Viewed in
2009
Premise
Based on Charles Dickens' novel, Robert Zemeckis re-tells the story of three Christmas spirits teaching selfish Scrooge a lesson in 3D, motion-capture computer animation.
Who should watch
Those who want to see the novel come to life on the screen, but do not want to see the 1938 classic because it was in black-and-white.
Thoughts
It was an above-average holiday film, with some outstanding moments.
The best part was the 3D animation, especially during the second and third spirits visit scenes. Zemeckis knows how to deliver memorable, fantastic scenes. Audiences know the story, and he brought something visually new and exciting to the table. I love dark stuff, so my favorite scene was the death-laden, ominous ghost of Christmas future.
While I never read the novel, nor do I remember much from the 1938 original, this film felt like it was close to what those sources were. Zemeckis' vision was dark, scary, and grimy. I never understood why studios try to sell this story to kids.
My main issue was the casting and marketing of the cast. Jim Carrey did a pretty good job as Scrooge, and there were scenes that he was born to do. Also, I appreciate his willingness to take acting risks. However, I think this film would be more enjoyable if a character actor or lesser known actor (or even a British actor!) was the lead. For the first half of the film, I spent a lot of time thinking distractingly 'hey, Jim Carrey's doing pretty good', when I should have been focused only on the story. Maybe if Carrey was not the centerpiece of Disney's marketing, I would have less thoughts during the film as well.
While the 3D animation were haunting to behold, there was a little too much 3D for 3D sake. During my favorite segment, there was a superfluous chase scene through the deserted streets of London, and a rat-sized Scrooge, sliding and flying around human-sized things. Zemeckis usually lets the story guide everything, but he failed here.
The acting, animation and quality was better than I expected, especially in the second half. However, in terms of computer animated, Christmas-theme films by the underrated Zemeckis, I would choose 'Polar Express' over this any time.
What I would change
The dancing scenes. Granted they were flashbacks, but the physics-defying dancing by characters looked very unrealistic. This stood out like a sure thumb when compared to the rest of the film. Worse yet, the dance animation did not even look completed.
