Disney's A Christmas Carol
Rated PG
(scary sequences and images)
1 hour 36 minutes
Storyline:
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Starring/Voices Of:
Jim Carrey
Gary Oldman
Colin Firth
Critic's Grade:
C-
(Consensus: Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman.)
My Grade:
B-
Rated PG
(scary sequences and images)
1 hour 36 minutes
Storyline:
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Starring/Voices Of:
Jim Carrey
Gary Oldman
Colin Firth
Critic's Grade:
C-
(Consensus: Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman.)
My Grade:
B-
Animation just keeps better and better, quality wise. There were numerous shots in this film I swore were real life actors on screen. I guess in a way they were, I think they used some kind of "gollum" like technique with these actors to animate them on screen. Well anyway, here we have another version of the timeless Christmas carol about nasty old Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey of redemption on the eve of Christmas. We have all seen many versions of this story, but I don't know if any have been quite so dark as this one.
Personally I like the older versions better, because I grew up on them and they were simple and pretty much kid friendly. Here we have a version of the film that is a little heavy with the dramatic side of the
story, and pretty much strips away most of the charm and fun of the other versions. Yes there is some entertaining, fun moments that everyone can enjoy. There is a good dose of mediocre humor that kids might like. I softly chuckled a few times. But I find that this movie is more appealing to adults than it might be for the young ones. It's almost to scary for kids. It's definitely to slow for most children these days to stay focused on. We really get a glimpse into the deeper and more frightening core of these timeless characters. The ghosts are somewhat threatening looking, especially that last one. The first one felt like some kind of "drug trip". All of them were played by Jim Carrey (Liar Liar, The Truman Show).
For me, the best parts of the movie were the performances. Carrey plays a handful of characters, including all three ghosts and every version, young and old, of Mr. Scrooge. Don't laugh at me here, but I thought this was one of Carrey's better performances. Now I've always been a fan of Carrey's dramatic performances, more so than his comedic ones (but I like them all the same too). Here we have a nice taste of both sides. They captured his face so realistically on Mr. Scrooge, that you are pretty much watching Jim Carrey act out this whole performance on screen. He did a fantastic job, he didn't do any of his usual antics to capture cheap laughs. He WAS Ebenezer Scrooge, and he was very good at doing so. I also like Gary Oldman's performance as Mr. Cratchett. It was sad and emotional portrayal of a man who has almost nothing but still maintains his love and happiness.
The animation was damn brilliant as well. Like I said it was freaking realistic as all hell! I also saw this movie in 3D. Usually I would say not to waste an extra $2 on a movie ticket JUST for 3D, but here it really helps bring the magic to life. The effects get a little to much to handle sometimes, the director, Robert Zemeckis, get's a tad carried away. They do all these intentional things to stick outside the screen, but don't really have that awesome "in your face" 3D effect. It just got a little heavy handed with the effects is all, but for the most part the animation and the 3D were great!
This is not the best version of this tale by any means. This is not one most kids could probably sit through and enjoy whole heartedly. But I still would recommend people to see it. It's good enough that I enjoyed it. And heck, it's Christmas time...you gotta see it right??
Personally I like the older versions better, because I grew up on them and they were simple and pretty much kid friendly. Here we have a version of the film that is a little heavy with the dramatic side of the
story, and pretty much strips away most of the charm and fun of the other versions. Yes there is some entertaining, fun moments that everyone can enjoy. There is a good dose of mediocre humor that kids might like. I softly chuckled a few times. But I find that this movie is more appealing to adults than it might be for the young ones. It's almost to scary for kids. It's definitely to slow for most children these days to stay focused on. We really get a glimpse into the deeper and more frightening core of these timeless characters. The ghosts are somewhat threatening looking, especially that last one. The first one felt like some kind of "drug trip". All of them were played by Jim Carrey (Liar Liar, The Truman Show).For me, the best parts of the movie were the performances. Carrey plays a handful of characters, including all three ghosts and every version, young and old, of Mr. Scrooge. Don't laugh at me here, but I thought this was one of Carrey's better performances. Now I've always been a fan of Carrey's dramatic performances, more so than his comedic ones (but I like them all the same too). Here we have a nice taste of both sides. They captured his face so realistically on Mr. Scrooge, that you are pretty much watching Jim Carrey act out this whole performance on screen. He did a fantastic job, he didn't do any of his usual antics to capture cheap laughs. He WAS Ebenezer Scrooge, and he was very good at doing so. I also like Gary Oldman's performance as Mr. Cratchett. It was sad and emotional portrayal of a man who has almost nothing but still maintains his love and happiness.
The animation was damn brilliant as well. Like I said it was freaking realistic as all hell! I also saw this movie in 3D. Usually I would say not to waste an extra $2 on a movie ticket JUST for 3D, but here it really helps bring the magic to life. The effects get a little to much to handle sometimes, the director, Robert Zemeckis, get's a tad carried away. They do all these intentional things to stick outside the screen, but don't really have that awesome "in your face" 3D effect. It just got a little heavy handed with the effects is all, but for the most part the animation and the 3D were great!
This is not the best version of this tale by any means. This is not one most kids could probably sit through and enjoy whole heartedly. But I still would recommend people to see it. It's good enough that I enjoyed it. And heck, it's Christmas time...you gotta see it right??
It's funny but those characters that Jim Carrey voiced looked like him.
ReplyDelete