Review: A Christmas Carol
Let's face it; really, it doesn't matter whether we are young or old, joyful or resentful, artists or athletes — we all love Disney! Not all of us are official fans and maybe we don't like all of its works, but we definitely have a favorite among them. And that's the same with remakes of old movies as well; not everyone is a fan of them, yet everyone has a re-make that they consider better than the original.
The movie I'll consider is a mix of both things mentioned above: Disney and remakes. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol became a really popular book from its first publishing and soon the first movie version of the novel appeared back in 1914 and it was actually in black and white. The second movie, which wasn't in black and white this time, appeared in 1938 and it is often considered as the first movie for the novel as it was far more successful that the first black and white version. As of this November, thanks to the amazing director Robert Zemeckis and Walt Disney Pictures (and of course Charles Dickens!), you have the chance to see the movie in 3D. Yes, an animated version was released!
Most of the cast seems normal and fitting to their roles, except Jim Carrey who surprisingly is playing Scrooge and the three Ghosts. You wouldn't have guessed who is playing Scrooge even if you had million guesses, would you? The fact that we've pretty much always seen Jim Carrey as the hilarious guy, for whom, besides his acting, the other best attribute is his humor, makes us wonder how he ended up playing the grumpy old miserable Scrooge who has absolutely no sense of humor. And, although it's an animated movie and he doesn't actually appear on the screen but is only playing the voice of his roles, it still requires hard work and effort from the actor, and yet it seems that Jim Carrey isn't trying at all. He has about eight roles as he plays the several versions of Scrooge (the old one, the small boy, the young man, etc.) together with the three Ghosts (The Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) and considering his previously earned reputation and the fact that the greatness of the movie depends mostly on him, you would think he will give his best to make something good out of this. But, regardless of whether he tried or not, if you watch the movie, you will realize he needed to work more on his roles.
Another person from the cast you might recognize is Gary Oldman, who played Sirus Black in the Harry Potter movies, and who in this movie plays Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley, and Bob Cratchit. Compared to Jim Carrey, he played out his roles quite amazingly.
The storyline of the movie follows the plot of the novel so if you've watched a previous version of the movie or if you've previously read the book, don't expect anything special to show up as both the characters and the events haven't changed even slightly. You'll still see Scrooge passing through the "lecture" of the three Christmas Ghosts about the value of Christmas, a holiday he dislikes the most and thinks should be forgotten. Mainly the only difference between this and the previous versions of the movie is the fact that it's animated and lately animated movies seem to be more pleasant, fun, and famous, than regular movies. Thus, even if the actors might not have done their best, the movie sure promises enjoyment!