It's all your fault Mr. Scrooge!
- Even though his face may not show it, as he looks at the corpse of Jacob Marley, Scrooge's voice betrays a hint of grief upon uttering the words "As a doornail." This suggests that he genuinely cared about his friend and partner and will miss him.
- In a way, the fate of Jacob Marley and fellow ghosts like him: Marley is doomed after death to carry the chain he forged in life through his greed and selfishness, wandering the world forever without rest or peace and bearing witness to the people he could've helped in life but chose to ignore. Even worse, Marley makes it clear that the pattern on Scrooge's chain is identical to his own, only Scrooge's chain has only gotten heavier and longer in the seven years since Marley's passing; had Scrooge not taken heed from the three spirits and reformed, he would've been doomed to suffer a fate even worse than Marley!
- Scrooge's only love Belle leaves him because he continues to seek wealth and has lost love for her in his quest for money. The scene is entirely without music and is shown in Scrooge's dank office. The pain from Belle is clear and Scrooge doesn't make more than token resistance to her breaking off their engagement.
- During "the Ghost of Christmas Past" backstory, we see a child Scrooge alone at a school for boys, up to his teenhood. While this is mixed with Heartwarming as his younger sister Fanny comes to get him and bring him home for Christmas, we come to realize the reason he is so bitter towards Fred and refuses to befriend him....Fred was Fanny's son and Fanny died giving birth to him.
- While it's also horrifying, the 2009 version's portrayal of Ignorance and Want shows that despite their monstrous appearance, they too are tragic figures, being born of mankind's worst qualities (unwillingness to learn and deprivation caused by neglect) and shows that if people like Scrooge don't change their ways, children like Ignorance and Want will be driven to lives of crime and madness in their adulthoods.
- When seeing the Christmas Yet to Come, Ebenezer Scrooge is the only one to see Bob Cratchit's raw, unfiltered, soul-wrenching despair over the death of Tiny Tim, after he hid it from his family. Just staring into that broken face from a man who was so jovial and happy is one of the biggest breaking moments for Scrooge. He knows it's all his fault, and he wants desperately to apologize and comfort Bob, but he can't because Bob can neither see nor hear him. What clinches it is the look on his face as he looks at Bob. Just...the look on his face... Even before that his heartbroken face when the family confirms that, yes, Tiny Tim is dead.
- Scrooge's reaction when he sees his name on the tombstone is pretty hard-hitting here too, especially with this line in particular:Scrooge: Why show me this if I am past all hope!?
- When Scrooge learns Tiny Tim might die, the Ghost of Christmas Present quotes something Scrooge said earlier, "If he is to die, he'd better do it and decrease the surplus population!" The Ghost of Christmas Present mimics Scrooge's face and voice to spit the old man's words back at him. Scrooge gets a serious look at how cruel he'd been only hours ago and it's clear he's already regretting it.
