‘A Christmas Carol’ prompts ‘Bah Humbug’ response

“A Christmas Carol”

Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman

Directed By: Robert… “A Christmas Carol”

Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman

Directed By: Robert Zemeckis

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Grade: C-

Christmas movies might be the most exploited of all exploitation films. Taking one of the world’s most beloved holidays and trying to create a touching cinematic experience often results in a less-than-desirable product. This is not a rule though, and, infrequently, a good holiday film is possible. Disney, usually the first to bring family-friendly fare to the masses, is starting this holiday season with the third adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” that it has released in the past 30 years, and sadly, it’s not the classic that many were hoping for.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future,” “Beowulf”) and using the “performance capture” technique he pioneered in “The Polar Express,” the age-old Dickens classic tells the familiar story of heartless moneylender Ebenezer Scrooge, who learns, through visits from three spirits, the true essence of the Christmas season and kindness toward his fellow man.

Jim Carrey — who portrays Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future — is joined by Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and several other Hollywood regulars who bring both their vocal and corporeal movements to the screen. Zemeckis’ technique is something of an acquired taste, but here it really shimmers. The film is visually ravishing. With a generous and apt use of 3-D technology, in addition to some captivating cinematography, “Carol” brings early Victorian London to stunning animated life. In the opening scene, Scrooge travels by jovial children, street shoppers and people generally bustling about the snow-laden streets and tall dark houses to get to his accounting house. Throughout the scene, the 3-D technology creates a layered view and allows the moviegoer to experience a house in the background, a person in the foreground and an arm that seemingly pokes into the people in front of you — all while appearing naturally integrated.

That visual achievement is severely undermined, however, by the film’s tone, which seems to fluctuate between overly theatrical (the Ghost of Christmas Future’s carriage running Scrooge down in the streets for no apparent reason) and childish (why is Fezziwig doing backflips?) while many times demonstrating both qualities. The genuinely wonderful dialogue that could have taken place in many scenes is replaced by characters making funny faces at one another until a plot event moves them along to something else. The plot events we all know by heart are supplemented by some interesting additions, including a particularly captivating account of how stingy Scrooge acts around Jacob Marley’s mortician.

The inclusion of the more morbid areas of the tale, with corresponding imagery, brings to light the intense focus that this production has on some aspects of historical and cultural accuracy. Even the characters’ teeth reek of 19th-century London. This detail is a step in the right direction, but other choices hinder the film’s tone and even appear as tacked-on stunts. Sure, it’s amusing to watch a miniature Scrooge roll around frozen streets, but it’s superfluous to Dickens’ tale.

The musical choices also seem to take away from the overall scope of what Zemeckis is trying to accomplish. A focus on traditional and familiar orchestral melodies makes the music seem rather unoriginal. Traditional carols and other songs of the season add a familiar air, but don’t really stand out as anything except requisite Christmas music. It may be popular, but it’s not particularly interesting or deep, in light of the spectacle of the rest of the film.

If you want a visual thrill-ride, “A Christmas Carol” is the movie to see. The production’s faults, however, make it one of the less desirable adaptations available.