By Anna Ornelas (Staff Writer)
It happens every December: a selfish old man who hates the world finds the real meaning of Christmas.
The story of Ebenezer Scrooge continues to be part of a Christmas tradition.
But how can a classic story such as A Christmas Carol become new and fresh for a younger generation? Include Disney magic and Jim Carrey.
The tale by Charles Dickens is the story of a cold-hearted man who has to face ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come. The ghosts remind him of who he used to be, who he has become and how his future will play out if he does not change his ways.
Moviemakers gave the story a 3-D makeover, courtesy of director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy).
The story loses no quality, even with Carrey playing four roles, including Scrooge and the three ghosts who haunt him.
The script sticks closely to the actual novel, and it’s a relief to see that Disney did not mess this one up with a Hannah Montana-like song.
The visual effects are very realistic. The texture on the character’s faces, down to the snow they step on, make the world in the film believable.
The sound effects were as realistic. As an audience member you could feel how out of breath Scrooge was walking up a cold staircase on a snowy winter night. Since Disney did not have aits usual happy-go-lucky soundtrack, most of the music was performed by an orchestra and was filled with Christmas-themed melodies, which suited the story very well.
Although this movie is aimed at children, the language sounded almost too Victorian. The content was close to Dickens’ novel and at times it seemed only the adults in the audience understood what the characters were saying.
That said, A Christmas Carol is worth watching for its refreshingly true-to-the-original take on the classic story.
