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Disney’s
A Christmas Carol in 3D review - by
Laura Louise Clarke
Seen at Cineworld, Shrewsbury at 8:40pm on Thursday 12th November
2009
Currently showing at Cineworld, Shrewsbury
is Disney’s A Christmas Carol in 3D. I had been waiting
for a film to come out in 3D that I actually wanted to see
and not just for the extra effects. As soon as I heard the
well loved A Christmas Carol story was to come out in 3D I
knew this was the one to see and try 3D cinema for the first
time. Not to mention the fact that the 1984 A Christmas Carol
was filmed in Shrewsbury. It all seemed very apt.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol is quite dark as Christmas
films go, but in a good way and it all ends on an extremely
festive note. The urge to get home and erect our Christmas
tree was difficult to resist. The computer animation was especially
good for hair and fabric movement, close ups of hands and
most character faces. In the scene when we see the young Scrooge
alone in a classroom, you really have to remind yourself it
is computer generated as the effects are that good.
Jim Carrey, rather impressively, does nine character voices
for the film – however none of them sound alike. It
seems his acting brilliance transcends even just via his voice.
Towards the end of the film, Scrooge has an in joke about
it being Jim’s voice when he says after a very The Mask
laugh – “I’ve heard that laugh before!”
Even if it wasn’t meant to be an in joke for Carrey
fans – that’s how I took it. Like so many A Christmas
Carol adaptations, this one focuses on Scrooge and the vast
majority of the film shows the ghostly visits Scrooge encounters.
This is no bad thing though and understandable as these ghostly
goings on lend themselves well to the medium of 3D effects.
Does this film stay true to Dickens? I will be honest, I have
little idea if it does or not – having not read the
book (shame on me – I know! I plan to read the book
immediately) but I have seen many A Christmas Carol adaption
films and the overall plot seems to ring true. I’m sure
Dickens would think this film was marvellous at bringing to
life his ideas, if not his precise words. The story that Dickens
wrote in 1838 remains timeless.
The film is a PG rating and suggests children around 8 years
old and above should enjoy it safely. At around three times
that age, some parts did make me jump but nothing came close
to terrifying me and I’ll sleep easy tonight. So I’d
go along with the guide that over 8 year olds should be fine
to watch this movie.
The computer animation was very impressive; ignoring the 3D
elements, so I am sure the 2D version is very impressive.
You can however tell the screen play was written with 3D in
mind. Therefore I’d suggest that anyone really wanting
to see this film should spend that little extra and go for
the magical 3D option.
This Disney A Christmas Carol film is directed by Robert Zemeckis
who proved his 3D and computer animation skills in the 2004
The Polar Express and further in the 2007 Beowulf. It is an
exhilarating visual experience and proves for the third time
he's one of the few directors who knows what he's doing with
3D.
Depth of field scenes; where you have a character in the foreground,
another in the middle and a further one in the background,
work really well for the 3D effects. The 3D element really
gives perspective to the scene and you get far more sense
of the distance between characters within the shot. The best
use of depth of field in this film is during the festive dining
table scenes. You also get to feel you are flying over rooftops
and viewing the world in bird’s eye view. But it’s
when a characters face or hand reaches right out into the
audience that things get interesting.
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3D effects, to my mind, are best viewed when you sit in the
middle or the right of the auditorium but you’ll still
get about 90% of the effects from sitting anywhere. You have
to buy the 3D glasses once then you can take them back each
time you see a 3D film – but you still have to pay a
little extra to watch the 3D films even if you already have
the glasses. If the effects don’t seem great try closing
your eyes for 5 seconds to let them adjust – I found
I had to do this about three / four times during the film.
You also get a few 3D film trailers before a 3D film starts.
I am most excited about seeing the forthcoming Tim Burton
Alice in Wonderful starring Johnny Depp in 3D. The trailer
alone blew me away with the 3D effects – especially
the Cheshire Cat seeming to hover above the cinema audience
with his cunning smile.
Cineworld – parking a plenty,
a pub (Beaten Track), an all you can eat Chinese buffet (Dragon
King) and a Nandos surround the cinema so you are spoilt for
dining choices. Walking distance of the town centre / train
and bus stations.
To experience the thrills and spills of 3D without leaving
the comfort of your sofa why not try and catch some of the
Channel 4 3D Week programmes and music concerts. Starting
on Monday 16th November 2009 on Channel 4. You can pick up
your free Channel 4 3D glasses at your local Sainsbury’s
store.
To sum it up - Disney’s A Christmas Carol takes you
on a magical 3D ride where dark themes are dealt with but
leaves you with all the festive cheer you need this Christmas
season.
Reviewed by
Laura Louise Clarke - November 2009
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