I have seen the first screening of A Christmas Carol in theaters where I live. In two words:
Beautiful Movie!
For those who don't know what A Christmas Carol is about: It all started from a short story novel written via man back in the United Kingdom around the 1800s named Charles Dickens; A man who wrote a classic masterpiece, later to be remade into TV specials and fantastic movies, and be loved by many for years and years to come every Christmas season.
Mr. Dickens' main character was not a cheery, kind and gentle soul...but rather an old, cold, greedy, money-grubbing skinflint who hates Christmas. His appearance would make anyone's spine chill and their dog run away in fear. This man is Ebenezer Scrooge.
As you've probably seen from the trailers that Scrooge is told from a scary, yet familiar specter that he will be haunted by three spirits:
The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
These three would hope to bring Scrooge to a point of understanding what Christmas is all about and the joy that it brings too all people who know how to live it. Not only understanding and joy but also the results, outcomes and consequences of Scrooges actions towards those who come in contact with him, whether good or bad.
The Director, Robert Zemeckis, teams up with Walt Disney studios to recreate the Dicken's masterpiece with 3D animation and a complete view of what Old Britain would have looked like back then
Here is my review:
Rating: PG-13 (scary or frightening scenes)
- Parents need to be with their children watching this one because there are a couple jumpy and creepy scenes.
Language: Mild to none. One (and only one) moment where Scrooge uses "hell" but not a vain, or common use. It rather shows how stubborn he is. Another part when someone calls a character a "donkey" but in the other form (don't forget back in those days Donkey's were called that as a second name due to their nature).
Scary Scenes: There is a few and if those of you know about Jacob Marley, and Christmas Yet to Come...you'll know what to expect. Parents need to be with their kids to see this one because they will most likely get nightmares.
Blood/Violence/Gore: Minimal to none. No blood, minimal violence, no gore (depending on what you think of Jacob Marley).
Sexual Content/Scenes: None whatsoever. This is a Christmas movie with nothing like that. The only thing you see are the rich ladies wearing the traditional 1800s dresses with the low-cut top a bit of a ways down from their neck but nothing risque.
Religious/Spiritual Content: Much of it. Those who know A Christmas Carol will expect something tied to God like The Ghost of Christmas Present and the recurring line: "God bless".
A couple points regarding the spiritual side of this film was the music via Alan Silvestri, one of my favorite composers. Another is the symbolism of the true meaning of Christmas.
Bad/Blasphemous Content: None that I saw whatsoever.
Good Critique:
Mr. Zemeckis wanted to make this film the way Charles Dickens imagined it to be. He, along with Jim Carrey (and myself), have seen the different versions of A Christmas Carol, one standing out being Alister Sim's Scrooge.
This being a Disney film, there were a few times this movie made me remember Walt Disney's "Mickey's Christmas Carol"; Donald Duck's Uncle Scrooge's debut into the animated world.
The Animation was fantastic! To swoop down and see the entirety of Old Britain made me remember the English blood in me, heh. The way Scrooge, the ghosts and just all of it was simply fantastic. It brought tears to my eyes. The snow! Oh my goodness, the snow was beautiful to look at!
The acting was great! Cheers to Colin Firth, to Robin Wright Penn, and Bob Hoskins (WHOO!) who both played two characters, Gary Oldman who played three characters, and an especially big cheer to Jim Carrey (DOUBLE WHOO!) who had the courage and the ability to play FOUR parts!
Bad Critique:
I couldn't really find anything bad to critique on this one. I should say that some of the parts that I remember from the book and from the shows and films that I saw and were important were left out. Just a couple, not a lot; Nothing that would keep the real message from being portrayed.
Final Words:
This film brought me to the Christmas spirit again. Coming out the first week of November is, in my opinion, a great way for others to get out of the scary, violent bloody Halloween fix and back into the wonderful, spiritual, joyful mode of one of the the greatest holidays of the year: Christmas.
This has to be, by far, one of the best remakes of "A Christmas Carol" I have ever seen. This film is heading towards my number one spot for Christmas movies along with Alister Sim's "Scrooge".
Mr. Zemeckis wanted to find a way to depict and describe what Old Britain looked like along with all the characters, events, themes and all of what was in Mr. Dicken's head at the time. I think he did it, and he did it well. I enjoyed this movie and I would love to go see it again possibly close to Christmas, if it's still in the theaters I hope.
Zemeckis and Carrey did a wonderful job portraying what Christmas is really about. The magic and wonder and the spectacular truth of this wonderful season reminds us as faithful believers of our Lord Jesus Christ, Yihoshua, to keep this beautiful holiday alive and to explain to those who don't understand, realize or yet not even know what Christmas is, that it is a day of complete joy, a day of knowing that our Lord was. made. human! He was to live among us and save us all from death and horrifying turmoil! We (including myself), must understand that!
Finally, go and see this. I hope you'll love it from beginning to end as much as I did, with a few tears going down your cheeks.
5 out of 5 stars!