Disney's A Christmas Carol

Director Robert Zemeckis called “A Christmas Carol” the greatest time travel story ever told. It is fitting that this filmmaker who gave us “Back to the Future”, another one of the greatest time travel stories, should give us his take on this traditional Christmas tale. As on “The Polar Express”, I like his use of one actor playing several different roles. Many times, one actor will be performing all the characters in a particular scene. It makes the experience of watching the movie a little more fun for me at least. The 3D and motion capture technology we saw in this film was a nice opening act for the technology we would soon see in “Avatar”. Even though these people also made “The Polar Express”, the films stand enough apart and I feel that is because of the lead actors in each film. Jim Carrey makes us laugh but the humor in the film is idyllic for the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. This is not a Jim Carrey movie but rather a Zemeckis film as his direction and adaptation take center stage. I will say however that the focus of the film was on the special effects and not the story. Due to the fact that the story is timeless and is so often adapted, I can overlook this. Because this is a film review, my focus will be on Zemeckis’ approach and not on Charles Dickens’ novel.

Technology took a few steps forward with this film even though the advancements are very minimal when you look at “Avatar”, which was released a month later. The cinematic quality most associated with Zemeckis is his use of extreme long takes. The opening credits shot is almost 4 minutes long as we travel through London. There is an even longer continuous shot later in the film though that lasts incredibly for 11 and one half minutes! You fail to notice its duration because of the cinematography and the change in locations. It happens during all the shadows of Scrooge’s past. One might argue that there are two hidden match cuts during this sequence but I disagree. A match cut is used to transition to a new scene later in time but in this case, Scrooge’s concept of time and point of view is shared with the audience. Because Scrooge is being transported to the next shadow of his past, the shot continues without a traditional editing cut. From the moment that Scrooge can fly to when he can no longer bear to see shadows of his past, the shot is continuous. I haven’t seen something like this in a film since “The Polar Express”. It fascinates me but a shot like this can only be done in the world of CGI. After making “Cast Away”, Zemeckis made a trilogy of CGI motion capture films and some of his critics say that he did it solely because of his interest in the latest technology. I, along with others, would have to disagree slightly because this medium allows Zemeckis to tell stories with complete freedom of cinematography. He has the advantages of a virtual camera while still utilizing the actual performances of real actors. In making “The Polar Express”, the virtual camera was moved in the computer by physical controls that are similar to those on an actual movie camera. In the making of “A Christmas Carol”, Zemeckis held a physical camera that acted as a remote control. In the editing room, his handling of the physical camera would move the virtual camera in the computer. Even facial performance can now be fully captured. One criticism I have with the work of ImageMovers Digital is that in all three films, "The Polar Express", "Beowulf" and "A Christmas Carol", the pupils in this film are not realistic or expressive. "Avatar" and "The Adventures of Tintin" were able to have expressive eyes so why not this film? Another flaw I see is that the various sequences where Scrooge is being transported from one vision to the next do not add to the story. Instead, we get eye candy that seems to outshine the immortal tale being told.

The work of the cast members and Zemeckis’ adaptation are worth examining and/or complimenting. Jokingly speaking, what does Jim Carrey have against Christmas? In addition to portraying the Grinch for the first time in live action, Carrey is also responsible for creating the first motion capture Scrooge. Due to advancements in capturing facial performance, Jim Carrey’s best acting quality is not lost but unfortunately becomes invisible instead. His facial acting is so good that one might think that Scrooge’s facial performance is animated where in fact it is Jim Carrey’s performance that moves the mouth, checks, eyebrows, etc. on the digital character. We unknowingly take this performance for granted. I can tell that Jim is Scrooge but only a little. You really had a hard time seeing Jim under the Grinch makeup and the same can be said for this movie. In “The Grinch”, his scream among a few other things gave him away. In this film however, his scream such as when he is shot up in the sky and then falls back down is less like the classic Jim Carrey scream I know. Other times in the movie, I can hear a bit of Count Olaf. Jim’s humor comes across even at the start of the film but as mentioned, the performance isn’t outright comic in nature like on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. The humor supports the story rather than taking center stage. His comedic talent is best utilized during the climax. Jim’s acting on Christmas day and the direction that it's given makes it just as joyful as other film versions. I love his performance of the lines “Why does everything seem to happen to me?” and “Not the little prize turkey, the big one!” I like how Scrooge doesn’t get much of a break in between the ghosts of past and present. I can see Jim Carrey in his performance of the Ghost of Christmas Past and I like his portrayal of the Ghost of Christmas Present. I also applaud the performances of future Oscar-winner Gary Oldman and Cary Elwes. I feel that this is as close to a film reunion as we are going to get between Elwes and Robin Wright (both stared in "The Princess Bride"). Speaking of reunion, Carrey and Elwes were in "Liar Liar" together. The late Bob Hoskins had two roles and he has worked for Zemeckis previous to this. For me, the performance of future Oscar-winner Colin Firth as Fred is the best film portrayal of this classic character to date and Firth is the best actor in the movie. I enjoy coincidental jokes. What I mean by that is a line that was not humorous when the film was released in theaters but became so later such as the characters of Bert and Ernie in "It's a Wonderful Life". Scrooge's line, "You're quite a powerful speaker sir. A wonder you don't go into parliament", became funny a year later with the release of "The King's Speech" where Colin Firth plays a man who is not a powerful speaker and who is leading a parliament. I like the scene when Scrooge accepts Fred’s invitation to dinner because in this version, Scrooge feels certain that he will not be welcomed. You can see it in his face. Scrooge has one lesson to learn: that just as man can change, man can forgive. This was a theme taught in another Disney version of this story: "The Muppet Christmas Carol". There are other allusions to past Disney versions. Just like in “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”, Scrooge holds onto a root so as to prevent himself from falling into his own coffin. Another similarity between the two versions is that Scrooge goes out on the streets in his nightgown. One decision of Zemeckis’ that I love is that he chose to capture the social commentary that Dickens was known for. Many other film versions of “A Christmas Carol” fail to capture the extreme contrast between the rich and the poor. The use of earthy colors, the cold atmosphere and disrepair I feel is also true to Dickens. The screenplay of Zemeckis I believe is the most faithful adaptation yet of the book in terms of dialogue. Being a fan of time travel, Zemeckis dates the film in 1843, which is the year the book was released. I can’t remember any other film version doing that. I believe the use of dates on Scrooge’s tombstone is also unique to this adaptation. It visually portrays Scrooge’s fear that he is already dead. I like Alan Silvestri’s score in that he uses the tunes of many Christmas hymns and carols effectively. He did the same on "The Polar Express"

The film’s mood is well handled and Zemeckis’ approach is well applied to this story. Jim Carrey’s portrayal of the main character is #4 on my list of film Scrooges behind Alastair Sim, Scrooge McDuck and Michael Caine in that order. While the special effects did take center stage, the humor of Jim’s performance on the other hand only supports the story. I am grateful for that. I do enjoy the use of technology in this more recent Disney version and I like watching this film every Christmas season.

4 stars