"I've come to Christmas dinner... if you'll have me." The entire film is worth it for that single line. There are countless adaptations of “A Christmas Carol” and Robert Zemeckis’ animated motion-capture rendition is unlike any other. Honestly, I've never cared much for fully animated motion-capture films. They look pretty creepy and I feel that the technology is much better utilized in films like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," but it certainly emphasizes the acting talents of Jim Carrey. The use of motion-capture allows Carrey to play a variety of characters in the film including Scrooge at three different ages and the three ghosts. His casting in these roles was a no-brainer as every detail of his over-the-top facial expressions is perfectly captured by the computer technology. Moreover, he mastered the British and Irish accents to make sure that this film would be accepted by audiences in the UK. As a display of Carrey’s acting chops, this film is a masterwork. I will always cite the George C. Scott version as my favorite serious telling of this tale, but this version does a great job of portraying the story. I am impressed that they told this story so effectively in just 90 minutes as Robert Zemeckis' screenplay captures the important moments so well that you won't notice any little moments that are left out. I feel as if they glossed over Christmas Past a bit too quickly, but outside of that it was a complete story. I appreciate that dark tone of this classic Christmas story is kept intact, as it is often interpreted in a lighthearted or watered down manner. The tone is especially surprising due to its animated facade (figuratively and literally). Unfortunately, the emphasized dark tone requires an even greater embellishment of hope at the end and the closing moments fall short. My eyes should have been filled with tears of Christmas joy and instead, I barely felt anything. I believe this to be the reason that the film faced so much criticism for its tone – the resolution fails to keep the moral of the story at the forefront of our minds. The production design is the real star of this film. The first half has some interesting visuals but the film really comes alive with the Ghost of Christmas Present. The scenic design of watching these moments through the floor is magnificent. The story often hinges on Scrooge’s (and our own) fear of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and this shadowy interpretation is awesome. The best use of the motion capture technique is seen when they shrink Scrooge down in size and everything else becomes huge. It is actually quite unnecessary to the story but creates some interesting visuals. Alan Silvestri (Zemeckis' go-to composer) creates a beautiful score to accompany the film and I particularly like some of the statements of Christmas carols in minor. “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” may seem superfluous at times but I applaud its bold, dark tone and believe that it captures the heart of the story up until the very end. The ending lacks the Christmas spirit that I look for in a Christmas Eve tradition but I look forward to introducing my children to this interpretation of the story once they are old enough to handle its tone.
[Pictured: The Christmas Present sequence is creative and well-executed]
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