A Christmas Carol: Why Scrooge Needs a New Nighty

My favorite note I wrote during this film is by far, “Best part – always Scrooge’s nighty.” This jotted phrase, while perhaps silly to an outsider, actually sums up my entire view of the movie. This film had its moments–spooky spirits and textbook declarations (re: “Bah humbug,” “God bless us…everyone!) well done all in the name of Dickens-ism. But, like Scrooge’s absurd nightgown, these moments are always the best part of any rendition of this tale. I was hoping for something new… and I did not find it in the 2009 adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Originally, the idea of A Christmas Carol redone (with an animated Jim Carey as multiple characters!) sounded like a fun and original spruce to the classic Dickens tale. But there are literally 20+ adaptations to the novel. This number does not include theater productions, television, opera and even radio programs! That’s a lot of competition for Disney’s latest project–including my personal favorite, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Call me crazy, but the studio and director Robert Zemeckis were going to have to work pretty hard to keep up with Kermit and Miss Piggy.

There are a couple routes to go in the remake business, but all of them seem to follow one of two (fairly obvious) paths: doing something drastically fresh or sticking to the more classic interpretation. If you aren’t going to follow the former, then it’s pretty critical that there not be 98,273 other versions to steal your thunder. This is my main complaint about the 2009 adaptation. While it wasn’t hugely impressive in its its off the wall or funky interpretation (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory circa 2005), it also wasn’t traditional enough to be beloved for that factor either (Unless, of course, you’re remaking The Parent Trap, and you have a once cute and lovable Lindsay Lohan to ensure success). Instead, this production remained a happy medium of reinvention. Although this medium wasn’t very happy at all.

The first attempt in keeping up with other versions was to recruit a highly star-studded cast–Jim Carey, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn. With recognizable voices, some of the animations felt a little less cartoony. However, Carey’s performance was probably the only stand-out performance–utilizing his very over the top style of acting to make Scrooge and the three ghosts come to life. In fact, the characters were all very lifelike. I didn’t feel that the animation allowed us to lose the realness of the time period or emotions. Scrooge was sufficiently humbug-ish and Tiny Tim was adorably hopeful.

Where the movie really shone though was in its artistry. The scenes were beautifully crafted, reminiscent of The Polar Express–another creation of Zemeckis. The whole film felt true to Disney realism, full of whimsical fantasy expressed through the technology of modern animation.

I do want to put it out there that the Ghost of Christmas Past was just plain weird. He looked a little like a drug-induced candle, his head literally set aflame. This was immensely confusing to me. Christmas Present’s ghost was jolly as ever, and the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come was iconically mysterious in his hood. Making the first ghost so strange only could have worked if the other two were equally recreated.

Also, for a children’s movie, the ghost of Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley,  was awfully scary. Even I jumped a mile in the theater when the door knocker came to life. Would this nightmare-ish sense that takes place through 80% of the movie’s spirit sequence frighten kids? Parents, be forewarned.

I didn’t feel invested in this movie at all, and though I appreciate the classic story line very much, I wanted to see it redone somehow–that hope was not fulfilled. This was the same old Scrooge, the same old story, and despite the fact that Disney can make anything come to life on screen via aesthetics, this was the same old, mediocre adaptation.