Age old tale begins to grow stale.
artwork by Rebecca Holt
What’s the big deal with 3-D? It’s never really like the trailers show it, with everything magically popping out of the screen and the audience rearing back in terror and amazement. So why does it seem like every single new movie that comes out has to be in 3-D? Granted, the technology is pretty advanced, compared to the red and blue plastic glasses I saw as a kid. Maybe I’m just a little upset because I didn’t have my contacts and I had to attempt fitting my 3-D glasses over my regular glasses, but I don’t see why everything has to be in 3-D.
All right, time to get down to the movie. It’s A Christmas Carol. We all know Charles Dickens’ story of the grumpy old man and his Christmas haunting, so I won’t waste anyone’s time by repeating the tale. It’s a pretty literal translation of the classic story, and if you have no idea what the original story entails, then I suggest you find the nearest blunt object and hit yourself with it until you become cultured or unconscious.
The main differences about this movie, or the millions of other adaptations, are that it’s got Disney’s seal, Jim Carrey’s (I love you Phillip Morris) name on the poster, and things popping out at you. The movie follows the book almost word for word, which I would not usually object to. However, the original story is so worn thin that it’s next to impossible to have not heard of it. The movie’s main selling points are the 3-D digital experience and Carrey, and I wasn’t exactly impressed with either.
I love Jim Carrey, I love his movies, and I loved his other Christmas adaptation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but I was rather disappointed by the lack of Carrey-isms. By looking at Scrooge, you could sense Carrey’s trademark wacky facial expressions, but his voice was quite annoying. There were no chances for him to be creative. The movie also boasts that Carrey voiced all three ghosts as well as Scrooge, but the Ghost of Christmas Past was awkward, the Ghost of Christmas Present was forced, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, well, has no voice. Gary Oldman (Rain Fall) played Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, and Tiny Tim, but also was lacking. I failed to see – or hear – the extraordinary performances I had heard about.
Though I am known to be quite critical of animation and 3-D, I have to admit that the visuals were pretty amazing. 1800 era London through Dickens’ eyes was a dark, dirty, and a dismal place, and the artists did an incredible job of illustrating the city, as well as its inhabitants. The animation was visually dazzling, although it seemed as if there were unnecessary additions created just to show off the technology. For example, Scrooge is blasted into the sky by Christmas Past and turned into a tiny mouse-sized version of himself, complete with mouse voice, and chased through London by Christmas Yet To Come on a black carriage of death. I wish I was only making this up. The animation is detailed, intricate, and yet grotesque. The normally loveable Cratchit looked less like a poor man hounded by his boss, and more like a troll.
Is this movie worth seeing? Possibly, but it is definitely not the children’s movie it makes itself out to be. This movie would have scared the living daylights out of me as a kid. Christmas Present literally dies as his time ends, clutching his chest and turning into a skeleton right before our eyes. That image is ridiculous, creepy, and just wrong for a kid’s movie. Also, Christmas Future very nearly pushes Scrooge into his open grave, outlined with a tinge of red. If that doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, imagine if you were watching as a child. It’s just unnerving.
Dickens once wrote, “I have endeavored in this ghostly little book, to raise the ghost of an idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves…” In modern English, he’s saying he didn’t write A Christmas Carol to scare anyone, but to promote the holiday spirit. I can imagine he is rolling in his grave. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to children, but I would suggest seeing it, just so you can cross it off your Christmas list.
★★★☆☆
