Ebenezer Scrooge
Played by: Guy Pearce
The story's protagonist, a bitter miser.
- Adaptational Villainy: While the original story's version was a selfish curmudgeon, he's far viler in this version, from his past as a criminal (where he and Marley preyed on impoverished small businesses, buying them for low prices via blackmail and demolishing them for profit) to the mine collapse he was directly responsible for, to say nothing of blackmailing Mrs. Cratchit like a rapist in exchange for money. Just in case the audience needed reminding that we're meant to hate his guts.
- Age Lift: His counterpart in the original story is an old man. Here, he's played by Guy Pearce, who was 51 during filming and his gravestone seen in the Bad Future sequence reveals that he's only 37.
- Blackmail: This was his and Marley's forte during the latter's life and how he plans to keep Bob Cratchit under his thumb forever as he blackmailed Mrs. Cratchit to strip for him in exchange for the money needed for Tiny Tim's operation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He had an abusive father who agreed to let him be sexually molested by his headmaster in exchange for waiving tuition.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: The Ghost of Christmas Past tells him that his past doesn't come close to justifying his actions.
- Horrifying the Horror: The hoops he'll jump through to justify even his vilest deeds leave the formidable Ghost of Christmas Past utterly horrified.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Some of his comments, such as why people are only generous at Christmastime rather than year-round, are hard to dispute.
- Pet the Dog: Almost literally. Even at his worst, Scrooge has a soft spot for animals, and it's this, plus an act of kindness to two cold horses, that convinces the powers that be that there is some good worth saving in the man.
- Reformed, but Rejected: By the end of the story, he changes sides, but still has a long way to go. Mrs. Cratchit, the victim of his darkest act, tells him as much.
- Younger Than They Look: His gravestone reveals that he's actually only in his late thirties.
Ghost of Christmas Past
Played by: Andy Serkis
- Adaptational Badass: Has the commanding theatrical presence of Andy Serkis and is a formidable spirit.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Is a shapeshifter in this version, an ability not acknowledged in the original story.
- Adaptational Ugliness: Usually portrayed as an androgynous, but not ugly, figure, he here resembles a haggard, old, and deranged version of Jesus.
- Creepy Good: An intimidating warlock in a crown of thorns with a long legacy of redeeming the wicked.
- Messianic Archetype: Looks like an elderly Jesus and has been able to redeem countless sinful souls. It doesn't work for Scrooge, to his immense horror.
