Disney's A Christmas Carol

Disney's intricate, ingenious interpretation of Dickens' classic tale of an old miser's redemption transforms the story into a fantasy-adventure, envisioned by one of Hollywood's most innovative directors, Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express), with versatile Jim Carrey not only voicing grinch-like Ebenezer Scrooge but also all of the Christmas ghosts. Colin Firth is the ever-optimistic nephew Fred, while Gary Oldman takes on three roles: Scrooge's faithful clerk Bob Cratchit, the irrepressible Tiny Tim, and long-dead business partner Joseph Marley, whose ghostly visit to Scrooge's bedchamber initiates a wild, time-traveling thrill-ride as Scrooge is forced to confront his past, present, and future in a desperate attempt to gain a reprieve for his miserable, vengeful soul. Zemeckis and his team have achieved amazingly detailed, articulated animation, utilizing performance-capture technology, which accurately records an actor's facial expressions/movements and translates them into a digital mode with key-frame artists embellishing the image. Add to that some inventive production design that re-imagines Victorian London and gives the viewer the illusion of soaring through the city streets and flying above the rooftops, and you have 21st-century technical wizardry nicely married to Dickens' 19th-century dramatic narrative. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “Capturing Dickens: A Novel Retelling” making-of featurette (15 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), an “On Set with Sammi: A Kid's Eye View” segment featuring young actor Sammi Hanratty (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Behind-the-Carol: The Full Motion Capture Experience” picture-in-picture mode with optional commentary by filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, a “Countdown to Christmas” interactive calendar, bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning adaptation of a holiday classic.]