A Christmas Carol (2009)

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Christmas 2019

It's hard to believe that this one aired a full ten years ago. This is the animated Jim Carrey 'Christmas Carol' that divided audience in such a big way. It's very 50/50 in the way its reviewed. Some just settle for different versions of the story, some think this is far too dark, and some just claim the animation is far too stylized to appreciate other things about it. Me? I'll just come right out and say it. This is one of my favorite versions of the story.

Of course, unless you've been under a rock for the last century-plus, you know the story of 'A Christmas Carol'. Scrooge (Jim Carrey) is a greedy old miser who frowns on Christmas, seeing it as a "poor excuse to pick a man's pocket every 25th of December"). He is warned on Christmas Eve by his former partner Jacob Marley (Gary Oldman, who also plays Bob Cratchet here), in ghost form, that if he doesn't improve his ways, he's doomed to an eternity of bearing long lengths of heavy chains upon his death. That night, Scrooge is visited by three spirits representing his past, present and future (all also played by Jim Carrey) to help set him on the right path.

The biggest differences here that I can appreciate on a big scale are between a few things. For starters, the animation is absolutely gorgeous, following the more realistic feel of movies like 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within' and to a bigger extent, 'The Polar Express'. I have noticed that this style can creep some out by how real it looks while still being a cartoon, but I've always been a huge fan. If you have any chance to see it in 3D, I still remember it adding a lot to things, and would highly recommend it. Though, it's not like 'Avatar' where the 3D is what makes the movie good.

Beyond great animation, I can't help but give great praise to both Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman for their multiple performances in this. They both flex their acting muscles so well here, and I love that Carrey brings a sense of humor to the Scrooge role that is so rarely seen. The only competition he really has, in my opinion, is my all time favorute Scrooge, Alistair Sim. Personally speaking, I'm glad they didn't make him so one-sided. There are multiple versions of this story that make him a bit too serious for my taste, even if it is the same story. For some, it should be closer to the book, and I completely understand that. But personally speaking, I need to be able to laugh at Scrooge just as much as I need to be able to dislike him. Carrey does a great job of it, and I can't fathom why he was so overlooked here.

Another thing I love about this one, though many would disagree based on taste, was just how dark things got here. Between Marley, and the transition to meet the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (or Future, if you like), I don't mind saying that things actually do get genuinely creepy. Not only that, but they do these ghosts in ways that I've never seen before, making them the film's own thing, and not simply copying and pasting. This is probably one of those things that's criticized for not keeping it classic, but there are about a million different versions of this story out there. I love that this one got creative and did things a little differently, but still manages to tell the story as it needs to be told. Much like any other book adaptation, I like to say the important aspects of the story are still there.

Again, I find this movie to be split right down the middle as far as opinion goes. I actually love it, and I've watched it through a few times. However is still can't hold a candle to the 1951 classic I grew up with. Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy how dark this got, how funny i managed to be at the same time, and I enjoyed the new ideas they played with. I'm not sure what's so bad about this movie that causes people to veer away from it, but I think it's worth a few watch-throughs to try to warm up to it. Just be willing to accept it as a ghost story a bit more than a Christmas story.

​4/5

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