Christmas Carol, A (Theatrical)

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You can certainly tell the holiday season is here when in the first week of November we are presented with Disney´s version of a timeless classic, "A Christmas Carol." Without argument, it is easily one of Charles Dickens´s most beloved books, and in 1951 director Brian Desmond Hurst, with the adaptation by Noel Langley, gave us a film version that would be honored in most people´s top-ten list of Christmas movies. The many years to follow would spawn many more adaptations from live television to animated versions to altered versions like Bill Murray´s "Scrooged." The original narrative itself can be found in many Christmas stories anytime we have characters who seem to have lost their Christmas spirit. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a great example of paying homage to the classic Dickens narrative, yet both are considered classic Christmas tales.

Therefore, Disney had its work cut out for them leaving one to wonder, why? Even with the direction of Robert Zemeckis and the talent of Jim Carrey, is it possible to breathe any more life into a story that has been told more times than people served at McDonalds? I mean, there´s plainly no point on my part to give any synopsis, because if you don´t know the story by now, then you literally have been living under a rock. No, the real question here is, Did Disney and the team of creators pull this digitally animated version off? Well, in one word, astonishingly!

Maybe I´m a sucker for Christmas movies, or perhaps I was just in the right mood; I don´t know. To be honest, I really didn´t have a lot of interest in wanting to see this new Disney version, and as I pointed out, it´s been done so many times that I couldn´t imagine anything fresh might be found. However, what I did see I found as visually entertaining, delightful, and heartwarming as any of the best Christmas tales in American culture. You can feel the essence of this movie paying homage to the Dickens novel (and 1951 film version) like no other adaptation before it. Not only are the visual details amazing to look at, but the performances from Carrey to Gary Oldman are some of the best you´ll see in a Christmas tale.

Those with Christmas faith will find a delightful tale of a grouchy old man with no heart redeem himself and find his hope and faith in Christmas spirit. Those on the scientific scale of life will find a story saturated in a behavioral-psychology study of a man and how life´s shortcomings can affect the outcome of his personality. Either way you look at it, the overall conclusion is one that will warm even the coldest of hearts.

Granted, this new version was made to hype up some moderate action sequences because of its 3D animation. However, this film at no time deviates from staying true in delivering the classic narrative. It easily delivers an overwhelming respect to the audience that has most adored it. The film simply feels classic, even if it really doesn´t have anything new to feed us or entertain us with. I know I went in not expecting much and came out wondering where I would place this film in my top-ten list of Christmas films. Not only does Disney´s "A Christmas Carol" pay homage to the timeless tale, it pays homage to our hearts in the way a Christmas movie should. Not to mention, it´s nice to finally see a holiday film hit a home run in class, style, and heart.