Don't look now, but the Christmas season is just over the horizon. The yearlong anticipation for this time of giving and warmth toward strangers is anticipated by young and old everywhere - and just as certain as Santa Clauses will appear, red and green lights will spring up, Mariah Carey will have the number one song on iTunes, Hollywood will produce its annual Christmas movie. This year, Disney serves up A Christmas Carol; however, this film is far from its child-friendly Dr. Seuss counterpart, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. A Christmas Carol is a more gloomy film than you would expect from the animated previews - anyone who hears about an animated Disney Christmas film will surely think it is a family flick. As the movie came out closer to Halloween than Christmas - or even Thanksgiving - this is more of a horror film than a heart-warming Christmas tale.
In case some of us need a refresher, the movie follows the life of an old penny-pincher, Ebenezer Scrooge. He hates everything that embodies the Christmas spirit and thinks that everyone is foolish to think that all troubles should be forgotten, just because it is the holiday season. Christmas Eve, Scrooge is haunted by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge that he will wear heavy chains in the afterlife unless he changes his ways. The movie plays out as Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come, who all contribute to teaching Scrooge why the Christmas spirit is so important.
There are few who can argue that this movie was not well-produced or cast, but the style of the film is definitely in between markets. It is not the uplifting film that people will be looking for to kick off their holiday season. The ghosts in the film are not simple guides that show Scrooge the right path - rather they literally scare Scrooge straight. Scrooge learns less about the good that comes with the Christmas spirit, but instead more about the horrible future that will come if he continues on in his cold-blooded manner. Marley, Scrooge's former partner, is the most frightening character in the film, as he starts the haunting fest with a thundering entrance that not too many 5-year-olds will enjoy.
Jim Carrey as Scrooge - who has experience playing a Christmas misanthrope (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, 2000) - completely molds himself into the role. The bitterness of his voice perfectly matches the level of vinegar and disgust that the computer animation places on Scrooge's face. Gary Oldman, well known for his character James Gordon in the latest Batman films, plays Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's lone employee, while Colin Firth lends his voice to the movie as Scrooge's hopeful and exuberant nephew. You can only identify the celebrities in voice, but the computer animation leaves nothing to be desired.
Carrey's performance and the dark storyline are not what you would expect from Disney, but nevertheless make for a different, yet compelling portrayal of A Christmas Carol. The movie succeeds in its aims as it delivers a bone-chilling version of the classic story. Just don't expect to see a happy go-lucky film.
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