Ebenezer Scrooge's Nightmare Before Christmas

Dickens goes digitally Disney with Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" featuring the voice of Jim Carrey as the holiday-hating Ebenezer Scrooge. Of course, I had to see this in 3-D!

The first musical show I saw in New York City was this very Charles Dickens classic at the Madison Square Garden. Unlike that live performance, this animated feature was a little too dark and horrifying for small children to watch. From the moment that Scrooge encountered his first ghost, the audience--which consisted mostly of kids--was quiet, save from the audible gasps when Scrooge gets spooked three consecutive times. Only when he wakes up from his Christmas eve nightmare and becomes a Yuletide-loving fellow that the audience lightens up and chuckles in relief.

The trend with CGI animated features seems to be that they fashion the facial features of the characters with those of the actors doing their voices. Remember Angelina Jolie in "Beowulf?" Here, Scrooge is unmistakably Jim Carrey while the humble Mr. Cratchit is a pudgy Gary Oldman.

That scene where Scrooge is haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Present reminds me a lot of that "Soarin'" simulated ride at Disney World's Epcot.

I hope the kids are able to sleep tight after watching this movie. Ghosts are supposed to be scary, anyway. I should have brought my leftover Halloween candy in the theater to nibble on.