Mr. Zemeckis, lately famous for his 3-D renditions of The Polar Express and Beowulf, has once again dabbled in the 3-D pool to bring you a fascinating adaptation of the Dickens classic. At first, I was hesitant going into Disney's A Christmas Carol because the trailers and ads for the film depicted it as a children's movie, choosing to focus more on the comedic elements of the film and making it seem like an abbreviated caricature of the Dickens tale. I was pleasantly surprised by how serious Zemeckis was taking the story and not shying away from the ignorance and overall malcontent of the Scrooge character. I was also pleasantly surprised by how Jim Carrey doesn't really overplay Scrooge at all in the film. His trademark sense of exaggeration and bodily oomph are rarely seen and Carrey does a fine job of subduing himself a bit in order to provide a capable performance. Yet even though the performance is capable enough, I was not particularly astounded by Carrey's performance either. Certainly we are able to buy Scrooge's hatred for the entire Christmas season along with his greed and reluctance to accept redemption at the hands of the Ghosts. But when it comes time for Scrooge to feel sorrow and fill his heart with a desire to seek redemption, then Carrey's performance and the film in general begin to suffer.
When Zemeckis set out to make this film, I think there were only 2 ways in which he could have successfully brought the Scrooge tale to the screen. He could have chosen to make a film that focused primarily on the themes that inhabit the story, particularly in Scrooge's redemptive struggle for self-discovery through his empathy for the Cratchit family. This would have allowed for a greater emotional connection with the characters and would have provided Zemeckis with a chance at a masterpiece. What he does create though is something that in the end can be argued as the best Scrooge film ever made visually. What Zemeckis manages to accomplish with his experiments in 3-D is something that is on the brink of being masterful. There are scenes in this film that will just take your breath away visually, particularly the Ghost of Christmas Past depicted as an everlasting flame, the use of the long tracking shot for Scrooge's past, and the high angle shots looking into the hardwood floors of Scrooge's apartment that magically transform into the streets of London and a depiction of the present. These scenes allow for the film to take on a dark, melancholic tone that is only perfected by the death of the Ghost of Christmas Present transcending into the appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, a monstrous shadowy figure that terrifies Scrooge into miniaturization. Zemeckis is oh so close to something with his 3D experiments and still needs to work on character faces before we can say he is a genius. But he is so very close as this Christmas Carol proves to be the most spectacular adaptation of the classic tale ever put to the screen.
But while the film is an accomplished piece of work visually, there just isn't enough of an emotional connection to the story or to the characters. Carrey's performance suffers because in the end, there isn't enough heart that we can recognize in dear old Uncle Scrooge. His redemptive feelings seem forced and disingenuous, and even though Carrey tries to convey a man who has seen the error of his ways, his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge is missing something. It is missing that ferocity, that vivacity. It is missing a kind of empathy and sense of forgiveness. And I think that is what the entire film is missing as well. It just doesn't have that sense of hope and Christmas cheer that so many other Scrooge films seem to have because what Zemeckis has sacrificed in the name of 3D innovation are the parts of the story that are supposed to touch your heart. And while Zemeckis has created something that is so visually enthralling, Disney's A Christmas Carol is perhaps the saddest, most emotionally distant Christmas movie I have ever seen.
Lenny's Grade: B
I actually agree that this film could have accomplished so much more by way of acting. There was a disconnect for sure with the actions of Scrooge, almost like giving the tip of the iceburg instead of the whole thing. Visually this movie was amazing with the effects used.
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