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A Very Merry 'Christmas Carol'
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Creepy.
If there is one story in the world for the film industry to fall back on at Christmas time (which Disney has decided starts today) it's A Christmas Carol. This is a story that's been adapted so many times it makes Shakespeare's adaptation record look like a first year rookie. So it was with great chagrin that the news of yet another Christmas Carol was entering into the world came to my ears. Not only that, but it was to be done by the same people who ruined The Polar Express with stiff animations and boredom. There go two of the best Christmas books ever.
Or so this review would say if Walt Disney's A Christmas Carol wasn't actually one of the more entertaining movies of the year. Yes, it helps that the tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge being visited by the three ghosts of Christmas is a tale that will never get old and is always entertaining, but that's not all that the film offers at all. In fact in a time where almost everything out there is being re-imagined or recreated A Christmas Carol sticks staunchly to its roots, to the point of possibly forsaking some of its younger viewers by using jokes and language from the original book that could easily fly over their head. In fact, in an immensely ballsy move the film even lifts a part of Dicken's classic novel that challenges the authority of the church as Scrooge is warned to to confuse so called men of the clothe with the true spirit of Christmas.
However, it wasn't just that single piece of the film that was surprising as the entire movie rang with a strange sense of originality that is lacking from most 3D animated films. This isn't your kid's A Christmas Carol, this is A Christmas Carol with some down right scary moments that could creep out the younger audience members. Still, it makes the movie all the more true to its original source, and except for a completely out of place chase scene that was crammed near the end of the film to show off director Robert Zemeckis' superber use of 3D, this film treats its subject matter very seriously. The emotional highs are high and somehow the outlandishly cartoonish Scrooge in the beginning of the film becomes a real person by the end. It's almost like watching a cartoon come to life.
Of course it also helps that the animation is incredible. Faces are eerily lifelike, and the way each ghost is done (and important part of every version of A Christmas Carol) is very interesting. Unfortunatley, they are sitting just a bit too close to the uncanny valley, so while much of the animation can be appreciated there is something oddly disturbing about it all as well. It works for the ghosts and Scrooge, but not for the more "human" characters. Jim Carrey, who lends his voice not only to Scrooge but also all three ghosts (well, really just two since one doesn't talk), nails the ghosts amazingly well, but his Scrooge wavers. For the most part it's quite a successful rendition, but every once in a while Scrooge becomes Jim Carey doing is old man voice and not a real character. Thankfully, these lapses occur mostly during humorous parts anyway so the issue can be glazed over.
What cannot be glazed over is how well 3D is used in this film. Zemeckis clearly has a knack for creating a movie in the third dimension. If you've ever wanted to see what 3D could actually do for a film if it wasn't just used as a gimmick then check out A Christmas Carol. Instead of just a few scenes being geared toward 3D action Zemeckis directs his film like a 3D movie for the entire thing. This doesn't mean that he's constantly throwing objects at the screen simply for effect, but that he actually fills the screen with action and works with the new layers that 3D gives him. Zemeckis has actually made a 3D film instead of a 2D film in 3D.
Maybe it is simply because the tale is classic and it's easy to fall for it, but A Christmas Carol is nothing but fine holiday fun. It might be a few weeks early in arriving, but considering it's actually enjoyable it should be able to stick around long enough to actually enter the Holiday season.
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