Le drôle de Noël de Scrooge

A Christmas Carol (2009) is a movie that I recently watched with my daughter on Disney+. The storyline delivers the classic Charles Dickens storyline in a fresh animation format with far more intensity and darkness than you'd expect from an animated picture.

This movie is directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) and contains the voices of Jim Carrey (The Mask), Gary Oldman (True Romance), Colin Firth (The King's Speech), Cary Elwes (Princess Bride), Robin Wright (Forrest Gump) and Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit).

The animation in this is remarkably good as are the presentation of the ghosts. I was thoroughly impressed by the settings and visualizations. The voices are well selected and Scrooge looked very similar to Carrey. There were many intense and scary elements, especially at the beginning and end. There were a couple elements they went a bit too far, like the scene on the cover, but it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the film.

Overall this is a nice, fresh delivery of the classic A Christmas Carol Dickens masterpiece that is definitely worth a viewing. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.

I took my grandson to see this, but I was dreading it. I'm not a Jim Carrey fan but it's a Christmas movie, after all , so I bit the bullet and we saw it at the IMAX in 3-D.

The visual effects are great, even though a lot of it was :"Look, we have 3-D!" They stayed very close to the original story, though they added a miniaturization segment that was unnecessary. Carrey was muted and did a great job with some occasional clowning around. It was actually scary in some parts, as it should be, but not overwhelmingly, and there were some laughs as well.

I have always enjoyed this story, because it's one of redemption, and there is no better time than Christmas to tell it. It shows people being compassionate, even in the face of someone as seemingly heartless as Ebeneezer Scrooge. I was first exposed to this story as a little boy watching the animated version with Mr. Magoo that came out in 1962 and is shown every year on TV. There are many such movies that define the season and I truly expect this to be one of them, along with Christmas Story, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, and It's a Wonderful Life.

Like the Macy's Parade, we all have our list of must-see holiday movies, no matter how many times we have seen them. I really expect this to make this list, with one caveat- I'm not sure how well the non 3-D version will translate to the TV screen. But the story is timeless and this movie does a good job of telling it.

A Christmas CAROL is an enjoyable Hollywood production, a wonderful and straight forward approach to the Dickens's source material being splendidly adopted . It is given the full ¨Motion Capture¨ deluxe treatment in this superior Holiday film. The production values & acting are both excellent, with just enough attractive to appeal to the tenderhearted, and with touching doses of horror , case of the potentially frightening elements the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future , adding sentiment ; all of them are blended into the mix, until, like a nice Christmas punch, the result appeals to all. Scrooge (Jim Carrey) is a miserly old businessman in 1840's London. He displays no charity to mankind generally, and in particular, to his employee Bob Cratchett (Gary Oldman) and his unfortunate son, Tiny Tim . One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of Marley, his dead business partner. He is warned that he must change his miserly ways or face damnation. Marley foretells that Scrooge will be visited by three spirits, each of whom will attempt to show Scrooge the error of his ways.In Just One Night, He Has Seen His Past, His Present, And His Future. And They've All Come Back To Haunt Him Will Scrooge reform his ways in time to celebrate Christmas? . To his delight, the spirits complete their visits in one night giving him the opportunity to mend his ways. The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows Scrooge visions of his own past in which had spent much of his childhood neglected by his father over the holidays at boarding school until he was finally brought home by his loving sister Fan (Robin Wright), who died prematurely after giving birth to his nephew Fred (Colin Firth).

A marvelous recounting of a Christmas vintage classic and Jim Carrey demonstrates once again his versatility on screen in this retelling of Charles Dickens' immortal story . Atmospherically, the movie is as comfortable and heartwarming as an old Christmas card .The whole concept of looking at your life in the past, present and future is creative in and of itself. After watching the movie, you may look at your life from the same perspectives. Special effects add a nice little touch,but it is Carrey's interaction with the 'ghosts' and various characters that really steal the show . Though most of us,if not all of us, have seen other adaptations in the past or read the story,and know already what to expect, Jim Carrey manages to capture pure magic with his stunningly awesome portrayal of main character Ebenezer Scrooge,and it is definitely worth a look. It's fun and different approach to the Christmas classic with top notch effects by means of ¨Motion Capture¨ a technique developed by Robert Zemeckis in previous films as Beowulf and Polar Express . A highly recommended film that nobody should miss it especially during Christmas time.¨Robert Zemeckis's Christmas Carol¨ still ranks as one of the best adaptations of the Dickens classic ever. This animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption will appeal to Jim Carrey fans .

Other versions about this stunning story courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions are the following : The rather obscure 1935 version, with Sir Seymour Hicks, the 1951 British production, with Alastair Sim, adaptation released by MGM in 1938 with Reginald Owen , and the 1970 musical, with Albert Finney. Under the title of 'A Christmas Carol' a cartoon rendition (1997) by Stan Phillips and voiced by Tim Curry and another (1991) by Jimmy T Murakami with Simon Callow ,the made-for-TV productions: 1984 – With George C. Scott, 1999 – With Patrick Stewart, and the 2004 musical, with Kelsey Grammar .

I read that this film has been labeled by parents as a "Disney Bomb" because it's too scary for their young children. Parents who take kids to see any movie need to be aware of something: if it's rated PG there are likely going to be scenes that your six year old will not enjoy -- even if the name Disney is attached to it. The cutesy versions of A Christmas Carol (The Muppet Christmas Carol and Disney's own Mickey's Christmas Carol for example) have little in common with the classic, and sometimes very scary Charles Dickens story. The plot should be familiar to just about anyone who has been alive sometime during the past 150 years, and the fact that there are spirits (ghosts) in the story should also be a red flag to parents. Especially since two of them are downright frightening in just about any version of the story.

The truth is that this is one of the most beautiful and faithful remakes of the Dickens classic. The dialogue is taken nearly word-for-word from the book, and the look and feel of the film brilliantly capture what you would imagine wintertime in London in the 19th century to be like. A few of the special effects are a bit over-the-top, but most work well and add enough pizazz for cynical modern-day audiences. The scenes featuring the Ghost of Christmas Present are worth the price of admission alone.

Once every few months I'm dragged kicking and screaming to see a new film. I can't stand wasting my hard-earned dollar on the crap Hollywood throws at us these days, but every once in a while I'm pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoy a movie. This was definitely one of those rare times.

There have been many films based on Charles Dickens' Christmas carol and each one has their own way of telling it. This version is no different story wise (obviously). The only things changed were the visuals and tone. There was nothing I didn't like about this film but there were parts that make me question whether this movie was intended for children.

The voice cast to this story is pretty remarkable. Just like how Tom Hanks was able to do multiple voices for The Polar Express (2004), Jim Carrey plays Scrooge and various other characters throughout. Along side Carrey is Carey Elwes, Robin Wright, Bob Hoskins and much more. Surprisingly, the audience will be able to identify which actor/actress is doing the voice for whomever the character they are portraying. I suppose the voice characterizations were not needed to be enhanced. But it's blatantly clear whose speaking for whom.

Visually, the film's animation is nothing to scorn at either. Much of the characters, the backgrounds and lighting is accurately spaced, colored and shaded. Perhaps the most colorful spectacle is the transition between the spirits who visit Scrooge during his sleep. But what's extremely odd is how all the animated characters in this movie look like the actors who give them their voice; especially Scrooge! Look closely when he's on screen; Scrooge at the current time, looks like a weathered Jim Carrey and the younger version of Scrooge looks like Carrey as he is now. I'm curious if the animators knew this while making the film.

Nevertheless, I am leery about the reactions small children will have if they are given the chance to view this film. Scenes where Marley, Scrooges' partner, pays him a visit from hell, or when the ghost of Christmas present dies, is on the edge of being dark. Marley having a lazy eye, or dislocating his jaw? Ehh...not quite sure what those parts were put in for. Comedy? Or the dying ghost of Christmas present having a maniacal laugh? That kind of stuff could freak out a child. The ghost of Christmas yet to come is always a spooker for kids. I'm surprised Disney went through with it. It's not bad though. I liked the change, but it's not suitable for a child maybe under twelve.

Overall Zemeckis' take on Dickens' Christmas carol is visually intriguing and has a great voice cast. All the same, there are some elements in this film that are darker than usual and that's puzzling especially for Disney.