"Disney's A Christmas Carol" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Ebenezer Scrooge: "What do you want with me?"
Jacob Marley: "You will be haunted by three spirits."
Ebenezer Scrooge: "I'd rather not."

Release Date: November 6, 2009 (conventional theaters and IMAX)
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes

Plot Summary: "Disney's A Christmas Carol," a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3-D motion picture event. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.

Visit the official movie site here.

Comments?

Greetings people of Disney/Pixar! Don't mind me, I'm just stopping by for this big release.

[mowub]

Groundbreaking? Only if you've never seen a movie in "3D" before. This adaptation didn't really bring anything new to the table. It's just that the story's been told so many times, in so many different formats, be it with Scrooge McDuck or Muppets, that everyone practically knows how it all turns out. For me, the highlight of the showing I went to was seeing the Toy Story 3 trailer in 3D.

[The Cartoon]

I saw it yesterday and I thought it was great. A lot scarier than I thought it would be, I wouldn't recommend it for small children but it was very well done. There were a lot of deep and intense moments that really made it. I still prefer the original, but I don't think that there is anything that anyone could do to make me like a newer version better because I love the classics. I admit that I'm easily satisfied and I've been looking forward to this for a long time, but I give it an A for sure.

[Mr. Freeze]

The movie was great! My favorite part was when he was chased down by that dark and black spirit.....that part was scary....I knew he would be happy at the end of the movie! That popped up right in my head at the beginning of the movie! 3-D was alright, I didn't see much as I expected but overall GREAT MOVIE!!

[Polychrome]

For me, Charles Dickens movies are like fanart. (Well, that's exactly what they are, but that's beside the point.) You see how many different people approach something exactly the same, and frankly I enjoy it. It's fun and fascinating to see.

(Oddly, one of my fave takes on Christmas Carol is the Muppets version.)

To me, this was a very nice representation of a classic. It's like playing the new version of the original Monkey Island. It's not that anything new is being "brought to the table". You just get to see something you always enjoyed with prettier textures.

[Speedy Boris]

Maxie Zeus's review is up as well.


I have little interest in seeing this myself.

[Gold Guy]

I must say, I really liked this film. It is, IMO, the best Christmas Carol film yet. The animation, while devoid of life at times, was really breathtaking and realistic. The voice acting was superb, the script was fine, and the ghosts were all as expected. I wouldn't bring any kids to see the movie, though.

[SuperMegaHyper]

One of the adaptations of the tale I've seen, one of the closer ones to the novel.

[TheVileOne]

I grow weary and tired of Zemeckis obsession with this technology. It hasn't improved at all. Where's all this retinal scanning he talked about? I didn't see it in the movie.

The supporting characters were barely even there. It was hard for me to care about Bob Cratchit, he's barely even in the movie. He barely even talks.

The puppets in Team America have more life, character, and personality than Zemeckis CG motion captured actors.

Nothing in his movies has come close to Serkis/Gollum of LOTR.

[Ben]

Loved the review. Skipped the movie. I was watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit? again the other day and just couldn't stop shaking my head at how Zemeckis has lost his way. I'm not saying motion capture is good for nothing. Just that it is still a medium waiting for its defining story, the story that, once told, no one could imagine any other way. Maybe it's out there, but Zemeckis isn't even trying. Instead he's mining our popular and classical culture for skeletons to reanimate.

[Cartoonlover]

This movie was okay, although much more lifeless than The Polar Express. In 3D, it was actually pretty scary. Things jump out at you a lot, and my brother, mister nothing-scares-me jumped out of his seat at one point. Seriously, he cleared his seat.

[Hiya Animation]

The movie looks like a video-game cut-scene (and not a very good one either... if you want a good one, check out Uncharted 2 for PS3). Looks terrible... and the bad thing is, the general public thinks this is an "animated" movie.

My rant on motion-capture and the uncanny valley.

[TheVileOne]

The movie is yet another overpriced failure like all of Zemeckis dull motion captured efforts.

[Joker1238]

For any one that seen this, how does it compare to Alastair Sim's 1950's classic Scrooge??

Better? Weaker? I thought the one with Alastair Sim was the best imo.