"A Christmas Carol" - same old story, but visually stunning

A Christmas Carol is a remake of Charles Dickens' classic story from 1843... you know, there's no need to describe the plot, it's pretty much the same as any adaptation. However, I'll give the voices of the key characters: Jim Carrey voices Ebeneezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come. Gary Oldman voices Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. Robin Wright Penn voices Belle.

There's really nothing new in this adaptation - my favorite adaptation of the story is still The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). However, I feel the visuals were stunning, especially in 3-D. The animation is like nothing I've seen before - I heard that they actually filmed the actors' faces and digitally added them onto the characters. Parts of it seem like a roller coaster, as the camera swiftly moves during some of the Ghosts' visions. Another thing I liked was the background music, and it's rare for me to even pay attention to background music that has no lyrics.

The film got a PG rating, and it really deserved it IMO. This adaptation can be very creepy, and the ghosts can be a bit startling. As mentioned before, it is like a roller coaster, namely once scene where Scrooge covers a ghost with what looks like a horn, and is blasted off into the sky. Some women show cleavage, and during a game of scharades (sp?), someone guesses, "Is it an ass?" and the answer is "Yes and no" (saying it's not a donkey, it's Scrooge).

Unfortunately, I got to this review a little late - most of the 3-D showings are gone thanks to Avatar. That pretty much was the best way to see it, but hopefully it will be in 3-D on DVD. That's probably the best way to see it, and to some, the only way.