Popbitch goes to the movies pt 2

Paul Antrobus reports:

Not as good as The Muppet Christmas Carol. But frankly what is?

A Christmas Carol

Robert Zemeckis’ third film made using motion capture animation (the actors are filmed ‘live’ then digitally animated) is also his best.

But whoever’s idea it was to have Tiny Tim look like Chucky from the Childs Play films shouldn’t be let near a kid’s film again.

Click thru for the full review, the top five Jim Carrey films and one where he’s gay (it genuinely looks good):

A Christmas Carol

Robert Zemeckis’ third film made using motion capture animation (the actors are filmed ‘live’ then digitally animated) is also his best.

A Christmas Carol has always been first and foremost a ghost story, a creepy tale of death, unhappiness and, eventually, redemption. The story begins with the passing of Scrooge’s business partner, Marley, who seven years later visits Ebenezer on Christmas Eve and warns of the coming of three ghosts who will appear during the night and show him the error of his ways. Blah blah blah.

Zemeckis doesn’t play down the creepier aspects of the story; there’s a genuine air of dread when the ghosts first appear, though probably not enough to have the smallest children running screaming from the auditorium (sadly).

The film looks fantastic and the 3D isn’t overused – a 5 minute sweeping shot over London near the start shows what can be achieved with animation. Jim Carrey is surprisingly toned down, playing Ebenezer as well as the ghosts of Past and Present (the latter with an odd Scottish accent – Shrek??).

Unfortunately the decision to use mo’cap leaves the characters looking neither one thing or another – too lifelike to be complete animation, yet too animated to look real. As with The Polar Express their eyes have a dead look about them which drains them of emotion – it’s hard to care about Scrooge when he looks like the living dead. The decision to have some of the characters look vaguely like their voice counterpart doesn’t work either; Colin Firth voices Scrooge’s kindly nephew, Fred, yet he looks like a fat, slightly ‘off’ version of Colin Firth which is distracting. Why not have him look completely different?

And whoever’s idea it was to have Tiny Tim look like Chucky from the Childs Play films shouldn’t be let near a kid’s film again.

All in all –