Welcome to day 18 of Nerds Gets Cheery. All month long we will be bringing you our favorite holiday movies, both new and old, to get into the spirit of the season. Today’s movie is : Disney’s A Christmas Carol.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol is a 2009 adaptation that retells the classic Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol. What is unique about this film is that it was filmed completely in motion capture. Fun fact: This is the third retelling of the classic novel following 1983’s Mickey’s A Christmas Carol and 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol.
Though London awaits the joyful arrival of Christmas, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) believes all of it is just one huge humbug, berating his faithful clerk Bob Cratchit and cheerful nephew Fred for their view. Later, Scrooge encounters the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley, who warns that three spirits will visit him this night. The ghosts take Scrooge on a journey through his past, present and future in the hope of transforming his bitterness and hatred of Christmas.
The first ghost he meets if the Ghost of Christmas Past, where he takes Scrooge on a journey back into his childhood, his apprenticeship, and his engagement to Belle (who later leaves him due to his lust for money and wealth).
Next, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, as they travel through London to watch the Cratchit family prepare for a miniature feast to say the least. Scrooge “meets” Tiny Tim, Cratchit’s son. Tiny Tim’s kindness begins to warm Scrooge’s heart. The ghost whisks Scrooge away to his nephew’s Christmas party to where everything is joyful and delightful until the end. As the day continues, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.
Finally, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of events to an unnamed man’s death, After pleading, and begging Scrooge finds that it in fact his gravestone and death people are talking about. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. In the end Scrooge honors Christmas the way he was meant to honor it.
The wonderful blend of motion capture makes takes this version of Dicken’s classic to the next level. The landscapes, to the people everything popped. Jim Carrey also does a phenomenal job not only as Ebenezer Scrooge, but as Ghosts of Christmas Past, and Present. No matter what version you watch the message is still the same — the pursuit of money will not make a person happy.
Which version is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure you come back tomorrow for some more holiday favorites.