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A Christmas Carol (2009 film)

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A Christmas Carol
A man in a night gown and hat, flying through the sky. In the background is a clock tower covered in scaffolding.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Zemeckis
Screenplay byRobert Zemeckis
Based onA Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Presley
Edited byJeremiah O'Driscoll
Music byAlan Silvestri
Production
companies
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • November 3, 2009 (2009-11-03) (London)
  • November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$175–200 million[2][3]
Box office$325.3 million[4]

A Christmas Carol (also known as Disney's A Christmas Carol) is a 2009 American animated Christmas fantasy film produced, written for the screen and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Zemeckis's ImageMovers Digital, and released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novel of the same name. The film was animated through the process of motion capture, a technique used in ImageMovers's previous animated films including The Polar Express (2004), Monster House (2006), and Beowulf (2007), and stars the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn and Cary Elwes. It is Disney's third adaptation of the novel, following Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992).

A Christmas Carol was officially released in Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on November 6, 2009.[5] Its world premiere in London coincided with the switching-on of the annual Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas lights.[6][7] The film grossed $325 million on a $175–200 million budget and received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized its dark tone and script, but praised its visuals, Alan Silvestri's musical score, and the performances of Carrey and Oldman. The film and Mars Needs Moms (2011) were the only ImageMovers Digital projects made, before the studio was shut down by the Walt Disney Company for unsatisfactory box office results. Despite this it was nominated for Favorite Animated Movie and Jim Carrey won Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards.[8]

Plot

[edit]

On Christmas Eve 1843, in Victorian-era London, Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy, penny-pinching, and lonely moneylender, refuses to partake in the merriment of Christmas; he declines his cheerful nephew Fred's invitation to the annual Christmas dinner party and dismisses two gentlemen who are collecting money for charity. His loyal employee Bob Cratchit requests to not work on Christmas Day so he can spend time with his family, to which Scrooge reluctantly agrees. That night, Scrooge encounters the shackled ghost of his seven years dead business partner Jacob Marley in his home. Marley warns Scrooge to repent his ways or suffer a worse fate, stating that three spirits will visit him over three nights.

At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the candle-like Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows him visions of his early life, such as his lonely boarding school days, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan and his time as an apprentice under the benevolent Fezziwig. The young Scrooge met a young woman named Belle, with whom he falls in love, but his focus on accruing wealth drives them apart. Scrooge extinguishes the Ghost's flame and returns home.

Scrooge next meets the merry Ghost of Christmas Present, who shows how others find joy on Christmas Day. Scrooge and the Ghost visit Bob's house, learning his family is content with their small dinner and meagre home. Scrooge takes pity on Bob's ill son Tiny Tim, whom the rapidly ageing Ghost comments might not survive until next Christmas. They next visit Fred's house, where Fred insists the guests raise a toast to Scrooge in spite of his stinginess and general ill will. Before the Ghost withers away, he shows Scrooge the evils of "Ignorance" and "Want".

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes Scrooge into the future where a recent death elicits no sympathy from London's inhabitants. After being chased across London by the Ghost, Scrooge sees his charwoman Mrs. Dilber trade the deceased's possessions to fence named Old Joe. Scrooge sees the deceased's body but refuses to see his face. After being shown a couple relieved of the death, Scrooge asks to see tenderness connected to death; the Ghost shows Scrooge the Cratchits' home, where he sees Bob and his family mourning the death of Tiny Tim. Clarifying for the identity of the dead man, Scrooge is taken to a cemetery, where the Ghost points out a neglected grave, bearing the name of Scrooge and that he will die on Christmas Day, either in 1843, or any of the following years, as the snow stops short of revealing it. Scrooge desperately vows to change his ways before falling into his empty coffin above an orange flame of Hell; before he can impact the coffin, he finds himself returned to his bedroom in the present.

Discovering it is Christmas Day, a gleeful Scrooge begins spreading happiness and joy around London, anonymously sending the Cratchits a turkey dinner, finding one the portly gentleman and agreeing to give to charity, and then attending Fred's Christmas dinner. The next day, Scrooge raises Bob's salary and pledges his support for the Cratchits. Scrooge becomes a father figure to Tiny Tim, who overcomes his ailments and is restored to health, and now treats everyone with kindness, generosity, and compassion, thus embodying the Christmas spirit.

Cast

[edit]
  • Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge, a stingy, penny-pinching, and lonely old man whose sheer miserly nature leads him to despise Christmas and all things which engender happiness.
    Carrey also portrays:
  • Gary Oldman as
    • Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's poor underpaid clerk.
    • Jacob Marley, the ghost of Scrooge's former business partner who is bound in chains.
    • Oldman also provides the motion capture for Tiny Tim, Cratchit's youngest son.
  • Colin Firth as Fred, Scrooge's cheerful nephew and only living relative. He is the son of Scrooge's long dead sister Fan.
  • Bob Hoskins as Mr. Nigel Fezziwig, the proprietor of a warehouse business for whom Scrooge worked as a young apprentice.
    • Hoskins also portrays Old Joe, a fence who buys the belongings of the deceased Scrooge from Mrs. Dilber.
  • Robin Wright Penn as
    • Fan, Scrooge's beloved late sister who was the mother of Fred.
    • Belle, Scrooge's neglected fiancée.
  • Cary Elwes as Portly Gentleman #1/Dick Wilkins/Mad Fiddler/Guest #2/Business Man #1
    • Elwes would also act as a stand-in for Scrooge or the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present in scenes where these characters appear together, as all were portrayed by Jim Carrey.
  • Fionnula Flanagan as Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's charwoman.
  • Steve Valentine as Funerary Undertaker/Topper
  • Daryl Sabara as Undertaker's Apprentice/Tattered Caroler #1/Beggar Boy #1/Peter Cratchit/Well-Dressed Caroler #1
  • Sage Ryan as Tattered Caroler #2
  • Amber Gainey Meade as Tattered Caroler #3/ Well-Dressed Caroler #2
  • Ryan Ochoa as Tattered Caroler #4/Beggar Boy #2/Young Cratchit Boy/Ignorance Boy/Young Boy with Sleigh/Tiny Tim
  • Bobbi Page as Tattered Caroler #5/Well-Dressed Caroler #3
  • Ron Bottitta as Tattered Caroler #6/Well-Dressed Caroler #4
  • Sammi Hanratty as Beggar Boy #3/Young Cratchit Girl/Want Girl
  • Julian Holloway as Fat Cook/Portly Gentleman #2/Business Man #3
  • Jacquie Barnbrook as Mrs. Allie Fezziwig/Fred's sister-in-law/Well-Dressed Caroler #5
  • Lesley Manville as Mrs. Emily Cratchit
  • Molly C. Quinn as Belinda Cratchit
  • Fay Masterson as Martha Cratchit/Guest #1/Caroline
  • Leslie Zemeckis as Janet Holywell, Fred's wife.
  • Paul Blackthorne as Guest #3/Business Man #2
  • Michael Hyland as Guest #4
  • Kerry Hoyt as Adult Ignorance
  • Julene Renee-Preciado as Adult Want

Production

[edit]

After making The Polar Express (2004), Robert Zemeckis stated that he "fell in love with digital theater" and tried finding an avenue in order to use the format again.[9] He eventually decided that an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas would be an opportunity to achieve this.[9] Upon rereading the story, he realized that "the story has never been realized in a way that it was actually imagined by Charles Dickens as he wrote it," as well as that "it's as if he wrote this story to be a movie because it's so visual and so cinematic."[9] Zemeckis has stated previously that A Christmas Carol is one of his favorite stories dealing with time travel.[10] Ebenezer Scrooge actor Jim Carrey has described the film as "a classical version of A Christmas Carol [...] There are a lot of vocal things, a lot of physical things, I have to do. Not to mention doing the accents properly, the English, Irish accents […] I want it to fly in the UK. I want it to be good and I want them to go, 'Yeah, that's for real.' We were very true to the book. It's beautiful. It's an incredible film."[11]

The Walt Disney Company partnered with Amtrak to promote the film with a special nationwide exhibition train tour, starting at Los Angeles in May 2009 and visiting 40 cities, finishing in New York City in November.[12][13]

Soundtrack

[edit]
A Christmas Carol
Soundtrack album by
Alan Silvestri
Released3 November 2009
Recorded2009
VenueLos Angeles, California
StudioThe Newman Scoring Stage
GenreSoundtrack album
Length45:27
LabelWalt Disney Records
ProducerAlan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri film soundtrack chronology
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Score from the Motion Picture
(2009) 		A Christmas Carol
(2009) 		The A-Team: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2010)

The film's music was written, composed, orchestrated and conducted by Alan Silvestri. The film's music was also orchestrated by William Ross, Conrad Pope and John Ashton Thomas and performed by London Voices and The Hollywood Studio Symphony.[14] Much of the film's music was based on actual Christmas carols such as "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen", "Deck the Halls", "O Come, All Ye Faithful", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World". The film's theme song, titled "God Bless Us Everyone", was written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silverstri and performed by Italian classical crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli. The film's soundtrack album was recorded in 2009 at The Newman Scoring Stage in Los Angeles, California. The film's soundtrack album was also released on 3 November 2009 by Walt Disney Records.

"Present" by JUJU is the theme song for the Japanese version.[15]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."A Christmas Carol Main Title"4:21
2."Scrooge Counts Money"0:48
3."Marley's Ghost Visits Scrooge"6:12
4."The Ghost of Christmas Past"4:58
5."Let Us See Another Christmas"1:18
6."Flight To Fezziwigs"1:27
7."First Waltz"0:59
8."Another Idol Has Replaced Me"1:40
9."Touch My Robe"3:41
10."The Clock Tower"1:50
11."Carriage Chase"3:24
12."Old Joe and Mrs. Dilber"2:28
13."This Dark Chamber"1:56
14."None Of Us Will Ever Forget"1:33
15."Who Was That Lying Dead?"3:08
16."I'm Still Here"1:26
17."Ride On My Good Man"1:04
18."God Bless Us Everyone" (performed by Andrea Bocelli)3:15
Total length:45:27

Release

[edit]

A Christmas Carol opened London on November 3, 2009, and was theatrically released on November 6, 2009, in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Home media

[edit]

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on November 16, 2010[16] in a single-disc DVD, two-disc 2D Blu-ray/DVD combo and in a four-disc combo pack that includes a Blu-ray 3D, a regular Blu-ray, a DVD and a digital copy. This marked the first time that a film was available in Blu-ray 3D the same day as a standard Blu-ray,[citation needed] as well as Disney's first in the Blu-ray 3D market along with Alice in Wonderland (2010).[17] The DVD contains deleted scenes and two featurettes called "On Set with Sammi" and "Capturing A Christmas Carol". The Blu-ray also has a "Digital Advent Calendar" and the featurette "Behind the Carol: The Full Motion-Capture Experience". The Blu-ray 3D has an exclusive 3D game called "Mr. Scrooge's Wild Ride".

The film grossed $69 million in home sales.[18]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

A Christmas Carol grossed $137.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $187.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $325.3 million.[3] Due to its high production and marketing costs, the film lost the studio an estimated $50–100 million, and forced Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group and the head of worldwide marketing, to resign.[19]

The film opened at #1 in 3,683 theaters, grossing $30.1 million its opening weekend, with an average of $8,159 per theater.[20]

In the United Kingdom, A Christmas Carol topped the box office on two occasions; the first was when it opened, the second was five weeks later when it leapfrogged box office chart toppers 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Paranormal Activity despite family competition from Nativity!, another Christmas-themed film.

Critical response

[edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 53% of 202 critics have given the film a positive review with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman."[21] On Metacritic, another aggregator, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[22] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[23]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, calling it "an exhilarating visual experience".[24] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, applauding the film as "a marvelous and touching yuletide toy of a movie".[25] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film 3/5 stars and stated the film "is well-crafted but artless, detailed but lacking soul."[26] Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com gave the film a mixed review claiming the movie "is a triumph of something—but it's certainly not the Christmas spirit."[27] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote in his review that the film's "tone is joyless, despite an extended passage of bizarre laughter, several dazzling flights of digital fancy, a succession of striking images and Jim Carrey's voicing of Scrooge plus half a dozen other roles."[28] The Daily Telegraph reviewer Tim Robey wrote, "How much is gained by the half-real visual style for this story is open to question—the early scenes are laborious and never quite alive, and the explosion of jollity at the end lacks the virtue of being funny."[29] Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian also criticized the technology: "The hi-tech sheen is impressive but in an unexciting way. I wanted to see real human faces convey real human emotions."[30] Time Out London praised the film for sticking to Dickens' original dialogue but also questioned the technology by saying, "To an extent, this 'Christmas Carol' is a case of style—and stylisation—overwhelming substance."[31]

In 2019, Robert Keeling of Den of Geek praised the animation.[32] He felt Scrooge’s encounter with the final ghost to be “a bit tedious, as it soon becomes an elaborate chase scene purely designed to show off the 3D” but called the film “an enjoyable and memorable version.”[32]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Award Category Recipients Result
2010 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie Jim Carrey Won
Favorite Animated Movie A Christmas Carol Nominated
36th Saturn Awards Best Animated Feature Nominated

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "A CHRISTMAS CAROL (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  2. ^ Barnes, Brooks (October 26, 2009). "Disney Hopes Christmas Carol Lives Up to Its Blockbuster Marketing". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "A Christmas Carol (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 29, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  4. ^ "A Christmas Carol". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  5. ^ McClintock, Pamela (February 7, 2008). "Studios rush to fill '09 schedule". Variety. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "Dickens theme for festive lights". BBC News. September 13, 2009. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  7. ^ Hall, James (September 12, 2009). "Disney's A Christmas Carol will be theme for London's Christmas lights". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  8. ^ "Disney to shut ImageMovers Digital studio". Los Angeles Times. March 13, 2010. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Robert Zemeckis Discusses Disney's a Christmas Carol". Movieweb. November 16, 2010. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  10. ^ Making the Trilogy: Part 1 featurette on the Back to the Future Trilogy DVD box set.
  11. ^ "In the Future: Jim Carrey". ComingSoon.net. March 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  12. ^ Young, Paul (October 20, 2009). "All A Bored Disney's 'A Christmas Carol' Train Tour". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  13. ^ ""A Christmas Carol" - Train Tour Update". Jim Carrey Online. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  14. ^ "Alan Silvestri scores A Christmas Carol". ScoringSessions.com. December 22, 2009. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "映画『Disney's クリスマス・キャロル』ジャパン・プレミアに出演決定！ | Juju | ソニーミュージックオフィシャルサイト".
  16. ^ Orndorf, Brian (November 8, 2010). "Disney's A Christmas Carol (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  17. ^ Garrett, Diane (January 7, 2010). "3D for the home coming". Variety. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  18. ^ "Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Eller, Claudia (November 10, 2009). "Disney Studios president leaves". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  20. ^ Wigler, Josh (November 9, 2009). "'A Christmas Carol' Defeats 'This Is It' At Box Office". MTV.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  21. ^ "Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "A Christmas Carol Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  23. ^ "Cinemascore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times. November 5, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  25. ^ "Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. November 6, 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  26. ^ Neumaier, Joe (November 5, 2009). "Disney's A Christmas Carol in Disney Digital 3D: Blah, humbug! 'A Christmas Carol's 3-D spin on Dickens well done in parts but lacks spirit". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  27. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (November 5, 2009). "Disney's "A Christmas Carol": Bah, humbug!". Salon.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  28. ^ Morgenstern, Joe (November 6, 2009). "'A Christmas Carol': Carrey, Disney Play Scrooge". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  29. ^ Robey, Tim (November 5, 2009). "A Christmas Carol, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  30. ^ Peter Bradshaw (November 6, 2009). "Film review: A Christmas Carol | Film". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  31. ^ "A Christmas Carol Review. Movie Reviews - Film - Time Out London". Timeout.com. November 3, 2009. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  32. ^ a b Keeling, Robert (December 13, 2019). "A Christmas Carol: The Best and Worst Adaptations". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
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