Ed's Review Dot Com

Simon Callow, Rhys Ifans, Kate Winslet, Nicolas Cage, Jane Horrocks, Michael Gambon, Juliet Stevenson, Robert Llewellyn, Iain Jones, Colin McFarlane, Beth Winslet, Arthur Cox, Keith Wickham

This animated feature begins with a live action segment set in Boston in 1857 when Charles Dickens arrives at the theater to read his short story, A Christmas Carol to a waiting audience. This was a common thing for Mr. Dickens every year at Christmas time. He used to read the story to an excited audience. As Dickens starts to read the story, it turns to an animated version of the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and four ghosts who visit Ebeneezer, a miserly old skinflint who learns the errors of his ways and finds the spirit of Christmas that he has long forgotten.

There are good voices for the characters, but this is not the greatest version of the story. There are two mice that appear at the reading, and Dickens includes in the story. The animation is very flat and cheesy looking and the story has changed a lot from the actual story. It’s not very true to the original with stuff like Old Scrooge meeting back up with Belle, the girl he lost in his youth, and a return of the ghosts of past and present after the final ghost leaves. Other parts of the story have changed too, and not for any particularly good reason. There are so many wonderful versions of this story, and if you’re up for an animated version, even Mickey Mouse, Mr. Magoo, and the Muppets have done versions that I think are far better than this one.

Still, I was glad to watch it, and I enjoyed the story once again, as I truly love the novel. But I would not recommend this version as there are so many superior choices.