A Christmas Carol 3D

Review by Sean Lynch

Hollywood is increasingly turning to the world of literature to make up for the lack of ideas (and built in audiences) that are currently on offer in the world of cinema.

Normally it's a modern favourite, like Harry Potter or My Sister's Keeper, but in these "harsh economic times" it seems only appropriate for one of the world's richest corporations to delve into a 100 year old book and give it a face lift.

Disney's long gestating remake of A Christmas Carol is a multi-sensory adventure re-envisioned by Academy Award winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (or as I prefer to call him - that bad ass mofo that made Back To The Fututre), which captures the fantastical essence of the classic Charles Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3D motion picture event.

For those who aren't up to scrath with the classic Christmas tale, I'm assuming the only reason you wouldn't be would because you've yet to been born, the flick follows Ebenezer Scrooge (a multi-tasking Jim Carrey) who begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth).

But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.

The biggest surprise here is just how dark and scary A Christams Carol actually is, especially when this is being marketed as a major Christmas Disney release. It very much sits in the Harry Potter 4 zone as opposed to Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past areana.

The 3D is simply amazing, with the technology at it's best when giving close up to Carrey's wrinkled face. That said, there are several lesser characters (which obviously didn't recieve as much attention by the animators) who do look rather creepy and odd and feel like they should be in one of the cut scenes from a mid-90s video game.

It is a film which may rumble along a little to slowly for today's "modern child on the go", but at the very least, A Christmas Carol is unlike anything else out there - and in no way what you might expect from it.

3.5 out of 5

A Christmas Carol 3D
Australian release: 5th October, 2009
Official Site: A Christmas Carol 3D
Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Michael J. Fox
Director: Robert Zemeckis