Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Movie Review: A Christmas Carol

Jim Carrey carries this remake of the classic tale

• By: John Baker  
• Published: 11/19/2009 1:51:35 PM

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Jim Carrey lends his voice in this classic remake, complete with 3-D glasses. Playing at Regal Wilsonville Stadium 9 at 2, 2:30, 4:20, 4:50, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m.

There’s no doubting that 3-D movie technology has come a long, long way since we all put on those funky paper glasses with the red and blue plastic lenses.
That point is brought home decisively in Disney’s new animated offering, “A Christmas Carol.”

This Jim Carrey vehicle is yet another retelling of the Charles Dickens classic and pairs Disney’s unparalleled animation expertise with a new high definition Dolby 3-D application that literally leaves you flying through the air, watching snowflakes fall inches from your face and sensing the bony index finger of “Christmas future” is going to literally poke you in the chest.

The 3-D effect in “A Christmas Carol” is something special and finally delivers the kind of 3-D experience we’ve all imagined the medium could create. From a technical standpoint, “A Christmas Carol” delivers a wonderful viewing experience.

Unfortunately, the production itself offers very little new for fans of the story outside of the wonderful animation Disney always delivers.

The story of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s travels from cantankerous old curmudgeon, devoid of any compassion for people or passion for life, to a man who keeps Christmas dear, uses the same path as the other umpteen attempts at putting this book to film.

While the story and animation work well together in parts, there are some slow storytelling moments that seem to be nothing more than a vehicle to impress us with the animation. I’ve never thought of “A Christmas Carol” as a slow-moving story, but at times this newest offering does just that.

Carrey is exactly what you’d expect in the role of Scrooge — witty, convincingly grumpy and delivers dialogue like a champ. His prodigious talent is on display repeatedly throughout the film and if you’re a fan of his, you’ll like the way he plays Scrooge.

There is a nice collection of talent throughout the movie, including several of my personal favorites — Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn and Bob Hoskins — who, though they play minor parts in the overall film, offer up something giddily tangible with each character they create.

I’m something of “A Christmas Carol-ophile,” having seen virtually every film adaptation that exists multiple times, as well as a few stage presentations. This newest Disney release would have to be rated in the top half of that batch based on Disney’s animation and a 3-D effort that had heads bobbing back and forth several times during the Scrooge’s airborne flights backward and forward in time.

The issue for me was simply that in interviews, Carrey had talked about how this adaptation was coming from another storytelling angle, one that hadn’t been really explored as much in earlier films. Truthfully, I didn’t see much new outside of the animation and 3-D.

It was the same story with the same characters we’ve all grown up with, simply told in a more vivid way. While there is much to like about the new “A Christmas Carol,” it was hard not to leave the theater feeling there should have been more for viewers to chew on.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a film you should go see. It’s fun, it’s exciting and it’s certainly done the old story proud in terms of sticking to the heart of the book. It does have a few scenes that might scare little kids, particularly with the 3-D effect, but overall it’s a nice family adventure — but nothing special.

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