A Christmas Carol (2009 film)

A Christmas Carol

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Produced by Jack Rapke
Steve Starkey
Robert Zemeckis
Screenplay by Robert Zemeckis
Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Starring Jim Carrey
Gary Oldman
Colin Firth
Bob Hoskins
Robin Wright Penn
Cary Elwes
Music by Alan Silvestri
Cinematography Robert Presley
Edited by Jeremiah O'Driscoll
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release date
  • November 3, 2009 (2009-11-03) (United Kingdom)
  • November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06) (United States)
Running time
 95 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $175 million[2][3]
Box office $325.3 million[4]

A Christmas Carol is a 2009 American 3D computer animated motion-capture fantasy film written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. It is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens story of the same name and stars Jim Carrey in a multitude of roles, including Ebenezer Scrooge as a young, middle-aged, and old man, and the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge.[5] The film also features supporting roles done by Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, and Cary Elwes.

The film received mixed reviews from American film critics, who praised its visuals and the performances of Carrey and Oldman but criticized its dark tone. It was a decent financial success, earning $325.3 million on a $175–200 million budget. The 3D film was produced through the process of motion capture, a technique Zemeckis previously used in his films The Polar Express (2004), and Beowulf (2007).[5] A Christmas Carol began filming in February 2008 and was released on November 3, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures.[6] It received its world premiere in London, coinciding with the switching on of the annual Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas lights, which in 2009 had a Dickens theme.[7][8]

The film was released in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3-D. It is also Disney's third film retelling of A Christmas Carol following 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol and 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Plot

On Christmas Eve, in Victorian era London, Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old moneylender at a London counting house, does not share the merriment of Christmas. He declines his cheerful nephew Fred Holywell's invitation to a Christmas dinner party and declines two gentlemen's offer to collect money for charity. His loyal employee Bob Cratchit asks Scrooge to allow him to have Christmas off since there will be no business for Scrooge during the day. Scrooge agrees and leaves. In his house, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him to repent his wicked ways or he will be condemned in the afterlife like he was, informing Scrooge that three spirits will visit him.

At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the candle-like Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his early life. They visit Scrooge's boarding school and Scrooge sees his sister Fanie, who died after giving birth to Fred. Scrooge later begins a successful career in business and money lending as an employee under Fezziwig, and he becomes engaged to a woman named Belle. However, the Ghost shows Scrooge how Belle left him when he chose his wealth over her. A devastated Scrooge extinguishes the spirit with its candle snuffer cap as he is rocketed back to the present.

At two o'clock, Scrooge meets the merry Ghost of Christmas Present, which shows Scrooge the joys and wonder of Christmas Day. Scrooge and the Ghost visit Bob's house, learning his family is content with their small dinner, Scrooge taking pity on Bob's ill son Tiny Tim. The Ghost abruptly ages, commenting that Tiny Tim will likely not survive until next Christmas. The Ghost warns Scrooge about the evils of "Ignorance" and "Want"; Big Ben begins tolling midnight as "Ignorance" and "Want" manifest themselves before Scrooge as two wretched children who grow into violent, insane individuals, leaving the spirit to fade away.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives, appearing as a silent, cloaked shadow, and takes Scrooge into the future. Scrooge witnesses a group of businessmen discussing the death of an unnamed man where they would only attend the funeral if lunch is provided; Scrooge is then chased across London by the Ghost and later discovers that his possessions are stolen and sold by his maid Mrs. Dilber, and Fred and his family are relieved he is dead, as they have more time to pay off their debt. The spirit transports Scrooge to Bob's residence, discovering that Tiny Tim has died. The Ghost escorts Scrooge to a cemetery, where the Ghost points out his own grave, confirming Scrooge was the man who died. Realizing this, Scrooge promises to change his ways just as the Ghost forces Scrooge to fall into his empty coffin lying in a deep grave that sits above the fires of Hell.

Awakening in his own bedroom on Christmas Day, with love and joy in his heart, a gleeful Scrooge decides to surprise Bob's family with a turkey dinner, and ventures out with the charity workers and the citizens of London to spread happiness in the city, and later attends his nephew's annual Christmas dinner, where he is warmly welcomed. The following day, he gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like "a second father" to Tiny Tim, who escapes death. A changed man, Scrooge now treats everyone with kindness, generosity, and compassion; he now embodies the spirit of Christmas.

Cast

Production

Robert Zemeckis has stated previously that A Christmas Carol is one of his favorite stories dealing with time travel.[9] Carrey has described the film as "a classical version of A Christmas Carol [...] There are a lot of vocal things, a lot of physical things, I have to do. Not to mention doing the accents properly, the English, Irish accents [...] I want it to fly in the UK. I want it to be good and I want them to go, 'Yeah, that's for real.' We were very true to the book. It's beautiful. It's an incredible film."[10] Also, the Scrooge puppet seen in The Polar Express, which was also directed by Robert Zemeckis served as the basis for Ebenezer Scrooge in this movie.

Release

A Christmas Carol premiered in London on November 3, 2009, and was theatrically released on November 6, 2009, in the United States by Walt Disney Pictures.

Home media

Disney released the film on November 16, 2010[11] in a single-disc DVD, two-disc 2D Blu-ray/DVD combo and in a four-disc combo pack that includes a Blu-ray 3D, a Blu-ray 2D, a DVD and a digital copy. This marked the first time that a film was available in Blu-ray 3D the same day as a standard Blu-ray 2D, as well as Disney's first in the Blu-ray 3D market.[12] The DVD contains deleted scenes and two featurettes called "On Set with Sammi" and "Capturing A Christmas Carol". The Blu-ray 2D also has a "Digital Advent Calendar" and the featurette "Behind the Carol: The Full Motion Capture Experience". The Blu-ray 3D has an exclusive 3D game called "Mr. Scrooge's Wild Ride".

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #1 in 3,683 theaters, grossing $30,051,075 its opening weekend, with an average of $8,159 per theater.[3] The film has come to gross an estimated $137,481,366 in the United States and Canada and $181,000,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $318,481,366.[4] In the UK, A Christmas Carol topped the box office on two separate occasions; the first was when it opened, the second was 5 weeks later when it leapfrogged box office chart toppers 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Paranormal Activity despite family competition from Nativity!, another Christmas-themed movie.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from American film critics. In his review, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars (out of four), calling it "an exhilarating visual experience".[13] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, applauding the film as "a marvelous and touching yuletide toy of a movie".[14] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film 3/5 stars and stated the film "is well-crafted but artless, detailed but lacking soul."[15] Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com gave the film a mixed review claiming the movie "is a triumph of something — but it's certainly not the Christmas spirit."[16] Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal wrote in his review that the film's "tone is joyless, despite an extended passage of bizarre laughter, several dazzling flights of digital fancy, a succession of striking images and Jim Carrey's voicing of Scrooge plus half a dozen other roles."[17] The Daily Telegraph reviewer Tim Robey wrote, "How much is gained by the half-real visual style for this story is open to question – the early scenes are laborious and never quite alive, and the explosion of jollity at the end lacks the virtue of being funny."[18] Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian also criticized the technology: "The hi-tech sheen is impressive but in an unexciting way. I wanted to see real human faces convey real human emotions."[19] Time Out London praised the film for sticking to Dickens' original dialogue but also questioned the technology by saying, "To an extent, this 'Christmas Carol' is a case of style – and stylisation – overwhelming substance."[20]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 54% of 186 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.9 out of 10. The site's consensus is: "Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman."[21] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 55 based on 32 reviews.[22]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
2010 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie Jim Carrey Won
Favorite Animated Movie A Christmas Carol Nominated
36th Saturn Awards Best Animated Feature Nominated

Soundtrack

References

  1. ↑ "A CHRISTMAS CAROL (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. October 7, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (October 26, 2009). "Disney Hopes Christmas Carol Lives Up to Its Blockbuster Marketing". New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "A Christmas Carol (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 29, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "Disney's A Christmas Carol- Box Office Data". The Numbers. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Fleming, Michael. "Jim Carrey set for 'Christmas Carol': Zemeckis directing Dickens adaptation", Variety, July 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  6. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (February 7, 2008). "Studios rush to fill '09 schedule". Variety.
  7. ↑ "Dickens theme for festive lights". BBC News. September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  8. ↑ Hall, James (September 12, 2009). "Disney's A Christmas Carol will be theme for London's Christmas lights". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  9. ↑ Making the Trilogy: Part 1 featurette on the Back to the Future Trilogy DVD box set.
  10. ↑ "In the Future: Jim Carrey", ComingSoon.net, March 7, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  11. ↑ Orndorf, Brian (November 8, 2010). "Disney's A Christmas Carol (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ Garrett, Diane (January 7, 2010). "3D for the home coming". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times. November 5, 2009. Archived from the original on November 8, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. November 6, 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  15. ↑ Neumaier, Joe (November 5, 2009). "Disney's A Christmas Carol in Disney Digital 3D: Blah, humbug! 'A Christmas Carol's 3-D spin on Dickens well done in parts but lacks spirit". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  16. ↑ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (November 5, 2009). "Disney's "A Christmas Carol": Bah, humbug!". Salon.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ Morgenstern, Joe (November 6, 2009). "'A Christmas Carol': Carrey, Disney Play Scrooge". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  18. ↑ Robey, Tim (November 5, 2009). "A Christmas Carol, review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  19. ↑ Peter Bradshaw (November 6, 2009). "Film review: A Christmas Carol | Film". London: The Guardian. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  20. ↑ "A Christmas Carol Review. Movie Reviews - Film - Time Out London". Timeout.com. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Disney's A Christmas Carol: Reviews (2009)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
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