By now, everyone knows the story, even though most of us, myself included, have never actually read the Dickens' classic. That doesn't matter, Hollywood has provided us the sparknotes for years. From Mr. Magoo to The Muppets, George C. Scott to Bill Murray, we are more than familiar with the story. A wealthy old man hates Christmas, is visited by three spirits, and wakes up Christmas Day a changed man. For the first time, however, we have a film that portrays the world of Ebenezer Scrooge as Dickens must have seen it in his head.
I do have to admit I hold a certain soft spot for Scrooge and his journey of self-discovery. There's something so simple in its theme, so everlasting, that it's never too late to change, that tugs at the right heart string this time of year. I am closer to my 30th birthday than I am my 20th, yet I still watch Mickey's Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve, so perhaps it was inevitable that I would enjoy this film, I have a preexisting bias towards the source material. That aside, this is a fun, exciting, and overall enjoyable film, especially this close to Christmas.
Robert Zemeckis directed this film, and he has been leading the way for two decades in the development of animation and exploring what is possible. He is the guy who handcuffed Roger Rabbit to Bob Hoskins and turned Christopher Lloyd into an evil toon. Lately he has been using motion-capture animation to place recognizable actors into fantastical worlds. He did it first with Tom Hanks in The Polar Express, and then Anjelina Jolie and Ray Winstone in Beowulf. Now in A Christmas Carol he does it with Jim Carrey, turning him into Ebenezer Scrooge. The science is far from perfect, as the characters resemble real people but are creepily non-human, they are dead behind the eyes. This will continue to improve as the technology improves, but for now there is something just slightly off, and a little unsettling about these motion captured actors.
No, the real awe and beauty of this technology is the amazing detail and vast scale in which the worlds these characters exist in are created. To build this elaborate of a set would be far too expensive, and to superimpose real actors into these computer generated worlds would look too unnatural. The London Zemeckis has created in this film probably looks the most like it did when Dickens first wrote this story. Visually it is just stunning, and unlike any Christmas Carol you've seen before. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, along with Jacob Marley, are far scarier than any of their predecessors. In fact, the entire movie is scarier than any version of A Christmas Carol that has come before this one. There are times that will actually make you jump out of your seat or grab the person next to you and squeeze. There is a scene where the Ghost of Christmas Present opens his robe revealing these two demonic childlike beings that represent crime and insanity, right before the Ghost himself decays into a skeleton and then finally turns to dust. It's frightening. I don't know how any kid could not come out of this a little shaken up. That's not to say kids won't enjoy it, I think they will. The ones who were at the theater when I saw it seemed to be enjoying it, but you might think twice about taking your very young children.
My biggest problem with this film is the decision to make it 3D. It may actually be a necessity, everything is in 3D these days, but to me it is a cheap gimmick that detracts from the experience, it does not enrich it. If the film is strong enough to stand on its own, good writing, acting, directing, then it does not need the added distraction. There seem to be moments added to the film just for the sake of 3D, scenes that serve no purpose but to make you duck out of the way of flying objects or reach out and try to grab other ones. This movie doesn't need these scenes, but they're there nonetheless. The animation was stunning enough without giant icicles flying at you. Oh well, 3D is the flavor of the month, and if you're a fan of it, then see this film in 3D. If not, there are theaters showing it in boring old 2D. Whichever you prefer, go see it. Especially if you are a fan of the story, and given the dozens of adaptations over the years, you probably are.
*** out of ****
