Janet Maslin, reviewing for "The New York Times", summarized the film as not a "great show of wit or tunefulness here, and the ingenious cross-generational touches are fairly rare. But there "is" a lively kiddie version of the Dickens tale, one that very young viewers ought to understand." "Chicago Sun-Times" film critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film three stars out of four, praised the technical achievements, but felt it "could have done with a few more songs than it has, and the merrymaking at the end might have been carried on a little longer, just to offset the gloom of most of Scrooge's tour through his lifetime spent spreading misery." On the television program "Siskel & Ebert", his partner "Chicago Tribune" film critic Gene Siskel gave the film a Thumbs Down although he was favorable towards Michael Caine's performance.