A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a fresh take by Disney on the Dickens classic starring Jim Carey taking on eight roles, most notably Ebenezer Scrooge. This go-round uses the somewhat creepy animation technique of “performance capture” pioneered in The Polar Express and further refined as 3D in Beowulf. The 3D here allows the Disney folks to do what they do best – make a fable into a ride. As a ghost story it’s a natural for any excuse to fly and with four poltergeists in total Scrooge is jetted around 19th century London and adjacent rural environs at a heart stopping pace. A warning though, on top of the already unsettling animation the screenplay can get downright scary making it not a natural for the very young. This take on the perennial Christmas favourite needed to be unique which isn’t easy since Disney alone has remade the story three times. Well it does stand out with less of the Cratchets and more in depth Scrooge. Half animated or not, if Carey is not considered for an Oscar for so beautifully and brilliantly carrying this movie then Hollywood is a big fat Scrooge.