One can only guess that the makers of this movie were trying to appeal to a very young audience. Many animated films have appealed to adults as well over the years, but it was because of their outstanding productions or, in more recent decades, with some witty and sassy dialog that would be over the heads of youngsters in the 20th century. But when it came to a making a cartoon version of a traditional classic - Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," it didn't work.
In spite of a huge cast of big-name stars as voices of the characters, "Christmas Carol: The Movie," turns out to be little more than a long drawn-out, lifeless and sometimes dull mostly animated film. Oh, it has sentiment all right, but little else. Some other reviewers before me have observed that it misses the punch and emphasis of the classic story. I think that's due mostly to the nature of animation. While feature length films like "Bambi," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and others deal with emotions, the subjects of good and bad are subjugated to sentimentalism. There's little or no morale or deep substance to such films. And, because it is animated, one can see that this film is a nice little fairy tale, but not a classic morality tale as Dickens wrote it and as it has been read, told and retold and filmed many times since he penned the story in 1843.
This is not a Charlie Brown Christmas story, or a fairy tale that can be nicely done in animation. Generations have known and grown up with the story and, hopefully, know it as more than a sentimental fairy tale. My four stars are for the performers who voiced the roles. The film appears to have been a big flop at the box office.
In spite of a huge cast of big-name stars as voices of the characters, "Christmas Carol: The Movie," turns out to be little more than a long drawn-out, lifeless and sometimes dull mostly animated film. Oh, it has sentiment all right, but little else. Some other reviewers before me have observed that it misses the punch and emphasis of the classic story. I think that's due mostly to the nature of animation. While feature length films like "Bambi," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and others deal with emotions, the subjects of good and bad are subjugated to sentimentalism. There's little or no morale or deep substance to such films. And, because it is animated, one can see that this film is a nice little fairy tale, but not a classic morality tale as Dickens wrote it and as it has been read, told and retold and filmed many times since he penned the story in 1843.
This is not a Charlie Brown Christmas story, or a fairy tale that can be nicely done in animation. Generations have known and grown up with the story and, hopefully, know it as more than a sentimental fairy tale. My four stars are for the performers who voiced the roles. The film appears to have been a big flop at the box office.