Disney's A Christmas CarolMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Disney's A Christmas Carol."

Gifts + Promos

Give the gift of movies with Fandango Bucks Gift Certificates! Design your own gift card, or choose from our collection.

Superhero fans! Don’t miss out on these Limited Edition Avengers gift cards!

Need Help?

So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 55 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

OK for kids 9+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

100

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
A marvelous and touching yuletide toy of a movie. Read full review
100

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
An exhilarating visual experience and proves for the third time he's (Zemeck) is one of the few directors who knows what he's doing with 3-D. Read full review
75

San Francisco Chronicle |
If some of the animation overdoes it, a lot of it is downright gorgeous. Few images this year have followed me home like the Ghost of Christmas Past, here imagined as a bright-flamed candle with the face of a child. It flickers. It whispers. It flies. Read full review
70

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
A Christmas Carol -- I mean the source material, without a corporate possessive attached to it -- remains among the most moving works of holiday literature, and Mr. Zemeckis has remained true to its finest sentiments. He is an innovator, but his traditionalism is what makes this movie work. Read full review
50

Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan
A fable that is by turns antic, scary, sweet and, in the end, slightly soulless. In other words, it's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself. Read full review
50

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol is, in its essence, a product reel, a showy, exuberant demonstration of the glories of motion capture, computer animation and 3D technology. On that level, it's a wow. On any emotional level, it's as cold as Marley's Ghost. Read full review
50

Variety | Todd McCarthy
Shortchanging traditional animation by literalizing it while robbing actors of their full range of facial expressiveness, the performance-capture technique favored by director Robert Zemeckis looks more than ever like the emperor's new clothes in Disney's A Christmas Carol. Read full review
50

USA Today | Claudia Puig
This Christmas Carol seems like a pale ghost of Dickens' magical Christmas classic. Read full review
30

Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey
What are in very short supply, though, are the central chords of Dickens' carol: Crachit's generous spirit, Tiny Tim's sad plight, Scrooge's emotional arc as he finds his humanity. Oh, the scenes are there amid the action, but they are fleeting. By the time A Christmas Carol finishes piling its many shiny presents with their many bells and whistles under the tree, there's no room left for tears for Tiny Tim. Bah humbug indeed. Read full review
20

Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern
This sad excuse for family entertainment tries to enshrine a classic while defacing it. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Disney's A Christmas Carol on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says OK for kids 9+ 3-D adaptation of classic holiday tale may scare young kids.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that, unlike The Polar Express, this Robert Zemeckis adaptation of a classic holiday tale is too intense both visually and in content for families with very young children. At its heart, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a ghost story, and not only are the many spirits very creepy at times, but the 3-D technology makes certain scenes -- as when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come's red-eyed black stallions jump out at the audience -- all the scarier. And the realistic nature of the motion capture technology often makes the movie seem more like live action (and thus more intense) than animation. But on the other hand, the language is mild (British slang like "bugger" and "blast") and the drinking limited to Christmas toasts. And the messages are all quite positive, as Ebenezer Scrooge's (Jim Carrey) transformation is one of literature's ultimate stories of redemption and hope, even in the bleakest of times.

Families can talk about the lessons that Scrooge learns. How does he change throughout the movie? What is the story trying to teach us about not just Christmas, but about human behavior in general?
How are the themes of A Christmas Carol still relevant more than 200 years after it was originally written? Kids: How can you act generously during the holidays and year round?
Do you think the 3-D technology enhances the movie, or would it have been as good/better without it?

The good stuff

Educational value: The movie educates younger viewers (in a "scared straight" kind of way) on the importance of being kind and selfless, rather than greedy and selfish like Scrooge.
Positive messages: Dickens' classic tale is full of important, relevant messages: Even in economically difficult times, there is hope and happiness; money isn't the most necessary ingredient to live a happy, successful life; those lucky enough to have money should be generous toward those who are less fortunate; everyone should be kind and charitable, no matter how rich they are; and family and friendship are far more fulfilling than work.
Positive role models: Although Ebenezer Scrooge is clearly a negative role model at first, he redeems himself and becomes a positive one. By abandoning his greedy ways, he realizes the importance of generosity, selflessness, altruism, family, and the spirit of Christmas. Secondary characters like Scrooge's nephew Fred, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim are all admirable for their exemplary loyalty, faith, and sincerity.

What to watch for

Violence and scariness: Several frightening images of skeletons, corpses, and ghosts, from the very first scene of a dead Jacob Marley lying in a coffin to an open grave in scenes from Christmas future. The ghost of Marley -- along with the three spirits of Christmas, especially the Grim Reaper-esque Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (and his stampeding, red-eyed horses) -- can be disturbing, as can the hissing, threatening figures of Ignorance and Want. Some of the 3-D scenes are also intense and startling, and there are several sad scenes, particularly one in which a family mourns a young child.
Sexy stuff: A young Ebenezer dances and exchanges longing looks with a woman, and it's later clear that they were engaged.
Language: Some British slang like "bugger" and "blast." The words "hell" and "ass" are used, too, but not as curses. One character says "oh my God."
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Adults make Christmas toasts with what is presumably wine.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.