Hit – Starring Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman
An animated version of Charles Dickens’ novel about an grouchy old man who is taken on a journey of self-reflection by three spirits that represent the past, present, and future.
The opening of this film reminded me of so many Disney films of the past. They start with the book – A Christmas Carol on a table with a candle next to it. We zoom in and when we get close enough the book opens to the first chapter. This is the subsequent end of the story as they conclude by closing the book. I have missed this particular introductory style in Disney films that it is refreshing to see that it has made its way back.
This particular installment of A Christmas Carol was interesting because of the 3D animation that is included. It takes awhile for your eyes to adjust to this style but it adds a little pizazz to the film. Without this, the movie would have simply been like any other film out there. Luckily, they decided to show the film in this format which enhanced the overall viewing of the film.
As always, the story is solid, the voice acting is superior, and the pace of the film is on track. But, there are areas of this film that fail to meet expectations. 1. The movie was quite thrilling and would not be suitable for general audiences – 3rd grade and up would be appropriate. 2. The animation style (as seen in The Polar Express) is still very creepy because it looks too close to the real thing. 3. The 3D animation was good but it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be – I was expecting Captain EO-esque type 3D but I didn’t find any reason to try and grab at things in front of me like a 3D movie should inspire you to do.
Bottom Line: Enjoyable but I still prefer Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
Animation
Rated PG for scary sequences and images.
Running Time: 1 hour 36 minutes
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