I love animation and I love Christmas films. Not to mention that I adore Dickens' story. 2009's A Christmas Carol mayn't quite be a classic for the Yuletide season, but it is a worthy film and one of the more loyal adaptations of the story, maintaining not just the details but the spirit as well.

CONS: There are few cons actually here. I did feel the film was too long, I personally think 80 minutes is a perfect length for telling the story, this was nearly 100 minutes. In order to do this, while they were musically and visually stunning, there were two scenes that didn't quite work for me and could have been omitted, one being the extinguishing of Ghost of Christmas Past, the other being the carriage chase. As impressive as they are, they don't enhance the storytelling much and feel odd in their placement too. The film does occasionally drag as well, particularly towards the end.

PROS: However, there is much to enjoy here. The story has a classic feel in how it is told, and it has the heart and sentiment of the original story. The dialogue is delightful and almost word-from-word from the original story as well. There are three outstanding things though. One is the vocal cast, Gary Oldman is excellent as is Colin Firth, but it is Jim Carrey's show all the way, while his distinctive acting style is here it is also naturally understated. Two is the score, I like Alan Silvestri a lot, and his score here is beautiful and compliments the spirit and meaning of Christmas wonderfully. Most impressive are the visuals, which in the colours, backgrounds, 3D effects and character designs are outstanding.

So all in all, while not a movie to treasure perhaps, it is definitely worth watching. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Robert Zemeckis retells the familiar Christmas story using the latest CG motion capture technology. It's the path he started with 'Polar Express'. Only this one is lightyears ahead. The faces have more details and more humanity. The dead eyes are gone. It makes it a more pleasurable viewing experience.

The story is so well known that there are no surprises in this. The joy comes from the visual inventions, but it doesn't warrant any special recommendations. It has enough beauty to watch once, but I can't see this taking a large place in the holiday TV watching season. This is more like another step in technological advancement.

It took me a long time to finally see this film. Visually it is quite impressive, but as is often the case, the movie falls far short of the better presentations of this story. Scrooge is portrayed in the usual way, but the treatment of his character is almost sadistic. So much license is taken with his plight that it falls into the realm of every juvenile movie made today. I'm really surprised that Ebenezer didn't have a skateboard. The way he is tossed and attacked in this film, totally distracts us from the central issue. That is a redemption of the soul. Scrooge's character is never one we care about. He is tortured and prodded. The spirits are dull and contrived. There is hardly a former love and a true sense of avarice. Bob Cratchitt and Tiny Tim are incredibly boring. The kid isn't of much interest. Finally, there is no emotion in Scrooge. This is animation which should allow incredible creativity. But the film sells its soul and dwindles away to nothing.