The story is more or less the same: Scrooge is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve to teach him a life lesson. Through this journey he will learn to appreciate family, life, and the true importance of Christmas. Scrooge will revisit his upbringing, the present time, and the future that awaits for him if he continues his life of isolation and cruelness.
From the set-up to the resolution, Zemeckis is faithful to everyone’s idea of what Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol is all about. Zemeckis never strays far from the classic tale and hits every plot-point you expect. Even with making a fairly standard retelling, Zemeckis succeeds in crafting a refreshing and enjoyable take. There’s a major (and burdening) preconception with this tale: you know by the end Scrooge will inevitably turn to the jolly side, and Zemeckis manages to make you forget that throughout the entire run-time.
Where Zemeckis ultimately falters are the moments he strays away from his moody atmosphere and divulges into pure kid fluff. Why there needed to be a mini-Scrooge with a squeaky voice being chased by spiritual horses is a mystery I’ll never be understand. This sequence runs for, at the most, ten minutes, and it throws the film off balance. It isn’t cohesive with the tone Zemeckis wonderfully established early on and it just feels completely out of place. It’s a distraction that is tonally inconsistent and narratively useless. There’s a few theme park-esque moments like this, and they come off like studio notes clamoring for kids’ fun.
As for Zemeckis mo-cap, it’s still advancing. More minor details flourish in the design and (certain) characters are more thoroughly designed. Scrooge looks terrific in nearly every shot, and Jim Carrey‘s excellent performance makes Scrooge feel truly alive. Where the tech still falters is when it comes to women and children, who lack any distinguishable traits. They’re blank, inexpressive faces. Tiny Tim is not someone you end up caring about because he looks too cartoony and unworldly. This only applies to minor characters, but Tiny Tim and plenty of other characters aren’t up to the par that Zemeckis and his effects team masterfully achieved with Scrooge.
This isn’t exactly a Christmas classic, and it will most likely never be one. There’s superior tellings of A Christmas Carol, without a doubt, but that doesn’t make Zemeckis’ retelling is completely useless. When Zemeckis doesn’t have annoying theme park ride sequences on display, the film doesn’t stray too far from being something truly memorable. This may not have lived up to its fullest potential or its more notable moments, but A Christmas Carol is still a pleasant and enjoyable film that gets one nicely in the mood and spirit of Christmas.
Film:
Video: Similar to Beowulf and A Polar Express, A Christmas Carol looks beautiful on Blu-ray. All the colors pop lavishly and minor background details are even more apparent. Despite the film being mostly moody and dark, textures still standout. Scrooge’s wrinkles and movements are much more realistic and refined looking. If there’s any problem with the stunning images, it makes a few of the film’s less accomplished technical aspects more apparent. The lesser defined characters’ blandness are now a further distraction. But that’s a minor quibble in an overall excellent transfer.
Audio: The audio, like the the impeccable transfer, is top-notch. From the creeks in the floor boards to the bombastic blaring of ringing bells, it’s crisp and clear. Little noises, such as the floor boards, are perfectly handled. All the moments of dialog from the whispering to the yelling is flawless. You may find yourself of turning the volume down in the more louder moments of the film, but that’s just a sign of how solid the audio is
Special Features: Sadly, this is a bit of a barebones type of release. All the features here are very EPK-esque, outside of Zemeckis’ commentary track with a picture in picture behind-the-scenes video. If you know nothing about the process of motion-capture, you’ll find it informative and interesting to see the actors in action on set, but it’s a pretty standard commentary that’s not too detail oriented. The “Capturing A Christmas Carol” and “On Set with Sammy” is the pure fluff of the set. The deleted scenes are scarce, and as usual, not very interesting to watch; Zemeckis never explains why they were cut either. Bet on a double-dip down the line with far more extensive features.
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