Disney's A Christmas Carol: Movie Review

Waiting in line at the box office last Saturday, I braced myself for the worst when I bought my ticket to Disney’s A Christmas Carol. I had read plenty of lackluster reviews online and in the papers, but I just had to see it for myself. Plus, the fact that Disney—the master of  warping classic tales into condensed bubbly versions—was behind the archetypal Christmas tale made me nervous. I hated seeing classic tales destroyed, and Jim Carrey’s irritating adaptation of the Grinch in the 2000 remake only convinced me that I shouldn’t believe in Disney’s new film.

That being said, Alastair Sim’s pivotal portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 remains unrivaled. Charles Dicken’s tale has been twisted into so many versions over the past century (although I do find the Muppet’s version to be highly entertaining and I love Michael Caine). Again and again, countless actors, ranging from Mr. Magoo to Vanessa Williams, have contested Sim’s role. While George C. Scott’s Scrooge is one of the more phenomenal in recent years, you can never go wrong with the classic. Viewers cannot go into Robert Zemeckis’ film expecting something profound in terms of acting or plot. They can, however, expect to be stunned by visual effects and computer graphics that make the real world seem unexciting.

The graphics in this film are astounding. The aerial views of Victorian London are breathtaking, especially in the opening scenes. The audience is taken on a flying tour of London, zooming by sidewalk dwellers, gliding through Christmas wreathes and city boys playing on streets. Zemeckis’ CGI and performance capture technology, previously used in his films The Polar Express (2004) and Beowulf (2007), creating a visual playground for viewers. Close up shots of Scrooge are finely detailed, down to every last wrinkle and hair. In various scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Present, the floor disappears, revealing a bird’s eye view of the episodes of Christmas that is truly phenomenal. There is a 3D version of the movie out now, which probably only adds to the sensation of a thrill ride during the movie. There are times during the movie when I completely forgot I was watching animation because the precision in capturing movements and facial expressions is unlike Zemeckis’ previous CGI films.   

Yet, there is an eerie quality to A Christmas Carol, knowing that CGI cannot capture true human nature. The animation can’t decide whether it wants to be more cartoonish or live action, wavering back and forth between exaggerated, clownish movements and human dexterity. Zemeckis’ characters bare strong resemblances to their voice actors, perhaps adding to the feeling that the CGI does not do the actors justice. At times, it’s noticeable that CGI technology lacks the ability to fully capture human facial expressions. Seeing Carrey’s face and hearing his voice isn’t enough to make Scrooge a believable human-like character. Yet, this can only be expected—this is an animated feature, after all.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that Zemeckis stayed true to Dicken’s original story, keeping the dialogue and plot almost entirely the same as the text. Scrooge is as stingy as ever, peeling off coins from a dead Marley’s eyes (“A tuppence is a tuppence!” he exclaims). Carrey’s voicing of Scrooge at all ages is extremely convincing, while I didn’t care for his monstrous, overused laugh as the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Many of the actors take up multiple roles in the film: Gary Oldman voices Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley and Tiny Tim; Robin Wright Penn is Fan and Belle; Cary Elwes voices Dick Wilkins and various minor characters. Colin Firth as Fred, however, is one of the few actors to only voice one character.

While Disney entertainment is often targeted toward children, A Christmas Carol is meant for older kids, teens and adults. The dialogue, still in the original Victorian style of Dickens, is too complicated for young children to understand. The film is actually frightening for an animated feature, with chilling depictions of a damned Marley’s ghost, his screams audibly unnerving. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, a hooded character portrayed as Scrooge’s shadow, is a terrifying manifestation of Scrooge’s fear of death and his reputation afterward. Weepy-eyed children walked out of the theater clutching their mothers (I was among them). For little ones, stick to the Muppet’s version. At least you can sing along.