Disney's A Christmas Carol

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Disney's A Christmas Carol

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Disney's A Christmas Carol

Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins

An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Id: 11022261

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Disney's A Christmas Carol Recent Reviews
  • jsd35
    January 1, 2010
    jsd35
    I have to admire Jim Carrey for his voice work here. But the human animation comes across too often like bad-rotoscoping, and creeps me out.
  • thmtsang
    December 25, 2009
    thmtsang
    This is brilliant in 3d. Charles Dicken's novel tells of Scrooge who only cares about money. He is haunted by ghosts of his past, present and future. Voiced by Jim Carrey. Some of the ghosts might be too scarey for young children.
  • barrys
    December 22, 2009
    barrys
    A Christmas Carol is the latest version of the already known story written by Charles Dickens. It is an spectacular feast for the viewer because it is its 3D format. The special effects are awesome. The story is good but I think that with the intention of focusing in the 3D and t...( read more)he CGI the left the plot a little sloppy. The rhythm is a little slow and it has some pointless scenes that it will not matter if they wen't in the movie. The cast is excellent. It includes voices of great actors such as Jim Carrey as Scrooge, Gary Oldman as Cratchit and Marley, Colin Firth and Robin Wright Penn just to name a few. In conclusion, A Christmas Carol is a good option for the holidays and for all the family.
  • PvtCaboose91
    December 18, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "If I could have my way, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!"


    When it comes to Christmas stories, none are as ubiquitous as Charles Dickens' A Christma

    ...( read more)s Carol. Since the silent era, there have been at least 25 motion picture adaptations of this 1843 novella for film and television, as well as countless other spin-offs, spoofs and updated variations (the likes of the Muppets, Patrick Stewart and even Mr. Magoo have tackled this Yuletide morality tale). In addition, the characters have seeped so deeply into popular mindset that one just has to utter the name "Scrooge", and the vast majority of the human population will immediately conjure up images of a grumpy, miserable old man who dampens the spirits of those around him. Therefore, it's logical to ask: why does the world need yet another screen version of A Christmas Carol?


    The answer is simple: Robert Zemeckis' cinematic adaptation is a Disney-branded, 3-D computer-animated spectacle which is right up the alley of this digital era. A Christmas Carol is, of course, Zemeckis' third stab at reimagining page-bound stories with cutting-edge technology mixing CGI with performance-capture cameras to turn flesh-and-blood actors into infinitely malleable digital avatars (his previous efforts being The Polar Express and Beowulf). It's hard not to be impressed with the top-shelf animation, however Zemeckis' work frequently panders to the 3-D gimmick and all the razzle-dazzle appears to usurp the emotional element.


    For anyone who doesn't know the story, here it is in a nutshell... Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Jim Carrey) is a miserable old curmudgeon, and when it comes to celebrating Christmas, his one-word refrain says it all: Humbug! One Christmas Eve, however, he receives a number of supernatural visitors whose goal is to trigger a fundamental change in Scrooge. These visitors include the ghost of his old business partner (Oldman), the Ghost of Christmas Past (also played by Carrey), the Ghost of Christmas Present (Carrey again), and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (still Carrey). Scrooge is confronted with the consequences of his current cruelties, discovers the dire fate that awaits him, and is faced with a decision as to what his future will hold: death or redemption.


    Zemeckis' screenplay for A Christmas Carol is remarkably faithful to Dickens' novella; right down to insignificant moments and most of the dialogue. But this fidelity creates a lethal problem. Not to suggest the script should have been dumbed down to Twitter speak, but Victorian English is vastly different to any form of English spoken today (in terms of grammar, words, syntax and rhythm). The dialogue is therefore quite dry, and children will no doubt have trouble deciphering what is being said. Dickens also inserted societal commentary into his original work (that was relevant at the time) which is once again carried over into Zemeckis' movie. The most glaring example of this is an out-of-place digression in which Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present take time out of their journey to discuss "Sabbatarianism" (the practise of closing businesses on Sunday). Presented in this motion picture without any specification as to what is being discussed (more than a century after it stopped being controversial) results in a huge "what the fuck?!" moment. There's a good reason why books should be altered for cinematic adaptations (consider Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy - masterful adaptations that work without being 100% faithful to Tolkien's novel).


    Such faithfulness to Dickens' novella could have worked, but Zemeckis wasn't just aiming for a loyal page-to-screen transplantation; A Christmas Carol also aspires to be a flashy, adamantly Hollywood-ised blockbuster that appeals to a family audience. Thus, the film tries to have it both ways, with moments of inane physical comedy as well as elaborate action set-pieces (who knew Scrooge was such an able stuntman?). Added to this, the camera movements are overdone even during the low-key scenes (to make the most of the 3-D gimmick), which is distracting when the film wants to make an emotional impact. Imagine watching a drama like Remains of the Day which is interrupted by a Michael Bay movie every 10 minutes - the jarring dissonance is overwhelming. And for those wanting to take their 5-year-old to this movie, note the PG rating: it contains a few sequences too scarifying for the infant crowd.


    A Christmas Carol is admittedly well-told and enjoyable, but it lacks a certain heart. It hits all the required notes but, despite playing them with technical proficiency, there's no profound emotion. A vital Scrooge character development arc gets lost amidst the huge, kinetic set-pieces - his moral journey becomes a mere battle for survival as he's flung from one chase scene to the next, and his epiphany is rushed. At least the design of Victorian London is jaw-dropping. The film opens with a brilliant tracking shot that takes the audience on an aerial tour of the long-ago city; over spires, under lampposts and through windows before finally ending up in Scrooge's dingy office. The combination of twinkly snow, smoky skylines and looping camerawork is spectacular. The criticism often levelled at motion capture animation movies is that the characters look "dead behind the eyes". Despite advancements made in the technology since Zemeckis' awful The Polar Express, this is still the case in A Christmas Carol. No matter how photorealistic the characters are rendered, the layer of computer-generated gloss remains an unsurpassable emotional barrier between character and viewer that's yet to be broken.


    Working overtime is star Jim Carrey, who plays a total of seven roles. It's an interesting and unusual casting choice given that Scrooge is defined by his bitter stasis whereas Carrey is best known for his brand of comedic performance. Yet, as Carrey has proved in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he is hardly a one-trick pony. He manages to play the role almost entirely straight, but this begs the question: why cast Jim at all? The miserable old man doesn't seem right for Carrey at all (the Ghost of Christmas Present is the only character that fits Carrey's range). As a side note, Carrey is virtually unrecognisable in his new digital bodies. And this is, of course, precisely the point - one of the failures of Zemeckis' earlier outings was that he didn't take full advantage of the possibilities of digital manipulation.
    Other members of the cast include Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robert Wright Penn and Cary Elwes, who lend not only their vocal stylings to their roles but their physical likenesses as well.


    With A Christmas Carol, Robert Zemeckis has succeeded in creating an enjoyable, visually succulent film, but the true heart of the original story is lost amidst the visual pyrotechnics which take full advantage of the technologies available but fail to illuminate or expand Dickens' story in new or meaningful ways. It's stunning and occasionally mesmerising visual filmmaking, yet still disappointingly shallow. At least it's a few hundred notches above Hollywood's usual festive output...
  • sanjurosamurai
    December 14, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    a solid version of the classic tale, but nowhere near the best. the acting was on point and the 3D animation was excellent to take in, but aside from being entertaining, the film misses on many things. it didnt seem to know what kind of film it wanted to be. at one moment its ...( read more)a dark and somber film, at other moments it takes you on one carnival ride like adventure scene after another. was it trying to be a dark and serious film, or was it trying to feel adventurous and fun. zemeckis didnt seem to blend the two styles well enough. overall its unique nature saves it from obscurity, but as far as a Christmas carol goes, there are better versions.
  • DonnaHx007
    February 7, 2010
    DonnaHx007
    Might very well be one of the best movies made of Charles Dicken's story! The 3D gives the whole movie an extra touch, that it doesn't really need, but I'm certainly not opposed to it!
  • ddenetchee
    February 2, 2010
    ddenetchee
    i'VE LOVED ALMOST EVERY Jim Carrey movie i've ever seen since i was born. But i think on this movie it wasn't all that good..........my apologies Jim.
  • jenn1978w
    February 2, 2010
    jenn1978w
    I was very disappointed....
  • AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    January 29, 2010
    AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    I got bought a DVD of this filmed . I stilling looking for the times to watch it .
  • wallflowersperk
    January 27, 2010
    wallflowersperk
    Jim Carrey as Scrooge? Nauh.
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