ArtBistro

News >> Browse Articles >> Animation

News >> Browse Articles >> Design

News >> Browse Articles >> Fine Art

"A Christmas Carol" is a Flop

Lionel Barrymore. Alastair Sim. Laurence Olivier. Albert Finney. George C. Scott. Bill Murray. Michael Caine. Mr. Magoo. Scrooge McDuck.

Of the many to play Ebenezer Scrooge, Jim Carrey now adds his name, starring in Disney’s new 3-D animation version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The appeal of the part is clear: You get villain and redemptive hero rolled into one, plus you spend most of the movie in your pajamas.

But the allure of Scrooge alone wasn’t enough for Carrey. In this latest incarnation of Dickens’ Christmas fable, Carrey plays not only the penny-pinching miser, young and old, but also the three ghosts that visit him: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

Popular Links

Nine Steps to Become an Artist ArtBistro Scholarships
Improve your life. Get a degree.

Carrey’s zest for the undertaking comes through clearly enough – after all, the rubber-faced “Ace Ventura” and “Man on the Moon” actor has always been a contortionist. His Scrooge is exceptionally gaunt, topped by limp white hair, and features a downturned mouth below an Ichabod Crane nose.

When Scrooge breaks into a sudden jig or the Ghost of Christmas Past – rendered here (faithfully to the book) as a kind of flickering candle – gives a comic twitch, it’s easy to recognize the actor behind the animation.