By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review is spoiler-free.
Based on Leslie Bricusse’s Scrooge (1970), Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is an animated musical adaption of Charles Dicken’s immortal classic, A Christmas Carol.
It goes without saying, that most of us know what to expect from the story, regardless of how they alter or modernise it. The same framework has been present since it was first written. So how does Scrooge: A Christmas Carol hold up against such worthy peers? On the whole? Very well indeed!
First of all, a few negatives… I would say that the runtime is a little long for a young audience, so I am not too sure about the main target audience for this movie, however, it is definitely one the whole family can enjoy. I also don’t think the animation style of the human characters was very good – but that is an artistic preference and one that is just not to my taste. However, there were plenty of animation elements that I did REALLY enjoy!
While I wasn’t overly blown away by the human characters, including ‘Sexy Scrooge’, it was the ghosts that really impressed me! Their designs were unique, but also complimentary, and I really think they helped make the film stand out. My favourite has to be the Ghost of Christmas Past, whose design was ingenious and I loved how they managed to play around with this and factor it into her character and the story.
In terms of performances, I thought Luke Evans (Scrooge) and Olivia Colman (Past) were incredible, and they had such amazing back-and-forth chemistry. It was a relentless, fun exchange of two well-written characters, wonderfully performed. As for the musical aspects, they pull plenty from Leslie Bricusse’s Scrooge catalogue, including a personal favourite of mine and Luke Evans will blow you away with his singing and leave you breathless! Seriously! I always knew he could sing, however, this was on another level entirely. He belts out song after song, full of emotion and an impressive range. The story or animation might not be this adaption’s USP, but the musical elements most definitely are!
Overall, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is more than worthy of adding to your annual Christmas movie catalogue. Packed full of incredibly powerful musical performances, this family-friendly festive tale of redemption is ideal viewing for a cold Winter’s night. Luke Evans and Olivia Colman steal the movie with their incredible chemistry and performances.
What did you think of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol? Let us know in the comments or find us on social media.
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