Looking at the thumbnail of the video, I thought that this movie looked like an algorithm chasing, procedurally generated Christmas film. I even left the film after the first musical number. It lost me after they gave Scrooge a dog. It seemed out of character for a tightfisted Scrooge to spend any time or money on a dog. But I came back later and finished watching, and to this movie's credit, there is some genuine effort put into this adaptation.
"A Christmas Carol" is likely the most adapted piece of fiction of all time. And some people may be understandably sick of them, but I personally love the story. Each version has something unique about it that it does better than the rest. And "Scrooge" (2022) is no exception.
This one does the characters of Fanny and Belle better than any previous version I have seen. I also enjoyed the slight twist on the cemetery scene towards the end. I also get the sense that the animators would consistently ask, "what is the most visually interesting way we can do this scene?" before each section. The movie still would need another once over to be theatrical quality, but it's not bad.
On the negative side, the movie does not use its time well. At an 1hr 43, the movie spends too much time on unimportant details, like the transitions from scene to scene. The addition of a dog, and some flying demons feel like studio notes to make the film more interesting to kids. There are a number of little things that the film does wrong that loses the impact of the original. Jacob Marley's scene, the reveal of Scrooge, scenes like that are handled either too jovially or too over the top.
Oh yeah, this version is a musical as well. It's all OK, nothing too bad, nothing too memorable.
If you think there are already too many versions of "a Christmas Carol", this isn't the adaptation to change your mind. But if you like the story and can go for another version, you'll like this version fine. It may have a few sour notes, but it is still a sweet Christmas carol.
"A Christmas Carol" is likely the most adapted piece of fiction of all time. And some people may be understandably sick of them, but I personally love the story. Each version has something unique about it that it does better than the rest. And "Scrooge" (2022) is no exception.
This one does the characters of Fanny and Belle better than any previous version I have seen. I also enjoyed the slight twist on the cemetery scene towards the end. I also get the sense that the animators would consistently ask, "what is the most visually interesting way we can do this scene?" before each section. The movie still would need another once over to be theatrical quality, but it's not bad.
On the negative side, the movie does not use its time well. At an 1hr 43, the movie spends too much time on unimportant details, like the transitions from scene to scene. The addition of a dog, and some flying demons feel like studio notes to make the film more interesting to kids. There are a number of little things that the film does wrong that loses the impact of the original. Jacob Marley's scene, the reveal of Scrooge, scenes like that are handled either too jovially or too over the top.
Oh yeah, this version is a musical as well. It's all OK, nothing too bad, nothing too memorable.
If you think there are already too many versions of "a Christmas Carol", this isn't the adaptation to change your mind. But if you like the story and can go for another version, you'll like this version fine. It may have a few sour notes, but it is still a sweet Christmas carol.