Picture from Disney

Another adaptation crossed off the list last night when we watched the 2009 Disney version of A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey as Scrooge and the ghosts. This was made using the pointless motion capture technique where the director can't decide whether or not to make a live action film or a cartoon and is rather dark in tone for a Disney film. It is rated as PG which is fair enough and I'm pleased Disney didn't attempt to Disney it up and make it less frightening. Charles Dickens didn't write it as a children's book he wrote it as a ghost story with a message of redemption. Although an enjoyable enough take on the story and well 'acted', it is a bit too reliant on clever shots as if the director wanted to get his moneys worth out of the effects. 

Even though we know the story inside out I find that I can watch an adaptation of A Christmas Carol as if I am watching a totally new film. Although they are all the same, they are all different to an extent. The beauty of the story is that it is out of copyright and Dickens is dead (to begin with) so can't complain, therefore each new adapter has the licence to re-tell the story providing they stick to certain points. These certain points are the beginning middle and end that carry the story along. Each story needs to start with the set up of Scrooge being lonely and miserly with the conversations between him and his nephew followed by the charity collectors. A screenwriter must then weave in the visit from Jacob Marley followed by the three ghostly visits and end on Scrooge making amends with Bob Cratchit. Different versions have given us different revelations, back-stories and circumstances. We are used to the story starting seven years after the death of Jacob Marley yet in this version Scrooge is seen at the funeral director signing the death certificate and stealing the pennies from Marley's eyes. 

This is a version that I feel I only watched because I am obsessed with completion so I doubt that I would have given it the time of day if I wasn't into the story.

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