aljmac

You know how sometimes you're just pulling for a movie to be awesome the same way you pull for your favorite team? That's how I was with this. I love all spooky things including the Hunted Mansion attraction at DL. I'm the same way Diz figured out how to bring Pirates of the Caribbean to the big screen, I hoped they'd do the same thing with HM (on their second try). Unfortunately I think they came up flat again.

It's okay, but it was slow, oddly lacking in ghosts and haunty-ness considering the source material. A whiff relative to the potential sitting out there for this IP. If Disney takes another crack at this property I hope they eventually capture it.

(For that matter, I think their Muppet iteration is still the best stab at it.)

I'm a big fan of this story in general. I love seeing a new version anytime one comes out.

I saw a lot of negative or apathetic critiques of the movie before I saw it on Thanksgiving weekend. After I saw it, I wondered why people were so down on it. I thought it was great! It was incredibly true to the book, and the animation was cool. Jim Carry was Jim Carry, but he didn't try to steal the spotlight with his voice characterization. There was one *small* moment in his portrayal of "Christmas Past" that was a little goofy, but otherwise, I thought he and Oldman brought warmth and depth to all the characters they portrayed.

It was a solid, solid addition to the other versions of ACC I've seen. I rank it right up there with the version George C. Scott was in.

One reason I could see others being turned off a little is that this version ramped up the creep factor; Marley, the death of "Present," and of course the wraith-like "Future" were creepy, but appropriately so. I like, wait... I love ghost stories, so I had no problem with it. My three-year old was *little* scared, but my 5- and 7-year old kids were fine with it.

I'd highly recommend this movie. We'll definitely buy it and it will be an annual view at my house.

I gave it 9 out of 10, and darn near 10 out of 10.