Customer Reviews

Christmas Carol - The Movie

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yet another 'Carol' has traditional 2-D animations with great voice cast -- Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, Jane Horrocks, Nicholas Cage, Rhys Ifans, Micheal Gambon, and Juliet Stevenson. You also have a chance to listen to Kate's sister Beth Wislet's voice (who can be seen in a film 'Bodywork') and plus, you hear beautiful songs by Welsh singer Charlotte Church and Kate Winslet herself! And Ms Winslet is very good at that.

So, you ask, why 2 stars? OK, listen up, please. The story is a famous one, so you don't need my summery. And Scrooge is anyway going to be a good guy. But the process is the point, or the life of the story, and the film misses it very wide.

In fact, Scrooge (Simon Callow) in the first act is totally a bad guy here, feeding a mice, giving a chunk of cheese. After showing another side of him, the film is very slow in establishing his character, which should be more simple. To make it worse, Scrooge. out of the window, throws a jug of cold water (and it's winter) upon the chorus group on the street singing, among which you see the face of Tiny Tim, poor boy, drenched to the skin. And ... sorry if I'm wrong, but -- Did Dickens write that way?

There are many, many, unnecessary addtions and changes, which I do not introduce here. The real problem is, however, the animation itself. Jimmy T. Murakami is best known for 'When the Wind Blows' a quiet but very unnerving animated film about two elderly man and wife, who too innocently follows the government guidance to make a handmade shelter for the coming nuclear war. His 2-D animatiton worked at that time, but after about 14 years, it is no longer possible to grab our attention with that technique without good storyteling, character, or original designs. This 'Christmas Carol' has none of them, just making itself look like a Cliff Note of animation.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but as to this eternal classc, there are better choices out there, Alastair Simm or the Muppets (with Michael Caine, and the film is good), so why not them? The only good thing I could find about this version is Kate Winslet's wonderful yuletide song, which deserves more attention.

[VHS VERSION] lacks the opening and ending live-action sections in which Simon Callow plays Charles Dickens himself, touring in Boston, America, in 1867 (Dickens's celebrated reading performance in mind). If you want to see everything of this film, DVD is a better choice.

My son absolutely loves this tale. He even dresses up as Scrooge and Cratchett at times. This has become our new favorite version, next to reading the original. It brings the tale closer to a child's understanding - it's the human race Scrooge has given up on, but that he still has compassion and love in his heart. This is very important for children of all ages to understand.

Sometimes, some people seem very harsh or bitter, but inside there may still be warmth and love. All it takes is a little kindness and remembering to bring it out. Not trying to be preachy, but this is actually what my 9 year-old son said after watching the movie.

It really wasn't all that bad!! If I had to choose between this and the Muppets version -- it would be the Muppets hand down.

What I really like about this adaptation is the dialogue. The interaction between the characters is lively, moving and very well acted. I did not pay any attention to the technical aspects mentioned in the other reviews. An animation is an animation to me -- I don't look for blowing hair or wrinkles in ones clothes. I tend to pay more attention to how well the movie is acted. That being said, I would not rate this one any higher than 3 and 1/2 stars -- simply because the supporting cast does not hold the story up too well. It seems that the film is purposely centered around the three main ("big name Holloywood) actors - Simon Callow, Nicolas Cage, and Kate Winslet. The other characters are very obviously pushed into the smoldering background.

I would recommend this as a buy if you have children, or if you are a big Winslet fan. The dialogue is very easy to follow if your kids cannot understand, or were afraid of, any other version. The cute little mice that accompany Ebenezer will surely delight them as well. They actually play a pivotal role of sorts towards the end of the movie. Winslet fans with be enamored with her singing debut on this soundtrack. She's actually very good! Her music video is also featured on the DVD extras.

I just watched this version of the classic tale, and I am moved to tears. Forget what others here have said commenting on the animation, and pay attention to the story. The animation was superb with great use of shading and cg blends.

More importantly, this film has heart. It emotes. It conveys with power the ideals Dickens intended in his tale. Honor Christmas everyday. Keep its meaning and joy in your heart.

The only other animated film I have ever seen that comes close to this level of stroy telling and emotion is Grave of the Fireflies.

Buy this one. You will not be dissapointed. Share it with the family. Watch it on Christmas Eve. Watch it in July. Watch it whenever.

~William Nichols~

This could have been an excellent animated version of "Christmas Carol" except the character design is seriously flawed. The backgrounds are beautiful, the story well told with some humerous additions, yet, in this day of CGI animation, the characters are FLAT. There is no shading of the characters, no folds in the clothing, even printed comic books have more dimention than these characters. This leads to a rather boring watching experience.

On the disc's special features, the original live opening and closing are shown. They really are wonderful sequences and there is no explanation of why they were cut for the DVD version. They explain why the two mice are used throughout the film. They are a delightful addition to the story.

There is a motivation as to why Scrooge becomes the unpleasant character he is concerning his loss of Belle in early life. She becomes a major character in this version and the idea works well even if it is not strictly Dickens.

This is a decent version of the classic that could have been really wonderful if the animators had fully used the CGI shadings that the characters really need.

This is a wonderfully complicated production using traditional themes from the original Dickens Story. Do not allow yourself to think this animated version to be a simple, modern cartoon. It is a version that will be entertaining to families, without being hollow. I encourage everyone that wants a traditional version of the story to consider this version... it is excellent....

I loved the new take on the script for this story. Tiny Tim's illness is explained in somewhat more depth, Scrooge secretly has a tiny warm spot in his heart just big enough to care about a tiny house mouse, some of his more brutal business practices are conducted right in front of the viewer, his fiance is introduced slightly differently, and other things that were "different" in this version that I liked just fine. What I didn't like was the decision to use animation techniques from the early '70's, and I don't mean Disney. I mean the worst of the worst of the bad Saturday morning cartoons. If the creators didn't want to go all the way into direct computer-generated animation, they could have at least chosen more recent animation techniques. Some of the voice-acting wasn't much better than what passed for "talent" in those old cartoons, either. Kate Winslet, Michael Gambon and Simon Callow were fine. Jane Horrocks was fine. Nicholas Cage was a bizarre choice: Jacob Marley's ghost is now an American ghost. I'm sure they didn't intend for Marley to have an American accent, but if Cage tried the British accent, he wasn't any more successful with it than Kevin Costner was in his Robin Hood film. The mice were cute at first, but the "cute" wore off very quickly and they just became annoying, though I imagine they would appeal to young children. I would have liked to see this script done differently; in live action or better animation, and with an all-(real)-British cast.

This is an older version of the Christmas Carol movie and is all animated. It's a very warm hearted movie. I watch it even when it's not Christmas because it helps me want to do good to people all year round!!! The little mice that are in the movie are very endearing as well. Make sure you check who the voices are, because there is another movie out with the same title staring Jim Carey but, in my opinion is not well done at all. Kate Winslet and Simon Cowell are the main voices in this movie and their voices are perfect for the part.

Enjoy.

I have almost every version of a Christmas Carol there is, and this is one of my favorites. I can watch it over and over again. It does take some liberties with the story, but all in all, it is great! For all ages...

Being 22, I grew up knowing the story of the Christmas Carol in movies and theatrical shows. I tend to think that the one I saw most - the 1992 release - as being my favorite, but I happened upon this version during a cable TV special. I first thought, Oh geez another animated project...but I was surprised by the sheer depth, character and beautiful animation of this movie. The actors who voice the characters are brilliant (and Kate Winslet gives a stellar performance on the theme song, "What If") and the mice bring much needed fun to a rather serious kind of story; the animation is interesting (especially during the Ghost of Present scenes with the swirling colors and images intermixed with the gorgeous music), although a bit old in comparison to today's standards it is still a nice combination and very decent for the early 2000s. Overall, it's one of the best versions of the timeless story--a family favorite for sure!