We’re all familiar with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. But put on those 3-D glasses and brace yourselves.

With a little help from 3-D animation technology, this classic tale was transformed into a surreal joyride through the charming winter of Victorian London, and the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. Without giving away spoilers, 3-D brings to the age-old story whole new levels of adventure, shock, and thrill.

For the 0.00001% of people who don’t know the story, it’s about Scrooge, a notorious miser, who is visited on Christmas Eve by the kindred spirit of his late business partner, Marley. Marley, tethered in chains, warns Scrooge to repent of his stinginess before telling Scrooge to expect The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet-To-Come – to visit him and help him see the folly of his ways.

Robert Zemeckis, director of the 2004 animated holiday film The Polar Express, had quite the magic touch when it came to Christmas movies.

Adopting the same 3-D motion-capture technology he first showed the world in The Polar Express, Zemeckis has again re-created a world that glows with that illusive Christmas spirit.

There was good reason for Zemeckis’ obsession with Performance Capture, a process where the actors are filmed playing out their roles, then digitised into their characters, and placed into a digitally constructed setting.

The intricate animation of the people and landscapes that resulted from this, added to the realism – from the slightest shift of facial expression down to the way the snow descended.

Coupled with a dramatic soundtrack composed by Alan Silvestri (also composer for The Polar Express), the team behind the movie had undoubtedly managed to bring to life the world of A Christmas Carol.

As Tom Hanks did in The Polar Express, Jim Carrey delivered a stellar performance and effortlessly pulled off all 4 main characters – Scrooge (from junior to senior) and the 3 ghosts of Christmas – with a little help from the performance-capturing animators, of course.

As Scrooge, Carrey departed from his usual slapstick roles in Yes Man and Bruce Almighty and portrayed his character’s emotions particularly well. Here, he relied on his dynamic, expressive personality to convincingly play a wide range of characters in a single film.

His dedication to his craft was evident from the way an annoyed Scrooge’s lips curl in disgust, to the pained expression in his eyes when he revisited a flashback of a dance with his first love, Belle (played by Robin Wright Penn).

Other underrated characters such as Scrooge’s old boss Mr Fezziwig, Scrooge’s cheery nephew Fred (Colin Firth), Scrooge’s abused clerk Bob Cratchit and his ailing son Tiny Tim (both played by Gary Oldman), were instrumental in giving the movie more depth and realism.

Visually and aurally, it was spectacular.

As impressive as the art direction and special effects were, however, they caused the story to suffer somewhat.

The plot was undoubtedly faithful to the original, and the tale played out well against the picturesque landscapes. The film progressed with a good mix of comedy, horror, action, and drama, without losing touch of the moral values Dickens had depicted in the story.

What was lacking, however, was a proper elaboration on how Scrooge came to be the nasty miser he was. Most of Scrooge’s Christmas Eve ordeal was portrayed accurately, but still, the scenes failed to explain where and how he developed his close-fisted ways. The script seemed to have undergone a very succinct summary, which resulted in very unclear character development.

Also, the journeying with the ghosts saw Scrooge doing loads of flying and running. Though the scenes were definitely a breathtaking 3-D experience, offering amazing views of old London, as Scrooge soared over the rooftops of London with the ghost of Christmas Past. They went on for far too long, however, and harmed the otherwise decent flow of the storyline.

Fun as the visual effects may sound, the Victorian English expressions retained in the dialogue, like “haunt me no longer” and “ I fear you more than any spectre I have seen”, weren’t very kid-friendly, and there were some scary scenes to look out for. This is one Christmas movie not quite meant for the entire family.

Essentially, Zemeckis has created yet another holiday masterpiece, but for a slightly older audience. Exhilarating, terrifying, and heartwarming all at once, A Christmas Carol is a must-watch this festive season.

Opens: Nov 19 (Singapore)

Duration: 96 min

Language: English

Rating: PG

Genre: Animation/Fantasy

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn