Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1448
RT slug: 10008502-christmas_carol
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008502-christmas_carol
Release year: 2009
Runtime: 95 mins
Wide release date: 2009-11-06
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2014-01-01
Tomatometer final: 52%
Audience score final: 58%
Genres: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Holiday, Kids & Family
Directors: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis
Producers: Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey
MPAA rating: PG
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-10-05 20:50:21
Updated: 2026-10-05 20:50:21
Though London awaits the joyful arrival of Christmas, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) thinks it's all humbug, berating his faithful clerk and cheerful nephew for their view. Later, Scrooge encounters the ghost of his late business partner, 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.
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.
Canonical reviews: 196
Canonical fresh: 102
Canonical rotten: 94
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 196 (102/94), 52% (52.041% raw)
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-10-05 14:29:28
Snapshot Tomatometer: 52%
Snapshot review count: 196
Snapshot fresh count: 102
Snapshot rotten count: 94
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #4353 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Walt Disney | distributor |
| Imagemovers Digital | production |
| Walt Disney Pictures | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Carrey | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| 2 | Robin Wright | Belle |
| 3 | Gary Oldman | Bob Cratchit |
| 4 | Colin Firth | Fred |
| 5 | Bob Hoskins | Fezziwig |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1466 | processed | — | 2026-10-05 20:50:21 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1448 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4353 | 2026-10-05 09:29:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-10-05 14:29:28 | 52% | 196 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 196 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=196, fresh=102, rotten=94, tomatometer=52%. Net new reviews added=196, fresh=102, rotten=94. Current canonical totals=196 reviews, 102 fresh, 94 rotten, tomatometer=52% (52.041%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (196). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (52%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 285045 | Matt Brunson | Film Frenzy | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2025-12-12T14:59:18.000Z | 2025-12-12 14:59:18 | A key ingredient of the novel -- namely, its humanist spirit -- is largely missing from this chilly, cold-to-the-touch interpretation. |
| 285046 | Brian Eggert | Deep Focus Review | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-30T02:11:45.000Z | 2023-08-30 02:11:45 | Everything poignant and evocative about Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has been rendered flat by Disney’s latest adaptation. |
| 285047 | Mike Massie | Gone With The Twins | Fresh | 6/10 | 2020-11-28T06:32:02.000Z | 2020-11-28 06:32:02 | Morbidly dark and frighteningly realistic - almost as if Tim Burton had a hand in the design. |
| 285048 | Debbie Lynn Elias | Behind The Lens | Fresh | — | 2019-11-06T23:03:43.000Z | 2019-11-06 23:03:43 | Christmas magic never fails to touch the heart and spirit and neither will A CHRISTMAS CAROL. God Bless Us Everyone. |
| 285049 | Israel Paredes | Sensacine | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2019-11-06T16:51:12.000Z | 2019-11-06 16:51:12 | Even though it is quite a loyal adaptation of the classic tale, A Christmas Carol doesn't quite manage to land as a Disney film. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 285051 | Sergio Benítez | Espinof | Rotten | — | 2019-11-06T16:41:09.000Z | 2019-11-06 16:41:09 | This film will wind up being forgotten. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 285050 | Jordi Costa | Fotogramas | Rotten | 3/5 | 2019-11-06T16:41:09.000Z | 2019-11-06 16:41:09 | Despite these advances in motion capture, A Christmas Carol still has some deficiencies. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 285052 | Brian D. Johnson | Maclean's Magazine | Rotten | — | 2019-08-22T23:43:32.000Z | 2019-08-22 23:43:32 | In the end, the only emotion generated is anger-that this is how a whole generation of kids will get their first taste of A Christmas Carol. |
| 285053 | Ellie Lucas | The Dispatch (Lexington, NC) | Rotten | 2/4 | 2019-06-06T20:27:52.000Z | 2019-06-06 20:27:52 | The elegant simplicity of Dickens' novel is lost somewhere underneath the eye-popping visuals, whittled down to nothing more than a series of pixels and binary code. |
| 285054 | Rachel Wagner | rachelsreviews.net | Fresh | B | 2019-05-03T00:20:40.000Z | 2019-05-03 00:20:40 | I know it isn't perfect but I really like it. |
| 285055 | PJ Nabarro | Patrick Nabarro | Rotten | 2/5 | 2018-11-10T23:30:31.000Z | 2018-11-10 23:30:31 | This computerised version of A Christmas Carol automatically loses something in becoming very homogenised and, dare I say it, Americanised. |
| 285056 | Eileen Jones | The eXile | Rotten | — | 2018-10-31T17:53:37.000Z | 2018-10-31 17:53:37 | This, I told myself, is going to suck. And in most ways, it does suck as fully as expected. But there are, surprisingly, a few decent points, too. |
| 285057 | Giles Hardie | Sydney Morning Herald | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2018-02-06T00:20:40.000Z | 2018-02-06 00:20:40 | While for some there is something disconcerting about the lifeless eyes of the otherwise life like characters, it certainly lends itself to large 3D cinemas, with rubber faced characters and grand sweeping movement. |
| 285058 | Jeremy Jahns | JeremyJahns.com | Fresh | — | 2018-01-24T19:41:54.000Z | 2018-01-24 19:41:54 | If you are officially done with Halloween, and you're ready to start feeling like Christmas is right around the corner, then this movie is a must. |
| 285059 | Michael Dequina | TheMovieReport.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2012-06-10T22:02:38.000Z | 2012-06-10 22:02:38 | 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. |
| 285060 | Keith Uhlich | Time Out | Fresh | 4/5 | 2011-11-16T05:15:55.000Z | 2011-11-16 05:15:55 | The biggest surprise is that Zemeckis, so often in thrall to his digital palette, here uses it to freshly illuminate a time-honored text. |
| 285061 | Neil Pond | American Profile | Fresh | 3/5 | 2011-09-30T15:30:15.000Z | 2011-09-30 15:30:15 | 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. |
| 285062 | Don Groves | sbs.com.au | Rotten | 3/5 | 2011-01-02T20:44:58.000Z | 2011-01-02 20:44:58 | Bah humbug: Zemeckis and Carrey screw with Scrooge. |
| 285063 | Felix Vasquez Jr. | Cinema Crazed | Rotten | — | 2010-12-19T00:46:52.000Z | 2010-12-19 00:46:52 | Zemeckis and Disney's collaboration brings about a cold and forgettable variation using the advent of animation and technology to destroy the magic... |
| 285064 | Jeffrey Chen | Window to the Movies | Fresh | 8/10 | 2010-11-22T10:52:33.000Z | 2010-11-22 10:52:33 | Zemeckis's retelling of A Christmas Carol is solid, most importantly letting the story itself shine through where it naturally does. |
| 285065 | R.L. Shaffer | IGN DVD | Rotten | 6/10 | 2010-11-18T22:17:35.000Z | 2010-11-18 22:17:35 | 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. |
| 285066 | James Plath | Movie Metropolis | Fresh | 7/10 | 2010-11-06T19:20:25.000Z | 2010-11-06 19:20:25 | 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. |
| 285067 | Simon Miraudo | Quickflix | Rotten | 2/5 | 2010-10-27T19:35:49.000Z | 2010-10-27 19:35:49 | 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! |
| 285068 | Joseph Proimakis | Movies for the Masses | Fresh | 3/5 | 2010-03-26T06:47:00.000Z | 2010-03-26 06:47:00 | click to read full review |
| 285069 | David Medsker | Bullz-Eye.com | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2010-01-20T03:15:35.000Z | 2010-01-20 03:15:35 | The effects work here is far beyond a tech wizard showing off; it's more like watching Zemeckis lose his mind. He seems so obsessed with what he can do with the FX that he doesn't stop to consider whether he should. |
| 285070 | Karina Montgomery | Cinerina | Fresh | 2.5/5 | 2009-12-15T10:46:16.000Z | 2009-12-15 10:46:16 | 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. |
| 285071 | Devin Faraci | CHUD | Rotten | 5/10 | 2009-12-07T22:58:12.000Z | 2009-12-07 22:58:12 | There's a certain irony in having a timeless tale about a man finding his soul being told in the most soulless way possible |
| 285072 | Bruce Bennett | Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | Fresh | A- | 2009-12-02T12:42:28.000Z | 2009-12-02 12:42:28 | 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. |
| 285073 | David Nusair | Reel Film Reviews | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-30T02:44:48.000Z | 2009-11-30 02:44:48 | Robert Zemeckis' infatuation with the motion-capture animation process has officially gone too far... |
| 285074 | Jeff Bayer | The Scorecard Review | Fresh | 6/10 | 2009-11-26T10:12:17.000Z | 2009-11-26 10:12:17 | There's no heart, and I don't put it simply on the visuals that almost look real at times. Amazing 3D is the only thing this dark version does really well. |
| 285075 | Cole Smithey | ColeSmithey.com | Rotten | C | 2009-11-24T22:05:27.000Z | 2009-11-24 22:05:27 | ...there isn't much to fall in love with in Robert Zemeckis's visually overpowering motion-capture-animation... |
| 285076 | James Kendrick | Q Network Film Desk | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2009-11-23T06:58:01.000Z | 2009-11-23 06:58:01 | takes full advantage of the technologies available, but fails to illuminate or otherwise expand Dickens' story in any meaningful ways |
| 285077 | Kevin A. Ranson | MovieCrypt.com | Fresh | 2.5/4.0 | 2009-11-18T07:18:38.000Z | 2009-11-18 07:18:38 | If you're remaking a classic merely to one-up whoever remade it previously, is it really worth the effort? Fortunately, Jim Carrey decided not to waste a wasted opportunity. |
| 285078 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Rotten | 5/10 | 2009-11-17T14:40:30.000Z | 2009-11-17 14:40:30 | Watching the humans in this live action/animation combo is like watching 'Zombies On Parade' |
| 285079 | John Beifuss | Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2009-11-13T14:29:06.000Z | 2009-11-13 14:29:06 | The 3D isn't enough to justify yet another version of this familiar tale; the film seems more opportunistic than necessary. |
| 285080 | Robert Roten | Laramie Movie Scope | Fresh | B | 2009-11-13T11:16:01.000Z | 2009-11-13 11:16:01 | This film is dark and scary enough that it just might scare some in the audience straight. |
| 285081 | Edward Porter | Sunday Times (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2009-11-13T09:27:09.000Z | 2009-11-13 09:27:09 | It is done with skill and imagination, and overseen by a director, Robert Zemeckis, who knows the value of occasionally quietening things down for a bit of tension or a precisely timed joke. |
| 285082 | Philip French | Observer (UK) | Fresh | — | 2009-11-13T09:16:31.000Z | 2009-11-13 09:16:31 | Faithfully rendered and extremely frightening. |
| 285083 | Christopher Smith | Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Fresh | B | 2009-11-12T18:50:03.000Z | 2009-11-12 18:50:03 | What's curious about the movie is that you can tart it up all you want, but Dickens' words still resonate, his characters still infuriate, frighten and touch, and there's still satisfaction to be had in his tale. |
| 285084 | Pablo Villaça | Cinema em Cena | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-12T14:58:08.000Z | 2009-11-12 14:58:08 | Jamais deixa de impressionar. |
| 285085 | Tim Grierson | The Simon | Fresh | — | 2009-11-12T13:18:13.000Z | 2009-11-12 13:18:13 | The greatest tension in this adaptation of A Christmas Carol isn't between Scrooge and those pesky ghosts but within writer-director Robert Zemeckis. |
| 285086 | Ken Hanke | Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2009-11-12T06:42:02.000Z | 2009-11-12 06:42:02 | It's a film so determined to make you notice it, that it comes across like an obnoxious child screaming, 'Look at me!' |
| 285087 | Jim Lane | Sacramento News & Review | Fresh | 4/5 | 2009-11-12T03:15:30.000Z | 2009-11-12 03:15:30 | ... the heart of the story is there, and Zemeckis honors and respects it. |
| 285088 | Jeffrey Westhoff | Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-11T11:42:17.000Z | 2009-11-11 11:42:17 | Leaving aside the technology behind Robert Zemeckis' animated A Christmas Carol, this is the most satisfying version of Charles Dickens' oft-told tale in years. |
| 285089 | Richard Knight | Windy City Times | Rotten | — | 2009-11-10T19:31:22.000Z | 2009-11-10 19:31:22 | The real nightmare before Christmas - way too scary for the kiddies and not nearly warm enough for audiences of all ages. |
| 285090 | James Berardinelli | ReelViews | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-10T18:11:17.000Z | 2009-11-10 18:11:17 | 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. |
| 285091 | Tim Brayton | Antagony & Ecstasy | Rotten | 5/10 | 2009-11-09T20:41:26.000Z | 2009-11-09 20:41:26 | The biggest surprise... is that it isn't absolutely dreadful. Perfectly pointless, maybe, but not dreadful. |
| 285092 | Mark Palermo | The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | Fresh | — | 2009-11-09T13:47:39.000Z | 2009-11-09 13:47:39 | The 3-D motion-capture version runs through the motions, except for one detail: It's visually beautiful. |
| 285093 | Mark Ramsey | MovieJuice! | Fresh | B- | 2009-11-08T17:49:21.000Z | 2009-11-08 17:49:21 | 'My next project is to motion capture some hair and comb it over my 3D scalp,' said Zemeckis. |
| 285094 | Sonny Bunch | Washington Times | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-08T17:30:29.000Z | 2009-11-08 17:30:29 | Robert Zemeckis seeks to answer the one question still remaining about the Dickens classic: What would the story look like if it were cast with figures from Madame Tussauds? |
| 285095 | Chris Barsanti | PopMatters | Rotten | 4/10 | 2009-11-08T07:35:02.000Z | 2009-11-08 07:35:02 | Those who enjoy virtual roller-coaster rides and long falls from high places are encouraged to attend. |
| 285096 | Linda Cook | Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-07T22:51:13.000Z | 2009-11-07 22:51:13 | As a dedicated fan of Charles Dickens' works, I also am a dedicated fan of several versions of his classic "A Christmas Carol." |
| 285097 | Kit Bowen | The Movie Kit | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2009-11-07T22:45:50.000Z | 2009-11-07 22:45:50 | Hold onto your mug of warm apple cider. This newest, action-packed version of A Christmas Carol could get a little bumpy. |
| 285098 | Diana Saenger | ReviewExpress.com | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2009-11-07T16:38:32.000Z | 2009-11-07 16:38:32 | Seeming spawned from some ghoulish dream I felt nothing warm or symbolic of a tradition from this film. |
| 285099 | Andrea Chase | Killer Movie Reviews | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-07T14:40:28.000Z | 2009-11-07 14:40:28 | Are the less than perfectly executed bits supposed to set off the truly terrific ones, or are the truly terrific ones supposed to distract the viewing audience from the bits that go clunk in the night? |
| 285100 | Laura Clifford | Reeling Reviews | Rotten | C+ | 2009-11-07T13:37:11.000Z | 2009-11-07 13:37:11 | ...we never experience that moment when Scrooge's heart melts. He seems already changed the moment Marley leaves him. |
| 285101 | Gary Wolcott | Tri-City Herald | Fresh | 4/5 | 2009-11-07T07:45:44.000Z | 2009-11-07 07:45:44 | Yes %u2014 I am giving A Christmas Carol a high rating. It is technical perfection and brilliantly done. However, it is too much Zemeckis, too much Carrey. Not enough Dickens. |
| 285102 | Dan Lybarger | eFilmCritic.com | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-06T21:31:27.000Z | 2009-11-06 21:31:27 | Writer-director Robert Zemeckis follows Charles Dickens' 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, so closely that he even makes the same error the author made with the first edition of the book. |
| 285103 | Steve Crum | Crum on Showbiz | Fresh | A- | 2009-11-06T21:05:04.000Z | 2009-11-06 21:05:04 | Most of us know the beginning, middle, and uplifting end. However, the hook this time is a trifecta: 3-D, digital imagery, and Jim Carrey. That hook makes this 'Christmas Carol' worth seeing. |
| 285104 | Mary Ann Brussat | Spirituality & Practice | Rotten | 0/5 | 2009-11-06T17:15:55.000Z | 2009-11-06 17:15:55 | A garish and tedious animated interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic that has neither heart nor soul. |
| 285105 | Avi Offer | NYC Movie Guru | Rotten | 5.0/10 | 2009-11-06T16:59:40.000Z | 2009-11-06 16:59:40 | Boasts dazzling CGI effects and important moral lessons, but it suffers from excessive style over substance while lacking the genuine, unadulturated warmth, emotional resonance and soul of the Dickens classic. |
| 285106 | Keith Cohen | Entertainment Spectrum | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-06T16:41:34.000Z | 2009-11-06 16:41:34 | Scrooge's ultimate transformation to kindness and charity comes too late and is given little screen time. Carrey never gets a chance to be the funny comedian that has endeared him to his legion of fans. |
| 285107 | Vic Holtreman | Screen Rant | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T16:10:21.000Z | 2009-11-06 16:10:21 | There are already so many great adaptions of the classic Dickens story %u2013 this one adds nothing but CGI and gimmicky 3D effects. |
| 285108 | Daniel M. Kimmel | North Shore Movies | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-06T15:26:44.000Z | 2009-11-06 15:26:44 | Zemeckis seems unable to admit that the motion capture animation he's been using on The Polar Express and Beowulf is an artistic dead end. |
| 285109 | Kevin Carr | 7M Pictures | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2009-11-06T15:18:49.000Z | 2009-11-06 15:18:49 | exactly what I expected from Zemeckis and company. With the Dickens story as the foundation, it's perfect for the holiday season |
| 285110 | Adam Tobias | Watertown Daily Times | Fresh | 4/5 | 2009-11-06T14:12:20.000Z | 2009-11-06 14:12:20 | Yes, Zemeckis does throw in a few gratuitous moments where things are flying at your face, but he ends up using enough restraint to ensure the 3D doesn't overwhelm your senses or take away from Dickens' stirring story about greed and redemption. |
| 285111 | Christian Toto | What Would Toto Watch? | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-06T13:20:38.000Z | 2009-11-06 13:20:38 | The only major change Disney's A Christmas Carol takes with the source material is draining the humanity right out of it. |
| 285112 | Dana Stevens | Slate | Fresh | — | 2009-11-06T13:16:16.000Z | 2009-11-06 13:16:16 | How they made it into this Disney adaptation unprettified is a Christmas miracle in itself. |
| 285113 | MaryAnn Johanson | Flick Filosopher | Rotten | — | 2009-11-06T12:53:55.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:53:55 | Zemeckis... appears to have given up making fantasies for grownups in favor of making theme-park attractions designed to do nothing more than shut the kiddies up for 90 minutes... |
| 285114 | Robert W. Butler | Kansas City Star | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-06T12:38:28.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:38:28 | In the end you don't have to analyze it... that tear in your eye tells you it's working. |
| 285115 | Kevin Williamson | Jam! Movies | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2009-11-06T12:30:04.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:30:04 | Too bad though, that for all the eye-popping spirits on screen, it lacks a soul. |
| 285116 | Tyler Hanley | Palo Alto Weekly | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-06T12:22:41.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:22:41 | Although Dickens has been translated time and time again, this animated adventure is no humbug. |
| 285117 | Peter Canavese | Groucho Reviews | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2009-11-06T12:05:39.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:05:39 | Call me a Scrooge, but I'll pass on this synthetic version of that most humanistic of tales. |
| 285118 | Amy Biancolli | San Francisco Chronicle | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-06T12:02:16.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:02:16 | Zemeckis' film preserves much of Dickens' original dialogue and detail while amplifying the utter ethereal strangeness of the ghosts. |
| 285119 | Rick Groen | Globe and Mail | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-06T12:00:38.000Z | 2009-11-06 12:00:38 | There's a lot of dark magic in this Dickensian Yuletide. |
| 285120 | Tom Long | Detroit News | Rotten | C | 2009-11-06T11:35:23.000Z | 2009-11-06 11:35:23 | Want the creeps for Christmas? Then check out the latest version of A Christmas Carol. |
| 285121 | Lisa Kennedy | Denver Post | Fresh | 3/4 | 2009-11-06T11:08:07.000Z | 2009-11-06 11:08:07 | 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. |
| 285122 | Randy Myers | Contra Costa Times | Fresh | B- | 2009-11-06T10:58:16.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:58:16 | Disney's excessively hyped A Christmas Carol brings Dickensian details to such sumptuous life that you mostly forgive it for possessing a stop-motion soul. |
| 285123 | Mary F. Pols | MSN Movies | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2009-11-06T10:56:54.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:56:54 | The movie may be yet another retelling of an iconic story, but visually it is often quite breathtaking. |
| 285124 | J. R. Jones | Chicago Reader | Rotten | — | 2009-11-06T10:48:21.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:48:21 | Zemeckis captures all the story's terror, but its pathos has always been the real challenge, and it mostly eludes him. |
| 285125 | Kyle Smith | New York Post | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-06T10:38:03.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:38:03 | You don't identify with Scrooge at any point, nor is blatant fakery scary. Picture The Seventh Seal with sock puppets. |
| 285126 | A.O. Scott | New York Times | Fresh | 4/5 | 2009-11-06T10:26:43.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:26:43 | A branded piece of shiny seasonal entertainment. |
| 285127 | Kevin Lally | Film Journal International | Fresh | — | 2009-11-06T10:11:28.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:11:28 | Robert Zemeckis turns the classic Dickens tale into a 3D performance-capture spectacle, abetted by the versatility of Jim Carrey as skinflint Scrooge and his ghostly visitors. |
| 285128 | Rob Vaux | Mania.com | Fresh | B- | 2009-11-06T10:09:05.000Z | 2009-11-06 10:09:05 | Succeeds in delivering a respectful--if not always magical--interpretation of Dickens' famous tale. |
| 285129 | Bill Gibron | Filmcritic.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2009-11-06T09:44:12.000Z | 2009-11-06 09:44:12 | all science and little sentiment |
| 285130 | Todd Hertz | Christianity Today | Rotten | 2/4 | 2009-11-06T09:36:29.000Z | 2009-11-06 09:36:29 | It feels like Zemeckis wanted to make one movie (a socially relevant ghost story) and Disney wanted another (a Polar Express-type movie). It doesn't work. |
| 285131 | James Rocchi | Redbox | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2009-11-06T08:51:10.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:51:10 | The good news about A Christmas Carol, then, is that Dickens' story -- the pure power of it, the grace and gentleness, the sensibility and sentiment of it -- cannot be drowned or destroyed no matter how many technicians and dollars are thrown at it. |
| 285132 | Derek Malcolm | London Evening Standard | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T08:29:04.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:29:04 | A splendidly mounted and visually imaginative animated 3D version of the classic novel. |
| 285133 | Rebecca Murray | About.com | Rotten | C | 2009-11-06T08:28:15.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:28:15 | For the most part, Zemeckis delivers a faithful interpretation of Dickens' work in this PG-rated holiday tale. What he misses out on capturing is the spirit of Dickens' story. |
| 285134 | Todd Gilchrist | Syfy Wire | Fresh | — | 2009-11-06T08:27:01.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:27:01 | ...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. |
| 285135 | Willie Waffle | WaffleMovies.com | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2009-11-06T08:26:36.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:26:36 | this is not the Scrooge McDuck or Mr. Magoo version of the classic Charles Dickens tale, this A Christmas Carol is the dark, challenging and frightening version of the story |
| 285136 | Wally Hammond | Time Out | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T08:07:24.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:07:24 | Cinematographer Robert Presley and the design team provide many instances of graphical triumph, influenced by silent cinema. |
| 285137 | Kimberly Gadette | Indie Movies Online | Rotten | 4.5/10 | 2009-11-06T08:04:53.000Z | 2009-11-06 08:04:53 | As for this 'performance capture,' rife with characters sporting the annoying wandering eye, it might be time for an intervention, ghostly or not. You're a filmmaker, Mr. Z, not a puppeteer. Enough is enough. |
| 285138 | Stella Papamichael | Film4 | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-06T07:57:23.000Z | 2009-11-06 07:57:23 | This Hollywood adaptation is as glossy as Christmas wrapping paper and just as disposable. |
| 285139 | Wendy Ide | The Times (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-06T07:34:11.000Z | 2009-11-06 07:34:11 | A Christmas Carol should be as cosy and familiar as piping-hot tea and buttered, toasted crumpets, not a brain-battering sensory assault that feels like downing tequila shots on a rollercoaster. |
| 285140 | Peter Bradshaw | Guardian | Rotten | 2/5 | 2009-11-06T07:18:14.000Z | 2009-11-06 07:18:14 | There is a weird lack of passion here, almost condescension, a sense that Scrooge's agonised moral journey into his past is potentially pretty dull, and so Zemeckis is always livening things up by whooshing the old miser excitingly through the night sky. |
| 285141 | Orlando Parfitt | IGN Movies UK | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T06:50:40.000Z | 2009-11-06 06:50:40 | Zemeckis has succeeded is transforming a staid and over-familiar story into a rip-roaring and viscerally powerful special effects chase-movie. |
| 285142 | Simon Reynolds | Digital Spy | Rotten | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T06:42:38.000Z | 2009-11-06 06:42:38 | The whizzing pyrotechnics aren't quite enough to make this a Christmas classic. |
| 285143 | Charles Gant | Heat Magazine | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T06:36:49.000Z | 2009-11-06 06:36:49 | A Christmas Carol is certainly set to win the nation's attention. With all this hype, we'd hoped for something a bit more special. |
| 285144 | Russell Lewin | SFX Magazine | Fresh | 3/5 | 2009-11-06T06:22:21.000Z | 2009-11-06 06:22:21 | It is an experience, being stunning to look at -- and you'll only get the full effect from seeing it on the big screen, rather than waiting for the DVD. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.