I simply love the Christmas season, and to me there few things that spread the holiday cheer quite like a good Christmas movie. Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” simultaneously stirred up the warm fuzzy feelings and felt like a scary movie that was just a few days past its prime holiday of Halloween. Of course, this is a Charles Dickens novel, so I almost think that some level of ghastliness ought to be expected.
For those of you not familiar with Dickens’ tale, the story is about a miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) whose sole security in life is in his money (point in case, in the opening scene Scrooge takes two gold coins that were to be buried with his dead business partner Jacob Marley and pockets them) but even that does not make him happy. He is a coldhearted and stingy old man — scowling at all who find joy in life and dismissing all wishes of Merry Christmas with a “Bah, humbug!”
On Christmas Eve, his partner’s ghost visits him and urges him to turn from his heartless ways, saying that he will be visited by three ghosts of Christmas. As Scrooge is taken through the Christmases of his childhood, of the present day and of what may come to pass if he continues down the same path he is on, he sees the error of his ways and has a change of heart by the end of the film.
Disney has always been a front-runner in the field of cinematic technology and has not disappointed with “A Christmas Carol.” The animated 3-D approach to this classic story is spectacular. In the beginning of the movie, the audience is taken on a flying tour of the city of London, complete with smoking chimneys, falling snow, and realistic-looking church spires stretching towards the grey skies. Because it is in 3-D, Disney has used the technology to show audiences close-ups of many things that often get reduced to the background in movies, with camera angles swinging close to roasting chestnuts and snow flurries. I was blown away by the detail in this film, from the facial expressions of the characters to the details of the ghosts, to the life-like rendition of the London cobblestone streets.
Because this is “A Christmas Carol,” there were several darker moments mixed among the caroling and holiday festivities. The depictions of life in the slums were very explicit for an animated film. The scenes with the ghosts were sometimes enough to make me jump and, I will confess, I did shriek a few times.
Beyond the special effects, the vocal talents of Jim Carey and Colin Firth give additional color to the film as the voices of Scrooge and his nephew Fred. Although I am a fan of Colin Firth, I usually avoid all things associated with Jim Carey, so I was somewhat hesitant to see this film. But I was pleasantly surprised by his rendering of Scrooge (and to further showcase his vocal talents, Carey also was the voice of all three ghosts of Christmas). He gives a wonderfully heartless performance, yet also brings an appropriate lightness to the film as well.
Because this is Disney, and animated Disney at that, I walked into the theater expecting a much more lighthearted children’s movie than the one I saw. The adaptation was very faithful to the spirit of the book and did not shy away from the more potentially frightening aspects of the story. Instead of making the ghosts softer and gentler, each was presented with what seemed like as much horror as they could appropriately muster.
Yes, “A Christmas Carol” is a story about finding the Christmas spirit, but at times I felt like I was watching a movie that I just as easily could have watched a week ago, when children were running around in costumes and collecting candy in celebration of Halloween.
Nevertheless, it is a well-done film in terms of the animation, vocal talent and keeping the spirit of the book. And it did conclude with the heartwarming classic scene of Scrooge carrying Tiny Tim on his shoulders down a street covered with snow and lined with Christmas wreaths. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself forgetting that you are in fact actually watching a Christmas movie.
