When I first heard about the film, saw the TV promos, and discovered that Jim Carrey was going to play Scrooge in film made by Disney when it first came out, I thought it was going to be too over the top and upbeat. But when I saw it in 3-D, I was surprised for how dark and edgy the film was which I remember finding it to be cool, but at the same time a little too intense for kids. However, despite how overally dark I found the film to be, I still found myself loving it as much as I love the other adaptations of the story. Well its been awhile since I watched the film from beginning to end, and pretty much all I can remember from it was how dark and messed up it was, as opposed to remembering its strong and powerful moments. So was the film really a good adaptation of the story, or did it miss the heart and moral that the story itself was known for by being too dark; ON WITH THE REVIEW! And to keep up with tradition of how I review "A Christmas Carol" films, I'm going to review this film into sections.
EBENEZER SCROOGE
When the film began, it started out the way I expected it be. We get a nice and cheerful Christmas music composed by Alan Silverstri, we gaze outside a window of a city covered in snow that looks like something out of a Currier and Ives painting, and we see a book of the story that film is based on opening by itself. Just by that first minute, I thought the film was going to be cheery. That is until I saw the words inside the book describing Scrooge's deceased partner Jacob Marley being dead in big letters, as an illustration of Marley's corpse from the book comes to life in motion-capture animation, where Scrooge is standing in a dark funeral parlor with the undertaker as he steals the gold coins placed on Marley's eyes, after reluctantly paying the man two gold pieces of his own. When I first saw this scene in theaters, I was surprised how the film just flat-out decides to start out grim from the moment we see the story come to life, and even now I'm still stunned by it. In most film and TV adaptations of the story (especially when aimed for kids) the story usually starts out a bit cheery to suck you in to the Christmas spirit before we meet Scrooge, when in this film (with the exception of the first minute) it doesn't.
But as unsettling as the first scene in the film is, things go back to being cheerful and Christmassy when the opening credits role, where we get a bird's eye view of flying through 19th century London during Christmas time of people getting in on the Holiday cheer. When I saw this in 3-D I felt like I was really flying over London, as I was in awe by the scenery and activities taking place. And unlike how "The Polar Express" just had scenes of filler to just show off its 3-D effects for the big screen, this opening sequence doesn't feel like a forced gimmick to give us an out of nowhere 3-D experience. It fits the narrative fine (especially as an opening credits sequence) where we can enjoy the Christmas atmosphere and get ourselves antiquated with the city where Scrooge lives, before the story goes back to being serious and dramatic. And I like that this whole sequence takes place 7 years before the events of the story, rather than starting at the very beginning of the story with Scrooge in his counting house like the majority of other versions (if not all) do. Plus I like how we already get a sense that time has passed (before a title card shows up) by simply looking at the "Scrooge & Marley" sign quickly wear out and crumble a bit. This whole first 8 minutes honestly does serve as a great prologue for the film and gives us something new and fresh, instead of the same old usual opening.
When I heard that Jim Carrey was going to play Scrooge, I thought that he was going to suck. I mean out of all actors that Zemeckis could've casted as Scrooge, he chooses an actor who usually plays his roles for laughs. It didn't seem like the right choice. And being that it's a Disney film, you'd think they let him ham it up with his over the top energy the same way he did in 'The Grinch". But to my surprise (at least when talking about this portion of the film), he proved me wrong. I'm not going to act like that I don't see a bit of Jim Carrey behind the motion-capture animation, and English accent he's putting on, because I do. But unlike in "The Polar Express" of how I found myself constantly aware that I was watching Tom Hanks putting on a performance as the Conductor, with Carrey on the other hand, not so much. He delivers the intimidation and bitterness of the character quite effectively and even subtly without resorting to his usual Jim Carrey gimmicks of constantly screaming and acting violently. And the voice he puts on matches the character that we're all familiar with. The only thing that comes across as cartoony is the exaggerated design for Scrooge that feels a bit much, but at least not to the point where you don't find yourself not fearing him.
The casting of actors for the other characters we meet in this part of the movie do the same amount of justice to their roles just as much Carrey suits his. Colin Firth wonderfully carries the optimistic qualities and charm of Scrooge's nephew Fred, who loves Christmas and just wants to be friends with his Uncle; and Cary Elwes does a nice job as one of the Portly Gentleman who asks Scrooge for a donation. The performance that really surprised me the most is Gary Oldman as Scrooge's underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit, I could never picture the same guy who played Commissioner Gordon in "The Dark Knight Trilogy" and Sirius Black in the "Harry Potter" films, playing such a sweet and innocent poor young man. He really manages to play on the innocence and childlike qualities of the character without having it feel silly or feel corny.
MARLEY'S GHOST
Gary Oldman also plays the role of the ghost of Scrooge's partner Jacob Marley, as he gives a performance that's just as convincing as he plays Bob Cratchit. The level of scares and sympathy that he brings to his performance along with that ghostly voice, the sound effects for his chains and the creepy design of a frail walking corpse that looks like he's going to fall apart at any second are chilling to the point where you fear him just as much as Scrooge does. This is where the darkness and scares that the film carries is done for the most part appropriately. The build-up to Marley's appearance is suspenseful and atmospheric for how quiet and dimly lit Scrooge's gothic looking mansion is, as we nervously wait for his full on-screen appearance. The other poor souls who share the same fate as Marley does are just as depressing and scary as Marley himself. And the scene with Marley's face on Scrooge's knocker is a well paced and heart-pounding jump-scare, which is more scary when you see it in 3-D where you yourself feel like that Marley's ghost face is right in front of you, as the film makes it feel like that you too are nervously reaching out to touch this ghost face. The only moment in this whole part of the movie that's stupid and not scary is when Marley's jaw breaks and tries to fix it as he tells Scrooge that mankind should have been his business. When I first saw it in theaters I laughed. But looking at it again, it feels pretty forced and pointless, where the comedy that the film is hammering in just ruins a bit of the seriousness that the scene is supposed to bring. And I thought Jim Carrey was going to be the first person in the movie to force in the childish comedy! I did think his jaw cracking was scary, I just wish that they didn't feel the need to throw in some comedy. But with that stupid moment aside, it's still a terrifying sequence.
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST
The three ghosts that visit Scrooge to help him change his ways are all played by Jim Carrey, and unlike in the Polar Express where I found the majority of roles being played by Tom Hanks distracting and way too obvious, here I actually think it works better. The reason why I say that is not just because Carrey (mostly) does a better job at hiding his mannerisms and voice than Hanks does, but since these characters are ghosts coming to help Scrooge, you could pretty much interpret the ghosts as being a spiritual part of Scrooge, since they are showing him his personal life through time, which I think is a very clever idea and casting choice that makes the drama aspect of Scrooge's transformation feel more effective. Even my favorite critic Doug Walker mentioned this hidden aspect in his review, only he didn't think it worked too well because of Carrey's performance as the ghosts, which I disagree with.
The first out of the three ghosts that Carrey plays is obviously the Ghost Of Christmas Past, and one of the common criticisms that I hear from audiences and critics is how creepy he is, mainly because of how he breaths so heavily and speaks in a weird Irish accent. In many respects, I can see where people are coming from, and I'll admit that the voice he puts on does feel unsettling at times. But personally I hardly had a problem with it. I do think the ghost has a welcoming and whimsical presence. The voice that Carrey puts on for the ghost does sound unusual, but it still matches the humble nature and spiritual aspect of the ghost, where I can't find myself picking up on Carrey voicing the character, the same way I can't pick up on John Hurt providing that cold and deadly voice for the Horned King in "The Black Cauldron". And the design for the spirit is not only creative and unique that looks even more amazing in 3-D, but it also resembles the design of the spirit from the story as well, which I have yet to see in a film adaptation of the story. The criticisms towards Carrey's portrayal as the ghost is not unwarranted or not understandable, but I don't think it's not as bad or as scary as people make it out to be. As for the scenes of them traveling back in time to Scrooge's past, much like the opening credits sequence its well animated, and looks marvelous in 3-D to give you the experience of traveling through time without it feeling like a forced 3-D gimmick.
The shadows that we see of Scrooge's past are done for the majority of the visit just as emotional and serious as the other great adaptations of the story carry it out. When we see the town where he grew up as a boy, the calm music and the bright atmosphere of the morning sun and spirit shining on Scrooge, as he’s is about to shed a tear, is so beautiful and touching, that you yourself can see and feel Scrooge's childhood nostalgia coming back to him the same way as we think and look back on our childhood. But like the other adaptations of the story, as cheerful as it may seem at first, things quickly get gloomy when we see the school that Scrooge went to as a boy that looks just as dark and empty as the mansion he lives in, where we see a young Scrooge sitting all alone in an old and rotting classroom as he quietly sings a Christmas carol that doesn't cheer him up at all. It's a very subtle and quiet moment that comes off as depressing as you would expect it to be. The only minor issue I have the childhood sequence of the film is Robin Wright Penn as Scrooge's little sister. I just felt like the accent and mannerisms she gives to the character felt very exaggerated, as if she's trying way too hard to sound like a young British girl. However though, the reveal of what happens to her and what she left behind in Scrooge's life was so sad and so adult for a Disney adaptation starring Jim Carrey that I did find it to be heartbreaking. It's like how I felt about the female squirrel in Disney's "The Sword In The Stone", she starts out annoying where you wish she would just go away, but when her heart is broken you can't help but feel depressed or at least feel sorry for her, despite how annoying she was earlier.
Incase if you are wondering why I haven't gone into so much detail with the motion-capture animation yet, that's because everything I had to say about it in my previous review is exactly I feel about it in this film. It still looks creepy and unnatural, but does look impressive on many occasions (especially when shown in 3-D). And the half and half of giving the animated characters the movements that the actors would give them if they were filmed in live action, and yet have them behave move like cartoons in other scenes, doesn't go hand and hand, especially during the dance sequence at Fezziwig's Christmas party. It's just way too cartoony for a film that's trying to look realistic with its animation. But as out of place as the scene it is, it not only brings the cheerful spirit of the scene, but it does have a few wonderful things offer. Bob Hoskins is perfect for the role of Fezziwig who’s tons of fun to watch with his jolly and upbeat attitude. And the transition to the break-up between Scrooge and Belle feels like that all the color and cheer of the scene is slowly being sucked out as everyone (including the spirit) fades away where the only three people remaining is a young Scrooge and Belle dancing together as Scrooge watches in despair realizing the tragic error he's made in his life, before actually witnessing it again.
The scene of Scrooge and Belle breaking up is heartbreaking, especially from Robin Wright Penn's subtle and yet emotionally gripping performance as Belle, but how the scene ends is a different story. Rather than the ghost leaving Scrooge behind which will send him back to the present, he changes his face into the people we've seen from Scrooge's past to play on his guilt, which causes Scrooge to put him out with the flame retardant that the ghost carries around (which was in the book). The concept of putting that scene in the movie is not bad at all, but rather than feeling Scrooge's emotions, this all gets traded in as an excuse for Jim Carrey to act like Jim Carrey. The grunts he makes to put the spirit out are silly. The laugh he makes after he succeeds felt like a reaction that Jim Carrey would make, instead of the character. And how the flame retardant just suddenly blasts off like a rocket sending Scrooge up high in the air is so overblown and shoehorned in to give us a comical and cartoony moment that's supposed to feel like an experience, made me feel like I was watching something as stupid as Carrey driving the rocket sleigh in "The Grinch", that feels just as out of place as the dance sequence in Fezziwig's in terms of animation. The strange thing about the scene is, after it tries to play itself out for typical Jim Carrey laughs, it all of a sudden decides to go dark by making it seem like that Scrooge is falling to his death, as its shot to make it feel like the audience is falling with him too, that in the end just comes across as a pointless way to scare audiences, and a bit of a rip-off to the scene in "Scrooged" when Murray seems to be falling to his death after his encounter with a ghost.
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Coming back to this film after not seeing since it first came out, I thought Jim Carrey's portrayal of the Ghost Of Christmas Present was going to be the typical Jim Carrey performance of the film where I see him just playing the character, and using most of his mannerisms that don't seem to match the character. But aside from a scene where he just randomly hits Scrooge in the head with his torch to give us an unnecessary slapstick moment because Jim Carrey is starring in this film and that they have to make him funny at times, he plays the role just as convincingly as he plays the other characters. I know he laughs way too much, but I never really had a problem with it since the character is supposed to be as jolly as Santa Claus. And how he portrays this happy and upbeat spirit feels natural, as opposed to feeling like that Jim Carrey is just playing himself. The voice he puts on perfectly matches the character's good nature vibe that to me hardly sounds like his voice thanks to how ghostly it. His personality is enjoyable, but also at times rude and even creepy to give him a bit of an edge. And whenever you're around him you just want to embrace the Christmas cheer that he brings and shows Scrooge like in all the other good adaptations of the story.
The coolest sequence in the whole visit is how Scrooge and the ghost travel. Rather than seeing them fly to house to house like how Scrooge was flying with the Ghost Of Christmas Past, he turns Scrooge's beautifully decorated living room that's oozing with Christmas visuals, by making it fly around the city, as Scrooge gazes at the city below him and see the people getting into the Christmas spirit. Out of all the 3-D sequences in the movie to make it feel like an experience, this is hands down the best one in the movie. The imagery is gorgeous and brings that warm and happy feeling of Christmas. And the way its shot and paced gives it a lot of weight as if you really feel like you're flying in Scrooge's living room above the city, especially when watching it in three dimensions.
The scenes of Scrooge watching Bob Cratchit with his family, and his nephew Fred throwing a party don't really do anything that new with the scenes. I mean you have Scrooge's living room hovering over Cratchit's living room. The spirit taking Scrooge to Fred's house with his torch is cool. And seeing the ghost's face briefly turning into Scrooge's as he quotes one of the cruel things he says earlier in the film. But aside from that, they pretty much play the scenes out the way they're supposed to be. Which are far from bad since the acting and chemistry is completely spot on to still give you an emotional attachment, especially from Carrey's reactions as Scrooge. But if you're looking for something different and new, you won't really get too much of it here.
What you will however get that's new, is the scene when the ghost dies after he shows Scrooge the two children under is robe "Ignorance" and "Want". Out of all the sequences in the movie that make the film so excessively dark, this was part of the film that has always stayed in my head ever since I first saw it. Instead of the spirit dying quietly and peacefully where we feel sad to see him go since we enjoyed being in his presence so much (like in "A Muppet Christmas Carol" for example). He's inside a clock tower and collapses to the floor laughing after the bell above him strikes midnight which gives him a heart attack, where we see him slowly turn into a skeleton and fade away as he's laughing hysterically. And that's only part of what makes this scene so insane. We also see the children turn into psychotic adults. The boy turns into a mad man holding a knife where he's suddenly locked inside a cage, and the girl turn into a slutty woman flirting with Scrooge before she's taken away by a straitjacket. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT! Alright, I'll be honest that I do find it to be a little cool for how dark the scene is, and for still holding up as scary for how intense it is. BUT with that said, adding this dark stuff in to this scene takes away the emotion of how we're supposed to feel for the spirit. The scene is too busy trying to scare us, than it is trying to make us feel sad, which completely works against this supposed tragic part of the story.
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS YET-TO-COME
It pains me to say that out of all the scenes in the movie that show the film's weak spots, the visit from the ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come is the part of the film that shows every single bad choice that holds the film back from being great. I'm not talking about the scenes when he shows Scrooge the people he knew in the future. I'm talking about the whole unnecessary chase sequence that pretty much hi-jacks the movie for over 5 minutes (if not ten). The minute when Scrooge's alone after seeing three business men talk about his passing (that Scrooge doesn't know who died yet) and sniffing their snuff boxes (and it's not the first time that it was used in a kids version of the story) to the end of the Old Joe scene where Scrooge then sees a dead body lying underneath the covers of a bed, everything that I pointed out what's wrong with the movie is all summed up in this one sequence. It's insanely dark and intense as the spirit and the ghost horses of a ghost carriage chase after Scrooge, even though Scrooge understands the spirits purpose, which makes no sense why he'd run away from it, or why the spirit would try to scare him or endanger his life. The chase scene has no purpose to the story at all, except as a cheap excuse for the film to show off its 3-D effects. We go back and fourth from seeing cartoony animation to perfect real life movements that doesn't flow together at all! There's tons of shoehorned in slapstick to make it funny, as Jim Carrey is given a chipmunk voice since he's suddenly shrunk down to the size of a bug for no apparent reason. And just like in the "Polar Express" how I found Tom Hanks playing multiple roles to be distracting for how distinct his voice and mannerisms are, Bob Hoskins as much as he's a good fit for Old Joe by giving such a creepy performance, since we saw him as Fezziwig earlier on the movie and that his voice is just too damn recognizable, him playing a second character in the film comes off as distracting. Also when we later on get to Scrooge's mournful scene when he sees his tombstone, remember how the film earlier ripped-off a scene from "Scrooged"? How about Disney rips-off a scene from one of their own animated classics “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” by having Scrooge dangling over an open coffin, just like Scrooge McDuck"? And the crazy part about it is the scene in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" was more scary and intense than this scene ever was.
Now as obvious as the film's flaws are all shown during this visit of the ghost, that doesn't mean there aren't a few nice things going for it. For starters I admire that the ghost is actually Scrooge's shadow who's usually up against the walls, or laying flat on the ground as the ghost would occasionally pop-out in three dimensions that would always keeps you off guard. Since the ghost is showing Scrooge the shadows of things that will be if he doesn't change, I thought that was clever idea of making the ghost literally a shadow itself. It's like seeing the shadow of Nosferatu as if he was a grim reaper following you around, it's so eerie, and more than enough to scare us, than having an out of nowhere chase scene. When the scenes that follow the story are shown, the acting still hits the emotions right on the nail. The highlights are when Bob Cratchit is letting out his emotions of Tiny Tim's death right in front of a cornered Scrooge who can't say or do anything except gaze at his sad face. And the scene when Scrooge sees his grave where Carrey really acts his heart out, while the ghost is slowly about to reveal the date of Scrooge's death as if his time is now, that's way more suspenseful and scary than what the scene suddenly does next (though the last image of the ghost was petrifying). Another thing I like about this whole portion of the film is how we get to see the dead bodies of Scrooge and Tiny Tim. We don't see them fully, but we do see the shadow of a deceased Tiny Tim laying bed as Bob sighs, or see a little bit of Scrooge's head sticking out of the covers. In most versions made for kids, we never see the bodies; we usually see an empty chair, or a tombstone. It's just very rare to see a part of a body lying around dead in a version of the story aimed for kids. But then again the film did open up with Marley's dead body, so I don't think I should be too surprised by it.
CHRISTMAS DAY
We finally come to Scrooge's redemption and this is the part of the film that was worrying me the most if Jim Carrey is now going to goof around like his old Jim Carrey self, and that he's no longer going to feel like Scrooge, or show the warmth and gentleness of the character’s change of heart and love of Christmas. But to my surprise, he actually did bring out the heartfelt feeling of the character seeing a new light and loving every minute. And make no mistake, it is at times over the top, and I can see Jim Carrey just hamming up the comedy aspect on one or two occasions, but I still think that it's the right amount of over the top. Enough for you to feel the thrill and excitement that he's feeling in a comical way, and enough for you to also feel moved and touched by it. The animation for the streets of London on Christmas morning that Scrooge walks and prances around as we hear upbeat Christmas music also helps add to the warm Christmas feeling that the scene is supposed to bring. The two moments during Scrooge's reformation that touch me the most are when Scrooge walks into his nephews party as their about to make fun of Scrooge through their games, as a remorseful Scrooge that's hurt of how he's treated his nephew asks if he can have dinner with them; and the last scene of the film where Bob Cratchit tells the audience of what became of Scrooge and Tiny Tim, where we see a joyful Scrooge walking down the bright and sunny snowy streets with Tiny Tim over his shoulders.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Much like "The Polar Express", the film does have a good chunk of problems. The motion-capture animation still looks creepy and awkward on many occasions. The scenes involving slapstick and comedy are painfully out of place. There are a few pointless scenes of the film that only exist to show off its 3-D effects. And the film does at times go a little too overboard with the dark stuff. Also if you're tired of seeing so many film versions of "A Christmas Carol", then this film is clearly not for you. But despite that the film does have plenty of problems that weigh it down, I not only think that there's just enough good in the film to make it watchable like in "The Polar Express", but I think it's in many ways better than Zemeckis' previous attempt of making a motion-capture Christmas movie based on a story. The casting is for the most part top notch; especially with casting Jim Carrey as Scrooge and the three ghosts that I thought was going to ruin this movie big time. There's not too many scenes of filler, or scenes that feel thrown in to just play on the whole 3-D gimmick. The majority of alterations that the film makes to this traditional story that do come across as creative and interesting are very ingenious. The scenes that play-out the traditional scenes from the story are done to a tee. The animation does look outstanding in a handful of scenes. And even though the film gets too scary and intense at times, I do love the grim edge that the film carries, as well as admiring the lighthearted Christmas moments that we do get. So in many ways I do think the film surpasses "The Polar Express", but the film in its long run is just as uneven by having things both smart and stupid.
RATING 3/5
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!
And considering that it's also the second day of Chanukah...
HAPPY CHANUKAH !!
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