reflect mainstream thinking of the period. While Dickens's Victorian audiences would have viewed the tale as a spiritual but secular parable, in the early 20th century it became a children's story, read by parents who remembered their parents reading it when they were younger. In the lead-up to and during the Great Depression, Davis suggests that while some saw the story as a "denunciation of capitalism, ...most read it as a way to escape oppressive economic realities". The film versions of the 1930s were different in the UK and US. British-made films showed a traditional telling of the story, while US-made works showed Cratchit in a more central role, escaping the depression caused by European bankers and celebrating what Davis calls "the Christmas of the common man". In the 1960s, Scrooge was sometimes portrayed as a Freudian figure wrestling with his past. By the 1980s he was again set in a world of depression and economic uncertainty.
Notes.
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References.
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Sources.
Books.
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Online resources.
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Newspapers, journals and magazines.
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The Man Who Invented Christmas (film)
2017 film directed by Bharat Nalluri
The Man Who Invented Christmas is a 2017 Christmas biographical comedy-drama film about Charles Dickens directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Susan Coyne. Based on Les Standiford's 2008 non-fiction book of the same name, the joint Canadian and Irish production stars Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce, and follows Dickens (Stevens) as he conceives and writes his 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol".
The film was produced by Parallel Film and Rhombus Media. It was released by Bleecker Street in the United States on 22 November 2017, and by Thunderbird Releasing in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2017. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot.
In 1843, four years after the success of "Oliver Twist", Charles Dickens is suffering financial hardship after the failures of his last three books. Rejected by his publishers, he sets out to write a new one and publish it himself, to restore his finances.
Seeing inspiration around London, most notably a rich man's funeral that is largely unattended and a mean-spirited old man who gives him the catchphrase "Humbug" and inspiration of a new character, Charles begins writing "A Christmas Carol". It's due in six weeks in order to be published by Christmas, despite his friends and publishers telling him that the book will also be a failure, as Christmas (at the time) was considered irrelevant and few people celebrated it.
As Charles develops the story, he interacts with the characters that manifest in front of him, most notably Ebenezer Scrooge. He is helped by one of his servants, Tara, a literate Irish nursemaid to his children, with whom he discusses story elements.
While writing his book, Charles is greeted by the unannounced arrival of his eccentric father John Dickens, whom Charles views as immature and fiscally irresponsible. When Charles shows Tara the next draft, she is distraught that Scrooge would not save Tiny Tim. She believes that people can change and suggests instead that Scrooge saves Tiny Tim.
However, Charles is unable to believe that a man as cruel and cold as Scrooge could change. He rejects the notion but it continues to haunt him in the form of writer's block. Charles' relationship with his family and friends is increasingly strained as he struggles with Scrooge's ending, and his debts mount.
Finally Charles sends both his parents and Tara out of the house in a fit of rage. The next morning, he regrets dismissing her, but is unable to find and rehire her. His wife, Catherine Dickens, tearfully confronts Charles over his recklessness and instability, and admits that she believes that he puts his work before his own family.
It is revealed that much of Charles' animosity toward his father stems from his childhood trauma of laboring in a blacking factory after his family was taken to debtors' prison, all due to John Dickens' failure to pay his debts.
Returning to the long-abandoned factory, Charles is forced to confront his own insecurities through Scrooge. He realizes that his story should be one of redemption and races home to finish his manuscript. As Charles is about to leave his home to submit it to his printer, he finds that Tara has come to return a book that he had lent her, and he apologizes for his angry outburst and invites her back to the household.
His wife suggests that Charles do the same with his father, who is about to board a train to leave London. He does so and, after reconnecting with his family, submits the manuscript in time for publishing before Christmas.
The Dickens family celebrates the holiday, while a text epilogue explains the overnight success of "A Christmas Carol" and its lasting impact on the Christmas holiday.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Dan Stevens – Charles Dickens
Production.
In addition to filming at Ardmore studios in Wicklow in Ireland, location filming was completed in and around Dublin (including Henrietta Street and North Great Georges Street) as well as in Wicklow; the latter was "transformed into 1840’s Victorian England" according to one source. Principal photography was completed on 21 January 2017.
Historical accuracy.
In an interview, Stevens said of the film's historical accuracy: "Frankly, whether it's historically accurate, I'm not that concerned about. I was interested in that moment of the creative process, watching a great man struggle – to me, that's dramatically and comedically interesting. Certainly, I was keen not to play Dickens as a bearded old sage." He also expressed an interest in Miriam Margolyes' theory that Dickens was bipolar, saying: "There were moments when he was bleak and depressive. But I think there were moments when he was great fun to be around, very silly and playful."
A "Time" magazine review mentions that "some major plot points are the product of dramatic license" but concludes that the film "does provide viewers with a fairly accurate sense of how Dickens successfully changed the way Christmas is celebrated".
Dickens is shown visiting Warren's Blacking Factory as an adult, but this building was demolished in the early 1830s.
Release and reception.
The film was released in the United States in 500 theaters on 22 November 2017.
Critical response.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of


Ariel Winter
American actress (born 1998)
Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom "Modern Family" (2009–2020), for which she and her several costars won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series four consecutive times from 2010 to 2013.
Early life.
Ariel Winter Workman was born on January 28, 1998, in Fairfax, Virginia. She is the daughter of Chrisoula ("née" Batistas) and Glenn Workman. Through her mother, she is of Greek descent, and through her father, of German descent. She is the younger sister of actors Shanelle Workman and Jimmy Workman.
Career.
Winter obtained her first entertainment industry job in a Cool Whip commercial advertisement in 2002 when she was four years old. She had her first television role in an episode of "Listen Up", and followed it with appearances in a variety of television shows such as "Freddie", "Monk", "Bones", and "ER".
She voiced the character of Gretchen in the animated Disney Channel series "Phineas and Ferb" before winning the regular role of Alex Dunphy in the ABC series "Modern Family", which premiered in 2009 and ended in 2020. She has continued to work in TV animation, including providing the voice of Marina on Disney Junior's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates". In 2012, Winter was cast as the voice of Sofia, the lead character in a then-new Disney animated franchise "Sofia the First". The series premiered in January 2013 on Disney Junior.
In 2014, she voiced Penny Peterson, Sherman's adversary-turned-friend in the DreamWorks Animation film "Mr. Peabody and Sherman". She also lent her voice to characters in two animated films - Disney's "Bambi II" and Blue Sky's "".
Winter has appeared in feature films, most notably in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", "Speed Racer", "Duress", and "Opposite Day". She also appeared on the Halloween-themed TV film "". For her leading role in the film "The Chaperone", she was nominated at the Young Artist Awards 2012 as "Best Actress in a Motion Picture".
Personal life.
In 2012, Winter's sister Shanelle Workman filed to become her guardian, alleging that their mother had been physically and emotionally abusive. In 2014, the court awarded guardianship to Shanelle Workman and permanently removed Winter from her mother's guardianship. Their mother later released a statement saying that "the family has moved beyond the conflict". In 2015, when she was 17 years old, Winter declared on Twitter that she was officially emancipated.
She is a purple belt in taekwondo.
In 2015, Winter underwent breast reduction surgery. In a 2016 interview with "ABC News Nightline", Winter explained the awkwardness of developing at 12 years old in the public eye, combined with the back pain that rendered her unable to stand up straight at times, was "really ostracizing and excruciatingly painful." Describing the improvement that the surgery had on her both physically and psychologically, she told "Glamour" magazine that it was "amazing to finally feel right. This is how I was supposed to be." At the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Winter gained media attention for wearing a Romona Kaveza gown that revealed her surgical scars. She was shocked after walking down the red carpet to see the photos the next day and "every headline be about my cleavage and -- not about my talent." Winter later tweeted: "Guys there is a reason I didn't make an effort to cover up my scars! They are part of me and I'm not ashamed of them at all."
Winter attended Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles, graduating in June 2016. She was accepted to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and scheduled to begin there in the fall quarter of 2016. However, she later confirmed that she planned to attend UCLA in fall 2017. On her decision to attend college, she explained, "You gotta have something else you can do. I've always been interested in law, so I think it'll definitely be something that I'll love to do and also go to school for." In 2018, Winter took an indefinite hiatus from UCLA to focus on her work.
Winter is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.
She dated Canadian actor Levi Meaden for three years; they split in 2019. The couple lived together in Winter’s 3,200-square-foot home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Since 2020, she has been in a relationship with actor Luke Benward. In 2022, Winter moved from Southern California to Nashville, Tennessee.
References.
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List of Phineas and Ferb characters
The following is a character list of main and secondary characters on the Disney Channel series "Phineas and Ferb".
Main characters.
Phineas Flynn.
Phineas Flynn (voiced by Vincent Martella) is the main character of the series. He has red hair. His age is not mentioned. Phineas, along with his stepbrother Ferb Fletcher, star in the A-Plot of every episode. The series concerns Phineas's attempts to avoid boredom by finding something new to do every day of the summer vacation. He does this with his much less-talkative stepbrother Ferb, and often with many other neighborhood children. He is known to be very selfless and energetic. Phineas has many catch phrases like "Oh, there you are, Perry." or "Hey, Ferb! I know what we're going to do today!" and "Hey, where's Perry?".
Phineas comes from a blended family. The creators chose this arrangement because they considered it underused in children's programming as well as from Marsh's experiences in one. As a character, Phineas has received a positive critical response, with one reviewer describing him and his brother as a "comical pairing." Phineas appears in "Phineas and Ferb" merchandise, including plush toys, t-shirts, and a video game.
Ferb Fletcher.
 Ferb Fletcher (voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster 2007–2015; David Errigo Jr. 2018–present) is a boy of very few words. He is Phineas's green-haired, intelligent but laconic stepbrother from the United Kingdom. Created by "Phineas and Ferb" co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, he first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Rollercoaster."
Ferb and his stepbrother Phineas Flynn spend their days during their summer vacation having lots of fun. They are featured in every episode's A-Plot constructing large scale inventions or taking part in other outlandish activities. Ferb, an engineering genius, allows Phineas to do most of the talking for the pair and is described as "more of a man of action," by Phineas, which makes him more of a plot device than a developed character. Ferb is more likely to sing than speak, but most often has a one-liner in the episodes. Ferb is named after a friend of the show's creators who was an expert on tools and, at times, stayed rather silent.
Candace Flynn.
Candace Gertrude Flynn (voiced by Ashley Tisdale) is characterized as Phineas's fifteen-year-old biological sister and Ferb's stepsister. The character's personality is based on Jennifer Grey's character in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Candace first appeared in the pilot episode.
Candace was originally designed to antagonize her brothers. In most episodes, she appears to really disapprove of their inventions and attempt to get them in trouble by showing their mom the inventions. Her catchphrases are: "Mom! Phineas and Ferb are...!" and "You are so busted!", and while she never proves anything to her mother, Candace persists in the majority of episodes. Whenever she attempts to "bust" her brothers, Phineas and Ferb's work unintentionally disappears before their mother sees it, and the boys appear to be involved in simple activities. Usually, Candace is shown stuttering "Buh-buh-buh-but...!", with her mother is shown forcibly taking her away and disregarding Candace's actions as crazy and childish.
Povenmire described Candace's character: "Candace does get frustrated. She thinks it's not fair—that if she were doing the things they're doing, she'd get in big trouble. It's not, 'I'm going to get those guys and ruin their lives.' She does bust them later in the season, but there are a couple of twists to it." There are moments in the series when Candace appears to enjoy her brother's inventions, and although she frequently seems to overlook the fact that Phineas and Ferb openly care about her, Candace is shown to care more about their well-being than busting them. In the "Traffic Cam Caper" episode, when Phineas is in peril, Candace goes out of her way to save him, allowing a disc containing footage of Phineas and Ferb's projects to be stolen by Perry. Also, when Phineas delivers a very heartfelt speech at his birthday party thanking his friends, Candace seems so touched that she destroys another disc she intended to use to bust him and Ferb ("Clipshow").
Candace is best friends with Stacy Hirano, and is also good friends with Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, the daughter of Perry's nemesis, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the main antagonist in the series. Candace and her family appear unaware that their pet platypus Perry, portrayed as a secret agent, fights Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Candace also appears unaware that Perry's battles with Dr. Doofenshmirtz often cause of the disappearance of Phineas and Ferb's inventions. Her character has appeared in Dr. Doofenshmirtz's lair on a number of occasions, but never seems to know where Perry goes everyday. Vanessa's character knows Perry personally, and seems unaware of the fact that Candace is part of Perry's host family. The friendship between Candace and Vanessa's characters is based on their ongoing failed attempts to prove something about a family member to their mothers.
Candace has an obvious crush on Jeremy Johnson, but for a long time, she is oblivious to the fact that he likes her back. The series portrays Candace as unphotogenic and self-conscious of what Jeremy would think if he saw the many photos of her posing awkwardly or with embarrassing facial expressions.
The depth of Candace has received positive critical acclaim and appears in other media such as video games. Common Sense Media rated Candace as the 10th worst TV role model, claiming that "her primary motivations are pleasing her boyfriend and getting her brothers in trouble" and she was "a very screechy, whiny stereotype of a girl", which could reinforce gender stereotypes a lot.
In "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", it is revealed that Candace will have three children in the future: Xavier, Fred and Amanda, with Xavier and Fred behaving similarly to Phineas and Ferb, while Amanda takes after Candace.
Candace appears in the film "", when Phineas goes to great lengths to rescue her from an alien race that kidnaps her to save their planet.
Perry the Platypus.
Perry the Platypus (vocal effects by Dee Bradley Baker), a.k.a. Agent P, is Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus and first appeared along with a large portion of the main cast in the pilot episode "Rollercoaster." Perry is featured as the star of the B-Plot for all but one episode of the series alongside his arch-nemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. He is a primarily silent character, with the only noises being the occasional rattling of his bill. Toward the beginning and end of most episodes, a character, often Phineas, can be found addressing Perry's absence with "Where's Perry?" and "Oh, there you are, Perry.", respectively, which are also both titles of episodes.
In "", an alternate reality (yet more evil and ruthless) version of Perry (known as Platyborg) appears. Platyborg would later return in the episode sequel, "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension".
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.
Dr. Heinz "Doof" Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Dan Povenmire) is an evil scientist appearing in all but one episode's B-Plots thus far. He is the father to teenage Vanessa Doofenshmirtz and is the head of his own company, Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., which has its own jingle. Depending on the episode, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's main goal is to either destroy or rule the tri-state area, which was suggested to him as a teenager on a failed date with Linda Flynn-Fletcher as a starting point before taking over the world. Routinely bumbling, incompetent, and forgetful, almost all of Doofenshmirtz's plans—always involving various gadgets and/or inventions—have been thwarted by Perry the Platypus. However, a few of his schemes were quite successful, such as in the 2014 special "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer," when Doofenshmirtz moved the Earth away from its original orbit to bring on an early autumn, much to Perry's distress. After most defeats, he shouts his famous catchphrase, "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!!"
His contraptions are almost all named "[something]-inator", and in "Unfair Science Fair" it is revealed that his first invention as a child was simply called "Inator".
Throughout the series, Doofenshmirtz's flashbacks (which are often shown after Perry has been captured) explore his mentally abusive and lonely childhood growing up in the fictional village Gimmelshtump, Druelselstein. Before becoming an evil scientist, Doofenshmirtz was a bratwurst street vendor until being put out of business by the hot dog industry. Doofenshmirtz usually monologues and displays acts of cartoon-style physical violence towards his nemesis Perry, a skilled anthropomorphic platypus secret agent. His last name is frequently abbreviated to "Doof". Doofenshmirtz appears in several merchandise pieces, particularly the book series, and the video game. Doofenshmirtz, however much he wants to be evil, is not a bad guy at heart, and, with the help of his daughter Vanessa, comes to realize by the end of the series that he can actually "do good". In "The O.W.C.A. Files", Doofenshmirtz has qualified as a member of the titular secret agency because he was briefly raised by ocelots.
In the 2011 TV film, "", an alternate reality (yet much more intelligent and successful) version of Dr. Doofenshmirtz appears, with the regular Doofenshmirtz serving as a supporting character. 2nd Doofenshmirtz later returns in the episode sequel "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension".
Supporting characters.
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro.
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro (voiced by Alyson Stoner) is a Jewish Mexican American girl. She is one of the brothers' best friends and has a big crush on Phineas Flynn of which he is unaware, though he has shown he cares a lot for her from time to time. Her first appearance is in the pilot episode. She is known for the famous catchphrase, "Whatcha doin'?" (which she doesn't like when other people besides Phineas say) and is the leader of the Fireside Girls troop 46231. The troop often helps Phineas and Ferb in their projects. She is named after series creator Dan Povenmire's oldest daughter.
Baljeet Tjinder.
Baljeet Tjinder ( ; also known as Baljeet Rai; voiced by Maulik Pancholy) is Phineas' and Ferb's friend and neighbor. He wears blue overalls. An intellectual and polite boy who moved to Danville from India, he often helps the boys with their ideas and displays his knowledge of mathematics and trivia. The series details his relationships with various girls, from old playmate Mishti, to Fireside Girl Ginger. Baljeet has a complicated relationship with Buford van Stomm.
Buford van Stomm.
Buford van Stomm (voiced by Bobby Gaylor) started out as a bully, particularly towards Baljeet and Phineas, but quickly changed into more of a frenemy, helping Phineas, Ferb, and their friends on various occasions instead of acting solely antagonistically with his actual antagonistic actions toned down. He was also not called a bully nearly as often, especially as the series went on, but Baljeet remained his primary target, the two even singing a duet in one episode where they describe each other as "frenemies" and "my least favorite brother", while his relationship with Phineas became a one-sided rivalry on his part when he was not aiding him. Phineas believes that Buford only bullies others out of boredom, thus he often invites him to keep his mind occupied. By contrast, Buford leaves Ferb alone, likely due to Ferb subduing him easily when he tried to intimidate him in his debut episode. Buford also began displaying hidden talents and interests, such as speaking French in "Summer Belongs to You", to give his character more depth, though he still wished to keep this information secret under threat of pain for fear it would ruin his tough guy image. In "Act Your Age", he appears to have become a full-fledged friend and a sensitive artist type. He heavily resembles his mother in appearance and is stated on at least one occasion to be of Dutch descent.
Linda Flynn-Fletcher.
Linda Flynn-Fletcher (voiced by Caroline Rhea) is the mother of Phineas and Candace and stepmother of Ferb. Unaware of the large-scale projects that Phineas and Ferb create on a daily basis, Candace often drags her away a lot from other interests in an attempt to get the boys in trouble. Each creation is somehow destroyed or eliminated moments before "Mom" arrives, leaving Candace quite dumbfounded and Linda reluctant to believe Candace. Linda was also a one-hit wonder known as "Lindana" with her song, "I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun". That fact possibly makes her, as a singer, a parody of Cyndi Lauper, because of Lauper's hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", and because both of them were famous singers in the 1980s (Linda fictionally). Her single is used as elevator music throughout the series. Her surname is not consistent throughout the series; in at least one episode, Candace refers to her as "Linda Flynn". She is based on Dan Povenmire's sister, also named Linda. She went on a date with Heinz Doofenshmirtz during their mid-teens, and she was the one who inspired him to take over the tri-state area as a starting point for worldwide domination when he sarcastically stated that he would rule the world. However, their relationship did not progress further following this short-lived interaction.
Lawrence Fletcher.
Lawrence Fletcher (voiced by Richard O'Brien) is the father of Ferb and stepfather of Phineas and Candace. Lawrence sells antiques, is from the United Kingdom and is portrayed like a sitcom dad as being scatterbrained and unaware of what is going on. He often agrees to follow Phineas's instructions and even forces Candace to cooperate as if he considers Phineas and Ferb's skills normal. Unlike the boys' mother, he has seen some of the boys' inventions; he has not reacted negatively, and apparently believes that their mother approves. His precise surname is a matter of some dispute; in at least one episode, Isabella addresses him as "Mr. Flynn". Jeff "Swampy" Marsh has said that Lawrence Fletcher is very similar to his stepfather, Bill.
Major Monogram.
Major Francis Monogram (voiced by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh) is one of the heads of the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) Department and Perry the Platypus' boss. He usually appears in a Nehru jacket on a giant screen giving Perry instructions for his next mission to stop Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz's endless attempts to take over the tri-state area. His uniform prominently features the initials "MM." He has a monobrow and wears a toupée. Sometimes, he is shown to have a lack of details about what Doofenshmirtz is up to, and orders Perry to go stop it as usual. Just like Doofenshmirtz, he has also appeared in every episode of the series to date, except Isabella and the Temple of Sap.
Carl the Intern.
Carl the Intern (voiced by Tyler Alexander Mann) is Major Monogram's young unpaid intern of the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) in charge of video taping Monogram when he is being interviewed and talking to Agent P. He is a bit careless, wears glasses, and sometimes forgets to focus the camera correctly. He comes from a family of unpaid interns, and desperately wants to be appreciated by Major Monogram, treating him as a father figure. He briefly replaced the Major in "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer", but went back to his old job at the end of the episode when O.W.C.A. was revived. Carl has also stated that he has no sense of smell because he was born without nostrils.
Stacy Hirano.
Stacy Hirano (voiced by Kelly Hu) is Candace's best friend. She is of Japanese heritage, and often is pressured by her mother to become a "doctor or a lawyer or a doctor". Stacy is shown to be annoyed by Candace's constant attempts to bust Phineas and Ferb, and would prefer to just have fun with the inventions; she also occasionally gets annoyed with Candace's gushing about her relationship with Jeremy. She's in a relationship with Jeremy's friend and bandmate, Coltrane. During the episode "Happy Birthday, Isabella", she finds out about Perry's secret identity, but doesn't lose her memories afterwards. In "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", it is revealed over a phone call with "future Candace" that she has become the President of Uruguay, twenty years after the series takes place.
Jeremy Johnson.
Jeremy Johnson (voiced by Mitchel Musso) is Candace Flynn's crush and later boyfriend. He is sixteen years old. He works at Mr. Slushy Burger (sometimes named Mr. Slushy Dawg). In "Summer Belongs to You," it was confirmed that he and Candace had become boyfriend and girlfriend; toward the end of the episode, they kissed. He also has a band called "The Incidentals."
Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.
Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Olivia Olson) is Heinz and Charlene Doofenshmirtz's teenage daughter, introduced in the episode "Tree To Get Ready". She is very sarcastic, mild-mannered, cynical, and dresses in a goth style. Vanessa is aware that her father is an evil scientist and knows about her father's nemesis Perry the Platypus. She is often exasperated by her father whenever he tries to establish a "father-daughter" bond between them as he doesn't really understand her interests, or refuses to acknowledge that she is growing up and often assumes that she is also interested in "evil." She often tries to convince her mom that her dad is an "evil scientist", but much like Candace, also ultimately always fails when she does appear trying to catch him in the act, much to her dismay. She does, however, occasionally show appreciation for what he does for her, as he is clearly devoted to her (he once taught her how to drive and traveled halfway around the world after she got lost). Also, despite denying it so many times, Vanessa admits that she may be a little evil, as she once helped her father escape from custody by posing her hairdryer as a pistol to fool Major Monogram and Perry into releasing Doofenshmirtz, as shown in the special "Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You!". Although Ferb has a crush on her, she remains oblivious to his affections as she already had a punk (not goth) boyfriend named "Johnny.", whom she later broke up with in the episode "Minor Monogram". She is in a relationship with Monty Monogram, the son of Major Monogram; however "Act Your Age" depicts her becoming involved with Ferb ten years down the line.
In addition to this, Vanessa makes a cameo appearance in the 2011 TV film, "", along with an alternative reality version of herself (2nd Vanessa), though their scenes were deleted. 2nd Vanessa returned in the episode sequel, "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension".
Recurring characters.
Fireside Girls.
The Fireside Girls are a group of ten girl scout-like girls led by Isabella in troop 46231. Isabella and the other Fireside Girls usually help Phineas and Ferb in their projects which, in turn, are at times created to help the Fireside Girls with a humanitarian cause.
Other members of the troop:
Norm.
Norm (voiced by John Viener) is a giant robot man created by Dr. Doofenshmirtz to destroy Perry the Platypus. Introduced in "Greece Lightning," he is a giant robotic mild-mannered businessman who often says, "The enemy of platypus is man." Norm has also appeared in other episodes. For instance, in the episode, "Traffic Cam Caper," Perry borrows Norm as a ride to steal the traffic cam disk, for it has evidence that Perry is a secret agent. He was once a part of the O.W.C.A. but was fired because he was not an animal. Later in the series, he is depicted as Doofenshmirtz's sidekick and servant who makes frequent mistakes such as cooking eggs with the shells on or serving Doof chocolate cake for breakfast, though always staying cheery. In the episode "A Real Boy", Norm reveals that he has always wanted to be a human boy and considers Doofenshmirtz his father and Vanessa his sister.
In the 2011 TV film, "", a group of alternate reality (yet much more menacing and successful) versions of Norm (known as Norm-Bots) appear, with the regular Norm making a cameo.
Vivian Garcia-Shapiro.
Vivian Garcia-Shapiro (voiced by Eileen Galindo), or simply "Viv," is Isabella's mother and lives across the street from Phineas and Ferb. She is a Jewish Mexican, one of Linda's best friends, and plays upright bass in a jazz band with Linda Flynn and Jeremy's mom. She is known for talking very fast and often making useless comments such as, "Oh, Candace, look how tall you've gotten.", despite seeing Candace only a week earlier. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Jenny Brown.
Jenny Brown (voiced by Alyson Stoner) is Candace's second best friend and a big hippie. She wears a peace symbol necklace and says that she hopes for world peace.
Pinky.
Pinky (vocals by Dee Bradley Baker) is Isabella's pet chihuahua. Much like Perry the Platypus, Pinky also lives a double-life as a secret agent for the O.W.C.A. under the codename, "Agent Pinky" in a division run by a commander named Wanda, a.k.a. Admiral Acronym. Pinky's nemesis is Professor Poofenplotz. Although she does not like dog food, Pinky will eat just about anything–especially her favorite; grilled cheese sandwiches (as seen in the episode "Journey to the Center of Candace") and even inedible objects, having once accidentally swallowed Isabella's Fireside Girl sash. Pinky always shakes as an ongoing joke about the behavior of other Chihuahuas. She first appeared in the episode, "Journey to the Center of Candace," where Pinky plays a major role, as Phineas and Ferb shrink themselves (as well as a submarine) to miniature proportions to go inside Pinky to retrieve Isabella's sash. However, Pinky is distracted just before she can eat the sandwich by a black cat, and later Candace dwells upon the sandwich, unaware that Phineas and Ferb are inside it, and Phineas and Ferb are then swallowed, unaware that they are in the wrong body.
Charlene Doofenshmirtz.
Charlene Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Allison Janney) is the former wife of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz and shares custody of their daughter, Vanessa. Unaware of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's "evil" side, and in fact saying she does not believe someone can ever be truly evil, she divorced him due to a lack of common interests and having different life-goals. She is very wealthy and gives her ex-husband a large allowance each month. She is sometimes called by Vanessa who tries to "bust" her father, but to no avail. Charlene and Linda Flynn-Fletcher have been paired up in a cooking class owned by Chef Pierre and in "I Scream, You Scream" were distracted by both Candace and Vanessa at the same time. Despite being divorced with Doof, she still goes to Doofenshmirtz family reunions claiming that she "kept the name," as seen in "Thaddeus and Thor."
However, in the episode "Tales From the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension" (the episode sequel to the 2011 TV film, ""), it is shown that there is an alternate reality version of Charlene Doofenshmirtz. It turns out that 2nd Charlene is still married to 2nd Doof and actually shares much of his evil personality, and that their divorce was just a ruse to gain financial advantages during 2nd Doof's reign (such as receiving coupon mail, putting up junk yard sales, and going on separate vacation trips).
Suzy Johnson.
Suzy Johnson (voiced by Kari Wahlgren), known as Little Suzy Johnson, is Jeremy's little sister. She has a high-pitched squeaky voice and appears very sweet and innocent. However, she is actually very spoiled and manipulative and very possessive over Jeremy, once telling Candace (who she hates), "There is only one girl in Jeremy's life", and thus will do anything to keep Candace away from her brother.
Grandpa Clyde and Grandma Betty Jo.
Grandpa Clyde Flynn and Grandma Betty Jo Flynn (voiced by Barry Bostwick and Caroline Rhea respectively) are Linda's parents, Phineas and Candace's maternal grandparents, Lawrence's -in-laws, and Ferb's step-grandparents. Every summer, they invite the family along with many neighborhood kids to a lakehouse which Phineas calls, "Camp P&F". Though they are very old, they often participate in the kids' capers. Grandpa Clyde, like Phineas and Ferb, has a great sense of mechanics, as seen in "Crack That Whip!" Betty Jo is also shown in the same episode to have a fierce rivalry with Edna Hildagard, Jeremy and Suzy's grandmother.
Grandpa Reginald and Grandma Winifred.
Grandpa Reginald Fletcher and Grandma Winifred Fletcher (voiced by Malcolm McDowell and Jane Carr) are Lawrence's parents, Ferb's paternal grandparents, Phineas and Candace's step grandparents, and Linda Flynn-Fletcher's -in-laws who reside in the United Kingdom. Reginald used to be a daredevil known as the Flying Fishmonger.
Roger Doofenshmirtz.
Roger Doofenshmirtz (voiced by John O'Hurley) is mayor of Danville and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz's younger brother. Heinz often states angrily that Roger is their mother's favorite son, and even wrote a song about it, "My Goody Two-Shoes Brother". In "Tree to Get Ready", Roger states that he is "the most handsome and charming man in the tri-state area". This enrages Doof a lot, who is convinced to use his latest -inator, the Poop-inator, to hypnotize the tri-state area pigeons into raining feces on Roger during his speech, when he receives the Key To The City.
Irving Du Bois.
Irving Du Bois (voiced by Jack McBrayer) is Phineas' and Ferb's self-proclaimed biggest fan. He always carries a scrapbook that he filled with images and souvenirs from Phineas and Ferb's big ideas as well as a strand of Ferb's hair. Irving has an older brother Albert, who is self-nicknamed 'The Truth Detector.'
Django Brown.
Django Brown (voiced by Alec Holden) is a good friend of Phineas and Ferb. Django is the son of the artist Beppo Brown from "Oil on Candace," who is famous for his work in making giant creations, from refrigerators to dental floss. He is named after co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh's son, Django Marsh, who voices minor characters on the show.
Admiral Acronym.
Admiral Wanda Acronym (voiced by Jane Leeves) is the one of the heads of the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) Department and Pinky the Chihuahua's boss. Just like Major Monogram, she usually appears on a giant screen giving Pinky instructions for his next mission to stop Professor Poofenplotz's endless attempts to take over the world.
Also, just like Monogram (who has an unpaid intern named Carl), Adrimal Acronym has her own unpaid intern named Carla, who bears some similar resemblances to Carl.
Professor Poofenplotz.
Professor Esmeralda Poofenplotz (voiced by Amanda Plummer) is an old mad scientist and the nemesis of Agent Pinky, Isabella's pet Chihuahua. She is known for her silly attempts for worldwide domination. Her known schemes so far involve replacing handbags, stealing royal jelly, and searching for strong hairspray (her favorite is "Stiff Beauty" hairspray, which originally was only used by clowns). Needless to say, because of her somewhat arrogant personality, Poofenplotz has failed to know about the flaws of her schemes. And because of that, it has allowed Pinky to defeat her in return, leaving an humiliated Poofenplotz to yell out, "Curse you, Pinky the Chihuahua!!", similar to how Heinz Doofenshmirtz says whenever his plans get foiled by Perry the Platypus.
Love Händel.
Love Händel is a rock band idolized by many in the Danville tri-state area, first seen in the episode, "Dude, We're Gettin' the Band Back Together!" Lawrence Fletcher and Linda Flynn shared their first kiss at a Love Händel concert. Shortly afterward, plagued by infighting caused by the pressures of a dwindling fanbase, Love Händel split up. Lead Singer Danny (voiced by Jaret Reddick) became the owner of Danny's Music Shop. Bass Player Bobbi Fabulous (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) became the owner of Bobbi's Fashion Salon and Linda's hairdresser. Sherman "Swampy" (voiced by Steve Zahn) ended up working at the Danville Public Library, believing he had lost his sense of rhythm. Eventually, all three members are convinced to reunite for a concert in the Flynn/Fletcher's backyard, in which they sing their hit song, "You Snuck Your Way Right into My Heart." Love Handel occasionally reappears in other episodes and in the where they sing their songs. The band also made appearances in episodes of "Milo Murphy's Law" and "Hamster and Gretel".
Monty Monogram.
Monty Monogram (voiced by Seth Green) is Major Monogram's son and has been working in O.W.C.A. since "Minor Monogram". Vanessa Doofenshmirtz seems to become interested in him after she broke up with Johnny, and it is possible that he is slightly interested in her too, because he winks at her before leaving. They have coffee together in "Sipping with the Enemy", at