Bah Humbug, New Christmas Carol Leaves Coal in Stockings

By Craig Peters on November 13, 2009

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One of the greatest stories ever told, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been adapted and borrowed from many times. The story: an incredibly, stingy businessman named Scrooge, facing a bleak and dismal future, finds redemption from an old friend (long dead) and three spirits sent to save him is simple, but touching. Nearly every version I've ever seen is wonderful, but not so much this one.

In the latest version from Disney, Robert Zemeckis spins a computer graphics-driven series tale Jim Carrey, Bob Hoskins, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth, all favorites of mine, bring an immense amount of talent, experience and style to a visually beautiful film; what they unfortunately cannot overcome is the incredibly uninspired use of Dickens' story. Dickens was a brilliant storyteller; his phenomenal mastery of motivation, story elements and character make for some of the easiest stories to bring to film. This is also why Dickens' tales make such wonderful plays, movies and TV shows.

The problem with Disney's version is that Zemeckis didn't let the tale drive the film he let the visuals. Certainly Disney's A Christmas Carol is visually stunning and riveting, but the visuals aren't necessary. Graphics should aide the the story, not overwhelm it. Although I really wanted to love this movie, I simply didn't, and therefore I cannot recommend Disney's A Christmas Carol. If you are looking for a better version of the story, try Scrooged.

Rating 2 out of 5 stars. See you at the movies.