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First things first: Finally, the email snafu has been resolved and the Movie Man can reply to queries/comments/praises/complaints now. Lucky you! If you’ve sent the Movie Man something and didn’t hear back, that shouldn’t happen again.
Now...here’s a Disney movie that’s anything but child-friendly. In fact, it’s so different that Movie Wife said she thought it was one of the worst movies she’d ever seen.
About the film This version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is not exactly the cartoony one from 1983 where Goofy, Mickey, and Pluto take on major roles. These aren’t the only animated characters to have a crack at the beloved holiday classic. You can root up A Christmas Carol starring Barbie, the Flintstones, the Muppets, and Sesame Street.
This new motion-capture version by director Robert Zemeckis way different from all of those. The process is finally fine-tuned; no more are the players onscreen waxy looking and stilted. The characters look much better and are highly-detailed – so much so that they resemble the actors that are voicing them. Despite its not so super initial take – $30 million was well below expectations – this 3-D version is a wonder. Where it fits in the pantheon of Christmas Carols remains to be seen. It’s among the best but can’t supersede Bill Murray’s Scrooged (Movie Wife’s favorite). The first remake, Scrooge starring Alistair Sim in 1951, is still beloved. Plenty of other more famous actors have had a crack at the miser: Albert Finney, George C. Scott (a good version), Patrick Stewart, and most recently, Kelsey Grammer. The majority of the remakes/revisits are made-for-TV. The Bill Murray version – which is hilarious and is worth repeated viewings – is one of a small set of movies that are must-sees at the Movie Man household at Christmastime: It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, and The Grinch (2000, Movie Man No. 377, a 9). This animated version isn’t up there with those, but it’s pretty good. The plot Scrooge (voiced by Jim Carrey) is a mean old coot. He’s in business with Marley (Gary Oldman); but Marley dies (and the miserly Scrooge steals the pennies off Marley’s eyes). That leaves Scrooge and Bob Cratchit (also Oldman). Scrooge is mighty cruel to Cratchit A visit from Scrooge’s nephew Fred (Colin Firth) offers Scrooge an invitation to dinner. Scrooge thwarts it, but he can’t demoralize Fred’s Christmas cheer, much to Scrooge’s dismay. Arriving at home that night, Scrooge finds his ornamental door knocker turns into the hideous visage of long-dead Marley. Later, a frightening Marley, dragging weighted chains, arrives at Scrooge’s bedside, warning him to clean up his act. Oh, and by the way, a trio of ghosts are about to visit. And they arrive: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come (all played by Carrey). Each ghost takes Scrooge on a journey to see how he transformed from happy youth to money-loving early adult to mean old man. Finally, after seeing his own gravestone and the sad fate of Cratchit’s son Tiny Tim (also Oldman), Scrooge has had enough. He repents. What works The new motion capture process is miles ahead of its predecessors. It got better between The Polar Express (2004, MM #586, 6) and Beowulf (2007, MM #746, 7), both directed by Zemeckis. Now it’s spiffy. Today, extreme close-ups are marvels of detail and the camera can zip through towns and drainpipes creating terrific, dizzying visuals. Carrey voices eight characters (all versions of Scrooge and the ghosts). He’s wonderful as usual. So is Oldman who you can clearly see through the animation. And Bob Hoskins as a jubilant Mr. Fezziwig. Best scene The Ghost of Christmas Present doesn’t let Scrooge off the hook. When the old man can no longer bear to look at the sad existence of the Cratchit family – mainly Tiny Tim – the ghost refuses to let Scrooge turn away. It’s comedic and intense at the same time. What doesn’t work The biggest problem with A Christmas Carol is the same thing that haunts all motion capture – one can mimic the actions and gestures of actors, but the soul is something else; once again, the characters lack that spark of magic that propels a film into special terrain. The actual Christmas music in the movie isn’t memorable at all. Out of the blue late comes a wacky action sequence that is ill-fitting; Scrooge becomes miniaturized and has an incredible shrinking man experience for no reason but that it can be done. The rating Movie Wife thought this movie should’ve been a PG-13. The ghosts are scary – one’s jaw breaks – and the entire tone of the movie is dark. A Christmas Carol is not for the very young. It’s a faithful take on the book. Summing up Movie Wife hated this movie, bless her heart; she picked it to death: “Scrooge doesn’t leave footprints in the snow!” etc. Next up 2012. |
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