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When it comes to classic holiday tales, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is right up there with Santa and Rudolph. In fact, each holiday season, you can find a number of different movie versions showing at any given time. There are serious versions and comical versions, cartoon versions and Muppet versions. But I think it’s safe to say that you’ve never seen A Christmas Carol quite like this before.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis—using his trademark eerie, almost-real animation (as in Beowulf and The Polar Express)—Disney’s A Christmas Carol stars Jim Carrey as the voice of (as well as the model for) the infamous miser Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s the same old familiar story—from the death of Marley (Gary Oldman), through the visits from the three spirits (all of whom are played by Carrey), and all the way to “God bless us, every one.” Actually, aside from a few extra flourishes (like the Ghost of Christmas Past—which, for some reason, is portrayed as a strange-looking man-candle), it stays surprisingly true to the original story—so true, in fact, that younger viewers might have a hard time keeping up with some of the Victorian dialogue (not to mention the thick accents).
Still, the film’s focus isn’t really on the story—that beloved holiday tale of kindness and charity. It isn’t really meant to tug at your heartstrings or fill you with the Christmas spirit. Instead, Disney’s A Christmas Carol is all about the breathtaking animation. It was clearly made with IMAX audiences in mind—and no matter how awkward and uncomfortable those big, bulky IMAX glasses may be, you’ll find it impossible not to get caught up in the animated splendor of it all. You’ll fly above the rooftops of Victorian London, and you’ll race through the cobbled streets, slipping on the ice. All of that swooping and soaring and racing is admittedly pretty gimmicky—and it’s sure to distract you from the story. But it’s all so magnificent that—let’s be honest here, shall we?—you won’t really care that you’re missing out on the underlying message.
At the same time, though, none of that will really matter if you choose not to shell out the extra cash for the IMAX ticket. Granted, it’ll probably still look pretty cool. The animation is, after all, quite impressive—and it gets better with each new movie that Zemeckis makes. But I have a feeling that, without the grand 3D IMAX effects, those swooping, soaring, racing scenes will feel like rather pointless filler. And there isn’t a whole lot of substance—or personality—to the rest of the film. It isn’t particularly moving, and the characters aren’t particularly memorable. In fact, even the usually over-the-top Carrey underplays his role. As a result, the 2D version of A Christmas Carol will most likely feel like just another version of the Dickens classic.
Okay…maybe it’s not just another version. It’s a surprisingly terrifying version—complete with gruesome ghosts and a few cheap scares that could very well give your little ones nightmares for weeks.
So if you’re looking for a sweet and heartwarming holiday outing for the whole family, this probably isn’t it. But if you’re in the mood for a breathtaking animated adventure with a holiday twist—and, of course, if money is no object—then Disney’s A Christmas Carol is a worthwhile IMAX experience.
Blu-ray Review:
Disney’s A Christmas Carol may not be as spectacular on the small screen as it was on that huge IMAX screen, but if you’re looking for a way to kick off another holiday season with the whole family, this two-disc Blu-ray/DVD release is still a pretty good place to start.
Director Robert Zemeckis’s trademark motion capture animation gets better with each new release—and if you’re interested in the process, you’ll want to take the time to check out some of the Blu-ray extras. The 15-minute Capturing Dickens: A Novel Retelling will give you a great overview of the process—from the equipment used to the technology that takes the actors’ performances and turns them into the characters you see on screen. But if you really want to see the big picture (in its entirety), you can select the Behind the Carol: The Full Motion Capture Experience feature—a full pop-up track that runs throughout the film, allowing you to watch either the finished product or the original motion capture performance (with or without optional commentary by Zemeckis). Though it’s overkill for casual viewers, animation geeks will love it.
Other extras include six deleted scenes, shown in various stages of completion (which, again, offer an interesting look at the animation process) and an interactive advent calendar (which is pretty much pointless). For kids, there’s also the two-minute On Set with Sammi, in which young actress Sammi Hanratty talks about what goes into making a motion capture film.
Whether you’re young or old—whether you’re fascinated by motion capture animation or you’re just slightly curious—there’s a feature here for you. If you’re not sure where you fit, I recommend checking out On Set with Sammi first. Then, if you’d like to see more, move on to Capturing Dickens.
