A Christmas Carol

     The Holiday Season is upon us once again, symbolized by the passing of Halloween and the early release of feel good holiday films. This year’s leader out of the gate is Disney’s 3D CGI animated version of Charles Dickens classic tale “A Christmas Carol” directed by Robert Zemeckis, the man responsible for Christmas Carol’s predecessors Beowulf and The Polar Express. Filmed in the similar trademark motion capture style, then converted to computer animation rendered with the 3D production process to give the film depth of field and a more visceral feel to make the audience feel like they are part of the story, this version of the classic tale is the most accurate to the book that this critic has ever seen.
      Jim Carrey stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, the penny pinching loan company owner who is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, Jakob Marley, played by Gary Oldman, warns Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his ways he will end up with an even heavier burden than what Marley possesses for the rest of eternity.  Marley informs Scrooge that three ghosts will visit him this evening to show him the error of his ways and the future that may be in store for him if he does not change them. In the end, after much trial and tribulation Scrooge does change and becomes one of the most venerated gentlemen of London proper.
     The vocal and acting talent of these actors is superb, with Mr. Carrey and friends performing multiple characters, giving the film an old-time radio show feel. The look of the onscreen characters is more lifelike than most actors, with an attention to detail that not very many productions are ever able to achieve with the addition of 3D and the subtle applications of it the audience is drawn into the action filled world in front of them. Even the introduction to the film with the camera focusing on the book itself and having it open to tell the story harkens back to the classic Disney style in their early animated classics, the icing on this film lovers holiday tart.
     Professional critics have panned this film, such as Daniel M. Kimmel of the New England Movie Weekly who states, “Zemeckis seems unable to admit that the motion capture animation he's been using on The Polar Express and Beowulf is an artistic dead end.” Well I’m here to tell you that this style is here to stay and will be improved to even greater style, class, and artistry that cannot be achieved in other standard made film.
     This is a great addition to the holiday film collection, since the recent contemporary Christmas films are becoming more about envy, vanity, and full of the dreck of commercialism and rampant consumer greed. For once, there is a version of this film that shows the soul of what this tale is about, opening your heart to the world, spreading joy amongst your fellow human beings, and, for once, everyone getting along for a time and reconnecting with our own personal humanity.
 

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