I still have no idea why it took me so long to get around to watching the 2009 A Christmas Carol movie! It is written and directed by Robert Zemeckis so that alone should have been reason enough for me to give it a try. With an all-star cast featuring, Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, and Carey Elwes to name a few, this is a very well-made movie that is worth a watch over the holidays.
How to Download A Christmas Carol
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also other Robert Zemeckis films that we have reviewed, for example Back to the Future (1985), Forrest Gump (1994), or Pinocchio (2022).
The Movie Review
Now, I think the reason that it took me so long to eventually get around to watching this is the art style. A Christmas Carol is a 3D computer-animated movie and they have gone for a more realistic look. I would probably put it in the same sort of category as something like The Polar Express (2004).
The thing is, this “art style” I feel is something that splits people right down the middle. I think at first, I was not too keen on it, but by the time the movie finished, I had warmed to it and I actually think the look of the movie fits the story very well. Even over a decade later, the movie holds up very well in the looks department.
The voice cast here is incredible, Jim Carrey as Scrooge is the lead and awesome, but he also does the voices for the Ghosts of Christmas as well which is fun. The whole cast does a great job of bringing this tale to life and with most of the cast being British, I feel that it adds real authenticity to the movie.
As far as the actual movie goes, A Christmas Carol 2009 is a very faithful adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens tale. The thing is, how many movies have been made about A Christmas Carol? While the movie looks good and has some pretty spectacular special effects, apart from this it is just another retelling of the classic story.
Do not get me wrong, this is a fantastic story and something that is entertaining from start to end. However, it never feels like it is doing something great with the story to stand out from the 1 million other adaptations of this tale. If you like the story of A Christmas Carol, you will like this as that is all it really is.
I know that may sound a bit harsh and I am sure Robert Zemeckis wanted to stay as faithful to the classic as possible. However, apart from the visual flair, I would love to have seen some Zemeckis magic sprinkled over the story as well. It almost feels like he was playing it a tad too safe with the story.
There are certain movies that we watch every Christmas such as Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, Gremlins, and many more. While I enjoyed this retelling of A Christmas Carol, I do not think it will be a movie that I watch every Christmas. Each Christmas we watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and Mickey’s Christmas Carol and I could not see this replacing either one of those.
