A CHRISTMAS CAROL REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

This is, by far, one of my favourite adaptations of Charlie Dickens' famous novels, A Christmas Carol. Directed by Robert Zemekis, who also directed the beloved animated Christmas film, The Polar Express, this stars Jim Carrey in, not one, but a staggering eight roles. His main role is Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy, old man who despises Christmas. However, things begin to change when one fateful night, he is visted by three different ghosts: Ghost of Christmas Past; Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. These three ghosts will teach him about the true meaning of Christmas. Throughout the film, we learn why Scrooge has a negative attitude towards Christmas as we see his life as a child and then as a young man. When we first meet Scrooge, he's very unlikable but, as the film goes on, we feel sympathetic towards him. 

I've always loved this story as it was heartwarming and features some of the most iconic characters in storytelling history. It's been adaptated many times: Michael Caine played Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol; it had a modern-day take in comedy, Scrooged; Albert Finney portrayed Scrooge in Scrooge and many more. My personal favourite is The Muppet Christmas Carol as it was adaptated into a musical and was very entertaining and funny.

The reason why this is one of the best adaptations of Dicken's famous novel is because it's accurate. Disney wanted to make a film suitable for children but this doesn't mean they left out any of the scariest scenes, in fact, I would say that this is one of Disney's darkest films. Dicken's book was never intented for children, he wrote for adults so making a family-friendly adaptation must've been difficult. Nevertheless, Disney managed to successfully do it. I saw this at the cinema when it was first released in 2009 when I was 12 and I loved it. 

One of my favourite things about this film is the animation. Zemekis uses motion-capture, which is the same technique as the one he used in The Polar Express. It was also released in IMAX which makes the film look even more stunning. I watched it in 3D at the cinema and I remember feeling like I was part of the story.

Despite Jim Carrey playing eight characters, he doesn't portray all of them. Colin Firth is almost unrecognisable as Scrooge's nephew, Fred, who is the polar opposite of his uncle. He's cheerful and loves Christmas and tries to get his uncle in the Christmas spirit. 

Gary Oldman plays three characters: Bob Cratchit, who works for Scrooge and has to ask him for a day off Christmas; the ghost of Marley, who used to work for Scrooge until he died and informs him that he'll be visited by the three ghosts and Tiny Tim, Cratchit's son who is dying from an illness.

All three of the asforementioned actors give outstanding and unrecognisable performances as their characters.

If you loved The Polar Express and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, then you'll love this film. With great performances from every actor involved and stunning animation, this is one of my favourite Christmas films.

7/10