Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)

[Acting Up]

Rated

○PG

Genre

○Childrens

Theatrical Release

○Nov 6, 2009

Synopsis

○Director Robert Zemeckis (THE POLAR EXPRESS) continues to work his holiday magic with A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This 3-D adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic will use the motion capture technology previously seen in the filmmaker's BEOWULF.

Starring

○Jim Carrey
○Gary Oldman
○Colin Firth
○Bob Hoskins

Director

○Robert Zemeckis

61% Fresh

►65 Total Reviews

○35 Fresh
○30 Rotten

[NiCK Crush]

Zemeckis needs to get back to fully live action filmmaking.

[Artman]

Interested in this but I doubt I'll see it in theaters. I just can't get excited for this style of animation... the sad part is thinking about the potential live action versions of these movies which could've been done for the same price. I mean look at this cast!

[Charlie Goose]

I don't remember Alastair Sim riding on a rocket past Big Ben.

[Bluelitespecial]

I am going to hold off on seeing it for a few weeks, so I can put it on my holiday challenge list.

[Palaver]

I really don't mind the style of animation. Polar Express is a movie that has really grown on me after repeated viewings. It's actually turned into one of my favorite holiday movies. But the slapstick style that I've seen in the previews for this movie is a real turnoff.

Plus, don't we already have enough versions of X-mas Carol? It is the most overused holiday story ever. Something new please. kthx

[jjcool]

I was really excited for this one. Somehow I missed that it was using that "animation" that they used in The Polar Express and Beowulf. Maybe I dont need to see this in theaters after all.

[KillerCannibal]

My gf and I were totally on-board to see this... until we saw it's motion-capture animated. I really can't stand films like this. If it were live action I'd be far more interested.

[Libby]

Looking forward to seeing this one, looks better then Polar Express imo.

[Dr. DVD]

I will be waiting a while until December actually arrives to see this one in IMAX 3D, if I see it at all. It's not that I find it off-putting or childish, it's just that I think this story has been done so many friggin times that I don't feel like sitting through it again. Kind of sad, as I read the original book by Dickens right before Christmas of 1994 in my Senior year of High School and thinking a remake utilizing FX technology of the day would be cool. Ironically, I thought Robert Zemeckis would be the best director (Forrest Gump was something I actually liked back then) as well, but I wanted something live action with Anthony Hopkins as Scrooge and maybe Tom Hanks as Bob Cratchit.

[The Bus]

This one looks to be on par, quality-wise, with a machinima made with Bethesda's Oblivion engine. That this came from the studio known for animation (and not, say, Weinstein), is befuddling to the utmost.

[fernsita]

I have read some great reviews for this movie actually. It is such a classic story so I don't see how they could really go wrong with it and Jim Carrey is always enjoyable too.

[ScissorPuppy]

I know it's November Already, but man isn't this coming out a little to early? By the time Christmas gets here this flick will only be in 400 theaters (if that!). Then again, I can understand wanting to get as much 3D Imax pie before Avatar comes out, But Honestly the fact that this movie is coming out a month before it should be turns me off from seeing it.

[KillerCannibal]

Originally Posted by ScissorPuppy

I know it's November Already, but man isn't this coming out a little to early? By the time Christmas gets here this flick will only be in 400 theaters (if that!). Then again, I can understand wanting to get as much 3D Imax pie before Avatar comes out, But Honestly the fact that this movie is coming out a month before it should be turns me off from seeing it.

No, it'll still be in plenty of theaters. They always do this with holiday films because they know once Christmas passes people will really be over seeing it. This way it can slow-burn it's way to box office gold. I believe they did the same thing with Polar Express.

[droidguy1119]

Yes, The Polar Express ran from November 2004 to March 2005. That's clearly what they're hoping for.

I didn't like it much myself. Review is here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/40554...ey-digital-3d/

[MrSmearkase]

Elf opened this weekend back in 2003 also.

[Indy Jones Fan]

Originally Posted by Palaver

I really don't mind the style of animation. Polar Express is a movie that has really grown on me after repeated viewings. It's actually turned into one of my favorite holiday movies. But the slapstick style that I've seen in the previews for this movie is a real turnoff.

Oh don't worried about that. This film is actually quite frightening at times and I almost felt it should have had a PG-13 rating. There were several young children in tears at the advanced screening I attended. There are going to be alot of parents that are thinking Disney + Jim Carrey= cute comedy and they are going to be shocked I think.

[ScissorPuppy]

Originally Posted by KillerCannibal

No, it'll still be in plenty of theaters. They always do this with holiday films because they know once Christmas passes people will really be over seeing it. This way it can slow-burn it's way to box office gold. I believe they did the same thing with Polar Express.

Yeah I see your point, I guess as I get older Christmas becomes less and less of a big deal to me. And that Halloween was just last weekend too, just seems like to much, too early to me. When I was growing up, you didn't hear that much about Christmas until a week or so before Thanksgiving. Then the day after it hit you in the face.

[Dr. DVD]

Originally Posted by Indy Jones Fan

Oh don't worried about that. This film is actually quite frightening at times and I almost felt it should have had a PG-13 rating. There were several young children in tears at the advanced screening I attended. There are going to be alot of parents that are thinking Disney + Jim Carrey= cute comedy and they are going to be shocked I think.

Okay, I am suddenly interested. Maybe Zemeckis made the film the way Dickens wanted it interpreted: a gothic style ghost story with a little Christmas cheer at the end.

One other thing that movies like these (seasonal themed) have that make people like me more likely to see them theatrically is that unlike regular releases, they tend to have a year between their theatrical run and DVD release. In short, you can't comfortably pull the "it'll be on video soon" excuse.

[big whoppa]

I can wait even it takes a year to go to rental. Another Dickens story? The Beowulf/Polar Express type of CGI alone doesn't really impress me.

[godzilla rules]

I saw it today and I thought it was ok. It defintely too frightening for children, but I give them credit for sticking to the original material so closely

[Charlie Goose]

Originally Posted by godzilla rules

I give them credit for sticking to the original material so closely

Okay, my interest just went up a few notches. I think it's such a terrific story.

[Drop]

I really like the animation Zemeckis has been doing. Beowulf really impressed me, both in story and look. Not quite as interested in A Christmas Carol, but I keep reading alternating really positive reviews and negative ones, and that really intrigues me.

[Indy Jones Fan]

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD

Okay, I am suddenly interested. Maybe Zemeckis made the film the way Dickens wanted it interpreted: a gothic style ghost story with a little Christmas cheer at the end.

I'd say that's pretty much what it is.

[RoboDad]

It's interesting how the reviews are so polarized (no 3D pun intended). They seem to either be very positive or scathingly negative, with few in the middle ground.

I think the review that captured my thoughts best summed it up this way:

Yes, Zemeckis does throw in a few gratuitous moments where things are flying at your face, but he ends up using enough restraint to ensure the 3D doesn't overwhelm your senses or take away from Dickens' stirring story about greed and redemption.

There were a couple of times where I felt that the use of 3D was gratuitous, and one "action" set piece during the ghost of Christmas yet to come sequence went on too long, but overall I found the film quite enjoyable, primarily due to the fact that it did follow the book much more closely than any other recent take on the story.