Christmas comes but once a year, but for Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), once is just too often. Scrooge is a miserly husk of humanity, a sour spirit whose withering glance gives chills to the warmest of souls. But when the ghost of his former business partner, Marley (Gary Oldman), gives him one final chance of redemption: He promises the hauntings of three spirits: The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come.
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If you have survived at least 5 Christmases, you know the story of Scrooge and his fateful night of spirits. There have been hundreds if not thousands of versions of the classic 1843 story. Whether it be radio, stage or screen, A Christmas Carol had found a special place in history as possibly the greatest story ever told. After numerous remakes, I can safely say that Disney's animated retelling is perhaps the greatest adaption of all time.
"Well why did he give it such a low grade then?" you might ask yourself. Here is why. It's almost TOO great for it's own good. Out of all the similarities. the most similar compared to the book and this film, is the dialouge. At times, it's almost the exact same as the original book. Being so similar to the original tale is ultimately the film's downfall. Disney had marketed it as early as this summer on Disney Channel. The film had a marketing campaign consisting of an actual train that offered tours inside where guests would view costumes, pictures, and artwork from the film inside the train. A Christmas Carol was promoted on a channel that the younger audiences watch, and it is marketed as a silly, slapstick spin on the classic tale. Just look at the trailer for cryin' out loud! But the final outcome was a not-as-entertaining, silly and slapstick movie that the younger audience (and myself) were expecting. It's extremely talky for a Christmas movie marketed towards families, and stars Jim Carrey and directed by the same guy that directed some of my favorite films of all time (Back To The Future, Forrest Gump and a few others).
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I've seen dozens of adaptions of the classic Dickens tale. I have seen it on stage, I've seen my favorite TV shows do their own take on it, I have also seen numerous film versions. Out of all the versions of this story, one thing is for sure, Disney's animated retelling of this classic tale is without a doubt, the most intense and frightning version I have ever seen. It's a dark, dark, DARK ghost story and the 3D CGI effects included, make it even scarier! It's astonishing to me that Disney (The company that has put smiles on faces for almost an entire century) made a version that I actually made me jump! I've seen a lot of scary movies and the first words out of my mouth after the film were
"Wow, that was actually kinda scary!" It reminded me of Coraline earlier this year except Coraline wasn't a classic and you knew going into it that it was gonna be creepy for kids. A Christmas Carol has always had different measures of fear in each version and you can never fully expect how spooky it will get, but this adaption (the ANIMATED Jim Carrey FAMILY film) scared the bejesus out of a few kids in the theatre! They cried when The Ghost Of Christmas' Yet To Come showed up. If you are younger than 10 years old, and can't handle scary stuff, A Christmas Carol is a nightmare waiting to happen. Parents need to take note on this because the trailers make it sound to be a silly movie with funny guy Jim Carrey, while in reality, it's the complete opposite.
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I've never read the original book, so I can't really complain about this movie because I don't know how accurate it is. All I know is this, the movie starts out in the first shot by showing a book that opens to a picture of the dead Marley, and ends with joyous and triumphant music honoring the spirit of the season. As in Coraline, it has a happy ending but can it really ease kids into trusiting the film all because it has a happy ending? A Christmas Carol has some ridiculously long talky parts, and some horrifying moments but that's about it. As much as almost any other classic, this towering tale never seems to grow old. It's a tale that has never failed to bring a tear to my eye and has forced me to treat my neighbors kindly and generously. A Christmas Carol is an absolute masterpiece and it is one of the greatest stories ever written but I honestly think that Zemeckis' new movie is just way too serious for the first big Christmas movie marketed towards families. Honestly? It stars freaking Jim Carrey and he hardly does anything funny in it! This movie left SO much opprotunity open for him to be funny but it just wasn't taken advantage of. I think Robert Zemeckis and Disney stuck to the source material a little TOO much. If this film was a little more entertaining, cut down on the talky stuff, toned down the scares, and added humor, this could have been a much better film! I'm sorry to say but I was bored throughout most of the film. It was boring and way too serious for a Christmas movie staring Jim Carrey and released by Disney. The best part about this film was the final 20 minutes, starting with the climax of the Ghost of Christmas' Yet To Come up untill the ending. The entire scene with the final ghost is just one big action scene and it might have actually been worth the wait! I just wish that there was a little more excitement in this movie.
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Even if you did or didn't like this movie, I must admit, it does get you in the holiday spirit. I saw this movie on Black Friday after I got a few hours worth of shopping done. I wanted some entertainment to pass the time, so I went to the theatre in the mall I was at and I saw this in 3D. Even though I walked out not really enjoying it as much as I would have liked, I did have the Christmas spirit inside of me. Personally, I thought Zemeckis' The Polar Express was better, but if you want a high-octane thrill ride for the kiddies, go out and see it. A lot of people are really liking this movie, and don't let this review stop you, but just be warned. It's very scary at times, very boring at others and not something that the youngest of audience members would like.
(The best part of the entire experience was seeing a trailer for James Cameron's Avatar in 3D. I can't freaking wait for that movie!)
Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox) is a cool kid. He's got a great girlfriend, Jennifer (Claudia Wells) rides a skateboard and has trouble with his school by the man with an iron fist, Mr. Strickland (James Tolkan) the only thing non cool about him is that he hangs out with the crazy old man, Doc Brown (The eccentric Christopher Lloyd) a brillianty scientist with the strange revolution of time travel. One night when Marty is told to meet Doc at "Twin's Pine Mall" Doc shows Marty that time travel is real and proves this theory by sending his dog "Einstein" one minute into the future by way of a deloreon.
"When this baby hits 88 MPH, you're gonna see some serious shit"
True to his word, Doc sends his dog into the future and 60 seconds later, the dog, doc and Marty are all reunited in the present time. Doc tells Marty that he is leaving and going to a different time, almost forgetting the fact that he forgot plutonium (The most important thing needed to transfer the 1.21 giggawats needed for travel)
Everything seems fun and cheery up untill Doc is soon confronted by lybian terrorists that murder the poor doc after a bizzare act of terrorism.
Out of panic and confusion, Marty hops into the deloreon and accidently jumps to 88 MPH and is sent to 1955 (A date that Doc accidently put in before he was shot)
Marty (unaware of how incredible this situation he is in now is) accidently stops his parents from meeting and must now get them back together. Much easier said than done....
His mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is in love with him, his father, George (Crispin Glover) is a loser that is afraid to make a move on her and the stupid town bully Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) has a thing for Lorraine and screws with George almost daily.
Marty must now meet up with the 1955 version of Doc, get his parents back together, save his familie's existance, set Biff straight AND get back to the present time.
Again, much easier said than done....
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Wow. Just Wow! It's a flim that has stood the test of time. A TRUE classic! If only I could get my annoying classmates to shut the hell up when we watch a true, amazing film instead of the crap entertainment we have now. Seriously, I can't watch a movie (not even a new release in theatres) without getting into an argument about what the movie was trying to say or what it was about. Besides "To Kill A Mockingbird", "The Sound Of Music" and the "Indiana Jones" trilogy (notice I said TRILOGY because the fourth one sucked) THIS is a movie that I have defended with all my heart that other stupid teens just don't understand. Back To The Future is not just a classic, it's a film that has paved the way for modern cinema. It was the "first" Time Travel film and it was WAY ahead of it's time! I will not stand for the disrespect it's getting from a bunch of stupid teens. If only this generation will actually shutup and watch the damn thing in the first place! A true classic that WILL NEVER be forgotten! Tell that to the obsessed "Twilight" freaks...
Passengers
PG-13
Disney's A Christmas Carol
PG
Back to the Future
PG
