Disney’s A Christmas Carol Review

Published by Jeff Leins on: November 5th, 2009

Merrrrrry Christmas!  What?  Too soon?  Well, someone didn’t tell Disney because they are releasing A Christmas Carol on the first weekend in November…

No less than the twentieth film adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic about Christmas spirits, the typically family-friendly studio is presenting yet another version and this time a true humbug.  It’s deceptively gift-wrapped as a whimsical update with cartoonish effects, but it is instead a dark slosh through contradictory tones and technological gimmicks.

Parents should not to be fooled by the Disney name and the PG rating.  This film is even less for kids than Where the Wild Things Are.  The ghastly figures who visit Scrooge are beyond spooky and downright haunting, especially for the Tiny Tim’s of the world.  Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s former business partner, is shown lying dead in a coffin, which isn’t as unsettling as later when his supernatural jaw breaks and falls askew.

This is an early chapter to a story filled with more disturbing scenes of death and decay, startling scares that made even the adults jump, and a creep factor far past the dead-eyed stares of its characters.  A frightened child nearby was instructed to cover his eyes several times before his parents confiscated his 3-D glasses in defeat.  He literally had the Dickens scared out of him.

Jim Carrey lends his voice and rubber-faced expressions to at least eight different characters, including five different versions of Ebenezer Scrooge.  As the eldest, his pointed face is contorted into a perpetual frown, angrily dismissing carolers, well-wishers, and anyone else who crosses his path.  But there’s rarely an opportunity for Carrey’s charisma to surface under the layers of computerized wrinkles.  Instead, this re-telling is almost entirely humorless and utterly joyless.

Though it’s not the fault of Carrey (this time).  The blame should lie with director Robert Zemeckis whose inexplicable love affair with motion capture has reached new heights of stubbornness.  Not content with one mediocre Yuletide movie (The Polar Express) or adaptations of period classics (Beowulf), Zemeckis blends the holiday themes and action thrill rides for a mash-up that is all style and no substance.

While it’s clear the techniques have improved with added detail and expression, as the creations approach the uncanny valley it just becomes more distracting for the audience.  I found myself wondering about Carrey’s lost performance or the possibilities of a live-action Gary Oldman (who voiced Tiny Tim, Marley, and Bob Cratchit) beneath the jerky renderings.

The 3-D experience isn’t worth the premium price and is only utilized here for soaring endlessly over treetops and through various objects because the technology allows it.  Even the picture quality is plagued by its own ghosts, especially towards the edges of the frame where you see double with or without the 3D shades.

One prolonged scene in particular incorporated all of my gripes.  Scrooge cowers in the shadow of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come before it literally chases him through the streets of 19th century London, aggressively bearing down on the curmudgeon and crashing suddenly from nearby buildings.  This potentially terrorizing sequence is immediately followed by Scrooge shrinking to miniature size (complete with a squeaky voice) and riding an icicle for the kids.  Who is this movie intended for?  Does anyone want this version?  This seems like cinematic fruitcake to me.

It’s as if the timeless thematic material has been systematically replaced by modern, artificial simulations.  Zemeckis’ devotion to performance capture doesn’t incite Scrooge’s brand of malevolence from me (yet), but A Christmas Carol is ho-hum enough to drift with the other forgotten Dickens adaptations of Christmases past.

2.5 out of 5.