A Christmas Carol (2009)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel)
Robert Zemeckis (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Plot Keywords:

Scrooge | Christmas | Miser | Apparition | Victorian Era

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Scrooge / Ghost of Christmas Past / Scrooge as a Young Boy / Scrooge as a Teenage Boy / Scrooge as a Young Man / Scrooge as a Middle-Aged Man / Ghost of Christmas Present / Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Steve Valentine	...	Funerary Undertaker / Topper
Daryl Sabara	...	Undertaker's Apprentice / Tattered Caroler / Beggar Boy / Peter Cratchit / Well-Dressed Caroler
Sage Ryan	...	Tattered Caroler
Amber Gainey Meade	...	Tattered Caroler / Well-Dressed Caroler
Ryan Ochoa	...	Tattered Caroler / Beggar Boy / Young Cratchit Boy / Ignorance Boy / Young Boy with Sleigh / Tiny Tim
Bobbi Page	...	Tattered Caroler / Well-Dressed Caroler
Ron Bottitta	...	Tattered Caroler / Well-Dressed Caroler
Sammi Hanratty	...	Beggar Boy / Young Cratchit Girl / Want Girl
Julian Holloway	...	Fat Cook / Portly Gentleman #2 / Business Man #3
Gary Oldman	...	Bob Cratchit / Marley / Tiny Tim
Colin Firth	...	Fred
Cary Elwes	...	Portly Gentleman #1 / Dick Wilkins / Mad Fiddler / Guest #2 / Business Man #1
Robin Wright Penn	...	Fan / Belle
Bob Hoskins	...	Mr. Fezziwig / Old Joe

Also Known As:

A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Disney's A Christmas Carol (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for scary sequences and images.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45640) | UK:PG | Finland:K-11 | Norway:11 | South Korea:All | Ireland:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Japan:G | Singapore:PG | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:9 | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Chile:TE | Spain:7 | Iceland:7 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Mexico:A | Portugal:M/6 | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 (re-rating after appeal)

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Jim Carrey, who plays the gnarled, elderly Scrooge, is 16 months younger than Colin Firth, who plays the young, strapping Fred.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the first spirit visits Scrooge, servants' bells are shown mysteriously jingling in his bedroom. Bells tell the servants which room of the mansion is calling for them, and weren't normally placed in the master's bedroom. They were usually installed in the kitchen, the pantry, or the servants' chambers. However, Dickens explained that Scrooge's large house had been subdivided and let out as office space except for a "suite of rooms" that Scrooge kept to himself as living quarters. Dickens states that there was but one single disused bell in Scrooge's chambers - which "communicated for a forgotten purpose" with another chamber higher in the building. Dickens notes other bells in the house also began to ring. Disney chose to put all the bells in the room with Scrooge, which is inaccurate according to the Dickens work and contrary to the way servants' bells were normally placed.

Quotes:

Fred: Don't be cross, Uncle!
Ebenezer Scrooge: What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)

A mostly loyal, thus successful, adaptation

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is perhaps the most recognized story about the holiday within our culture and it's also one of our definitive tales of redemption regardless of season. Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol is a fairly loyal film adaptation that succeeds, for the most part, because of exactly that. Dickens created an enduring masterwork that has the same amount of thematic resonance today as it did when it was originally published in the 19th century. Simply retelling this classic story will make for an enjoyable film. When Zemeckis stays true to the source material and tackles the themes of selfishness, regret, and, ultimately, redemption, the film works very well. The 3D animation is also truly stunning and allows the viewer to enter this beautifully crafted Victorian era world. However, the film does occasionally diverge from Dickens' story and becomes a rather crass corporate product. For instance, there's an unnecessary and tedious chase sequence towards the end of the film. Still, because of its mostly faithful treatment to the original work and the wonderful animation, this version of A Christmas Carol is quite satisfying.