A Christmas Carol (Blu-ray)

While it’s admirable that Robert Zemeckis is still wholly dedicated (obsessed, some would say) with CGI and making his computer generated movies as realistic-looking as possible, he’s still letting his CG fixation dominate proceedings, placing such key elements as entertainment and enjoyment  lower down on his priorities list. At least this time around he has Dickens on his side, complete with a feel-good tale that’s almost impossible to screw up.

You know the story. Ebenezer Scrooge is a tight-fisted misery guts with no compassion for his fellow man, especially during the festive season of goodwill. When visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge is warned to change his ways, and is informed that he will be visited by three ghosts on the eve of Christmas, each offering an insight into Scrooge’s life that will hopefully amend his pitiless life and give him a chance of redemption. 

Sticking close to the story and proving that old Dickens certainly knew a thing or two when weaving a timeless tale, A Christmas Carol is a faithful adaptation that’s dripping with Dickensian atmosphere. Still, despite the costly effects and all-star cast (Carrey does the majority of the voices to be fair), Zemeckis’s take on this Christmas classic lacks the fun and frantic vigour of say, A Muppet Christmas Carol. While Zemeckis manages to shoe-horn in a number of sequences to spice things up for the rugrats and make full use of the 3D technology, the muppety festive treat will still be the Christmas Carol of choice for many a child (and adult for that matter).

As a testament to the advancements in CGI animation and Zemeckis’s passion, A Christmas Carol is quite a feat. Though that creepy look to some of the slightly dead-eyed, bloated characters still persists (Colin Firth’s ‘Fred’ looks fairly unsettling), A Christmas Carol is generally breathtaking in its technical beauty, with Scrooge himself an impressive achievement in intricately detailed CG.

Away from the 3D (the film is also released in its 3D form as well as this 2D Blu-ray and DVD edition) and in hi-def, the superb animation is easier to appreciate, and the Blu-ray provides ample opportunity to savour the visual delights of Zemeckis’s film. The London exteriors are brought to life with exceptional detail and life-like texture, and while the picture is often dark and a little drab, the contrast and clarity during both interior and exterior shots is fairly breathtaking. Detail on characters’ faces is remarkable, with every spot, freckle, wrinkle and hair rendered with supreme clarity and crispness.

The audio offers clear dialogue and a dynamic surround sound experience during the more vigorous moments when the sound effects and lively musical score chime in.

The special features aren’t as good as you would have hoped. In fact, they’re pretty terrible, and include a few short featurettes (most of which are pointless and utterly random – who the hell are Dylan and Cole anyway?!) plus a bonus copy of the film on DVD.

Overall verdict: A stunning hi-def festive treat, but the disc itself is lacking in extras.

Special Features:
‘Capturing Dickens: A Novel Retelling’ Featurette
‘On Set With Sammi’ Featurette
‘Discover 3D Blu-ray with Timon and Pumba’ Featurete
‘Dylan & Cole Sprouse: Blu-ray Is Suite’ Featurette

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths