A beautifully animated film that is fairly faithful to the original novel, but it is a somber and even horrifying presentation not appropriate for young children.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a dour and penny pinching old man who would literally take the pennies off the eyes of a corpse to keep them from being wasted. Another Christmas is approaching without Ebenezer learning like anybody else he has a heart, though he locked his long ago. Also approaching on this eve is the Ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley to show him the error of his ways and his torment in death if he does not change his ways. Jacob also tells him of three ghost who will visit him this night. One each of Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas yet to come. Ebenezer will look upon his life with eyes he has refused to open for so long, and even see into his future on this night.Disney's A Christmas Carol is a skillfully animated and directed film. A talented cast of actors lend their voices to an even more powerful artistic rendering of Dickens' England and the characters who inhabit his story. Like any other adaptation it takes its own liberties with the story. Even at that it is still pretty faithful to the book. Maybe that is its failing too as it loses itself in a dark, humorless and even horrifying at times world akin to Dickens' own world he wrote about of poverty, despair and debtors prison. Beyond that the imagery of some of the main characters within the story certainly could inspire nightmares.
That is fine if you're making a Tales from the Crypt episode, but this is a Disney animated film and somewhere along the way Disney forgot who they are and who their audience is. This would be great for adults who don't mind the lack of humor, but for children (you know, Disney, like your target audience) this is not something I would recommend unless I'm looking to scare the hell out of them.
My Rating: 3 Fingers
This is available on Blu-ray, DVD and Instant Video.
Toxic Fletch
