Shame on me, for I allowed my expectations for Robert Zemeckis’
animated A Christmas Carol to be clouded by Disney’s lousy
marketing campaign, which made the film look like it was going to be a
loud, silly wannabe thrill ride that featured the famed Scrooge flying
about and screaming a lot.
In truth, Scrooge does fly about and scream a lot, but he also does
much, much more. This is a surprisingly faithful—in other words,
sometimes dark and creepy—adaptation of the Charles Dickens
classic, with a little 3-D whiz-bang thrown in for good measure. When
the frantic sequences are squished together in a short preview trailer,
they are just annoying. Within the film, effectively spread apart, the
sequences become exhilarating.
While these moments pop visually, it’s the core story about the
miserly, miserable Ebenezer Scrooge (voiced by Jim Carrey) experiencing
a spiritual awakening that makes this movie a true winner. Zemeckis
hits all the right notes.
Carrey is already a bit like a cartoon, so it’s not much of a leap
for his image to cross over into motion-capture CGI. His likeness can
be seen in the pointy, twisted face of Scrooge, the wispy, mystical
ghost of Christmas Past, and the Santa-like Ghost of Christmas Present.
He has tremendous vocal fun with the experience, and his physical
acting prowess is evident in Scrooge’s more lively and frantic moments.
I can’t wait for the DVD extras and the sight of Carrey dancing around
in one of those motion-capture suits.
Much of the story is told slowly and deliberately, as if the action
is being observed by one of Dickens’ ghosts floating over the action.
Scrooge’s office is a dark, dank place where frost puffs from the mouth
of his loyal assistant, Bob Cratchit. Gary Oldman lends his voice and
likeness to Cratchit, as well as Marley’s Ghost and even Tiny Tim. His
performances are perhaps the movie’s most heartwarming. (Well, except
for his turn as Marley’s Ghost. He’s scary as all heck in that
role.)
Zemeckis isn’t afraid to include the gloomy aspects of the original
story. Cratchit’s abode is a dark place, barely lit by a few candles
and light coming off the fireplace. One truly gets the sense that this
man is underpaid. And the aforementioned Marley moment is a chiller,
replete with the ghost’s jaw nearly falling off. Proceed with caution
if your child is 10 or younger.
I was not a fan of Zemeckis’ first motion-capture release, the
unintentionally spooky The Polar Express. However, by the time
Beowulf hit screens a couple of years ago, I’d warmed to the
format. The technology is catching up to the idea, and Carol looks great. It’s quite suitable for ghostly tales.
Some might think that releasing A Christmas Carol in early
November is a strange move, but it is a 3-D movie, and a little flick
called Avatar is on the way to 3-D and IMAX screens in
mid-December. There aren’t enough 3-D facilities out there to support
two big releases at the same time, so it makes sense that Disney got a
head start (although its opening-weekend box-office haul was somewhat
less than remarkable).
If you are looking to get into a holiday mood good and early, go see
this one, and be prepared for a surprisingly good time. If you think
the idea of an authentic Scrooge blasting through the cosmos on a ghost
rocket sounds stupid, think again. It’s actually quite cool, and the
overall movie, thanks to Zemeckis and Carrey, is enchanting fun.
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2009.