Opening

73% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
21% The Hangover Part III May 23
63% Epic May 24
97% Before Midnight May 24
88% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
83% Fill the Void May 24
17% A Green Story May 24
—— Alyce Kills May 24

Top Box Office

87% Star Trek Into Darkness $70.2M
78% Iron Man 3 $35.8M
50% The Great Gatsby $23.9M
46% Pain & Gain $3.2M
69% The Croods $3.0M
77% 42 $2.8M
55% Oblivion $2.3M
99% Mud $2.2M
36% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
89% The East May 31

Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)

tomatometer

54

Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 188
Fresh: 102 | Rotten: 86

Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman.

57

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 16

Robert Zemeckis' 3-D animated take on the Dickens classic tries hard, but its dazzling special effects distract from an array of fine performances from Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman.

audience

72

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 603,127

My Rating

Movie Info

Robert Zemeckis directs this animated version of the Yuletide classic A Christmas Story. The story centers on Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), a penny-pinching miser who cares nothing for the people around him, least of all his hopelessly downtrodden employee Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman) and infectiously optimistic nephew, Fred (Colin Firth). On Christmas Eve, after a frightening encounter with the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge is visited by three spirits -- the

Nov 16, 2010

$137.8M

Walt Disney Studios - Official Site External Icon

Watch It Now

Cast

ADVERTISEMENT

All Critics (189) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (104) | Rotten (87) | DVD (7)

The motion capture animation is top-notch and it's hard not to be impressed with what Robert Zemeckis has wrought, even if there's the occasional sense he's pandering to an audience that can't get through a 90 minute story without a few yuks and a chase.

November 10, 2009 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

How they made it into this Disney adaptation unprettified is a Christmas miracle in itself.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Slate
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Zemeckis' film preserves much of Dickens' original dialogue and detail while amplifying the utter ethereal strangeness of the ghosts.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's a lot of dark magic in this Dickensian Yuletide.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Want the creeps for Christmas? Then check out the latest version of A Christmas Carol.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comments (7)
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Does this entertainment achieve a timelessness beyond its exquisite source material? Not even. Yet there's pleasure to be had and relief in feeling the filmmakers didn't Scrooge it up either.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Denver Post
Denver Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One cannot help but feel the same effect could have been accomplished by simply making a live action film with state-of-the-art visual effects.

June 10, 2012 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

A remarkable and effective adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel that manages to overcome the familiarity of its source material and become something more fulfilling.

February 15, 2012 Full Review Source: SciFi.com
SciFi.com

A supernatural parable of terrifying, chain-rattling spirits and mind-warping time travel, with a theme of social responsibility that extends far beyond seasonal cheer.

September 30, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile
American Profile

Bah humbug: Zemeckis and Carrey screw with Scrooge.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au
sbs.com.au

Zemeckis and Disney's collaboration brings about a cold and forgettable variation using the advent of animation and technology to destroy the magic...

December 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment (1)
Cinema Crazed

A handsome Blu-ray presentation of a film that largely plays like one of those video game cutscenes you can't skip.

December 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Zemeckis's retelling of A Christmas Carol is solid, most importantly letting the story itself shine through where it naturally does.

November 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comments (2)
Window to the Movies

Creepy animation and a somewhat tired retelling might have you longing for the Muppet adaptation instead. At least the film's 3D-designed visuals are breathtaking.

November 18, 2010 Full Review Source: IGN DVD
IGN DVD

The ghosts and the gnarled Scrooge are impressive, but there is a waxy, at times eerie, look to the human characters.

November 18, 2010 Full Review Source: MSN.com
MSN.com

The 1951 Alastair Sim version still ranks as the Number 1 Christmas Carol, but this mo-cap CGI animated version comes in a close second.

November 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment (1)
Movie Metropolis

With a price tag of $175 million, Zemeckis might have even been able to pinch some pennies by abandoning the mo-cap and filming A Christmas Carol in live action. Hmm, I sound a little like Scrooge. Bah humbug!

October 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix | Comments (2)
Quickflix

click to read full review

March 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comments (2)
Movies for the Masses

What's good is very good and what's bad is sadly bad. I wish I could cut a montage of the sobering and well-thought-out segue from Present to Future, the swooping flights through London and Scrooge's amazing face.

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinerina

The razzle-dazzle is just about seamless, but warmth is sacrificed along the way

December 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

There's a certain irony in having a timeless tale about a man finding his soul being told in the most soulless way possible

December 7, 2009 Full Review Source: CHUD

Its' lavish details bridge the gap between the real and the imagined in a way heretofore impossible.. the filmmakers have put most of their magic in the media and not the message.

December 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Audience Reviews for Disney's A Christmas Carol

I don't really care much for Zemeckis's motion capture cartoons. I don't see the point of making the cartoons look so much like the actors providing the voices either, it mostly looks horrible. I didn't dislike this version as much as I thought I would, the silly action sequences really detracts from the story but at least they stuck to script and story and the scary parts weren't dumbed down for the kids. There are far worse versions out there!
January 2, 2013
SirPant

Super Reviewer

I'm wondering why Zemeckis is so interested in these fully motion captured CGI films, first we had the awful 'Polar Express' then 'Beowulf' which was slightly better and now this, another version of Dickens Christmas ghostie story. I guess you gotta expect new versions every other year or so 'sigh'.

I have heard this looks great in 3D, I have not seen it in 3D so I can't comment, as for 2D its good but nothing special, the voices in use are a good selection. Hoskins is of course perfect as is Oldman, Elwes and Penn I'm not so sure about where as Carrey is actually not bad, but not great either. The creators deemed it wise to make the characters appear like the stars so unfortunately we have 'Scrooge' looking like an aged Carrey haha which kinda makes it feel like a stupid Carrey film, luckily Carrey does perform sensibly.

It looks nice, very sharp and crisp but the motion capture CGI is still horrible and spooky to be honest, it would have looked so much nicer with 'regular' CGI characters. Its also quite scary in places for kids with afew jumpy moments which actually added to the atmosphere nicely but not good for the very young. A nice tale looking very rich and glossy but its also kinda dull and boring as we all know the story backwards by now, the best version for me is still 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'.
June 6, 2010
phubbs1

Super Reviewer

    1. Fred: A Merry Christmas to you, uncle!
    2. Ebenezer Scrooge: Bah! Humbug... What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.
    3. Fred: What reason have you to be so dismal? You're rich enough.
    4. Ebenezer Scrooge: BAH! Humbug!
    – Submitted by Nick S (11 months ago)

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads for Disney's A Christmas Carol yet.

Latest News on Disney's A Christmas Carol

November 17, 2009:
Disney's Christmas Wishes Coming True
Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" has divided critics, but Disney was hoping for a holiday movie...

November 8, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
This weekend Moviegoers powered Jim Carrey's holiday kidpic A Christmas Carol to a number one...

November 5, 2009:
Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
This week at the movies, we've got some modern-day Dickens (Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim...

Foreign Titles

  • Disney's Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte (DE)
  • A Christmas Carol (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile