REVIEW: A Christmas Carol (2009)
Revew: A Christmas Carol (2009)
Runtime: 96 minutes
Starring: Jim Carrey (voice)
My Rating: 3.5 stars.
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What is the most memorable character from the original Christmas Carol? Is it Scrooge? Is the Ghost of Christmas Past? No and no.
It’s Tiny Tim and his “God bless everyone” speech. He’s what tugs at the heart of old Ebenezer Scrooge, and subsequently the audience. We need him. I need him.
Call me old fashioned, but Tiny Tim died in computer animation.
Don’t get me wrong, A Christmas Carol is a strong movie, but 3-D animation – the best use of the technology I’ve seen – doesn’t make the old Charles Dickens tale any better.
Tiny Tim just isn’t as cute, as heart-warming, or as lasting his live-action predecessor. That’s a huge problem that director Robert Zemeckis barely acknowledges.
Instead of working to build the character, Zemeckis neglects Tiny Tim. He’s secondary to Scrooge’s journey instead of the catalyst for his change. Yes, Scrooge changes because of Tiny Tim, but I don’t know why. We don’t see enough of Tiny Tim, and we don’t know enough about why Scrooge suddenly feels so strongly for him.
We did in the original.
Now, I’ve said my piece. The movie on its own is impressive. There’s heart to it and the voice acting of Jim Carrey as almost all the characters is impressive. His talents were not wasted or lost.
They were, however, overshadowed by the apparent need to scare the audience into change, as Scrooge was. I was actually frightened by the ghosts and some of the actions scenes felt too intense for small children, especially with the 3-D animation.
But in the end, it’s hard not to come out of the theater with a smile, feeling like you need to hug someone. It speaks to the power of Dickens’ original story. Technology has caught up to the imagination, but with it some human element was lost.
When it comes Christmas eve this year, I’ll put on Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer first, then I’ll turn to Scrooge (1951) before I go back and watch A Christmas Carol. 3.5 stars.
