--- title: "A Christmas Carol: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-christmas-carol/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-christmas-carol" critics_score: 46 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Christmas Carol (2009): what the critics said Critics' score 46 from 11 reviews: 2 positive, 4 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics find this a handsome piece of technology with little feeling behind it. Two reviews are positive, five negative, and the rest sit in the middle. The praise goes to the look of the thing: the digital snow and London rooftops in 3D, the eerie imagery of the spirits, and a Scrooge whose animation several reviewers find convincing. Jim Carrey’s line readings earn a mention or two. The complaints are consistent. The motion-captured faces strike many as neither real nor as attractive as hand-drawn animation, and the chases and comic business are said to crowd out Dickens’s story, so that Scrooge’s change of heart and Tiny Tim’s fate pass too quickly to land. The spread is wide. Den of Geek, the one firm admirer, calls the film risky and at times brilliant, and Eye for Film finds it charming, if cooler than the Muppet version. The Hollywood Reporter sees the characters reduced to caricatures. ## Screen Daily — John Hazelton Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 4 November 2009. The page identifies this as a review, but the paywall hides the critic’s verdict. No praise or complaint from the review is available in the visible text. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/disneys-a-christmas-carol/5007580.article) ## Time Out — Wally Hammond Rating 3/5. 3 November 2009. Hammond gives the film three stars, indicating a middling verdict. The available excerpt identifies its performance-capture approach but provides no specific praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-christmas-carol-2) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Rating 2/4. 3 November 2009. Schager finds the film a technological step forward but ultimately a misfire, as spectacle overwhelms Dickens’s emotional themes. He praises Scrooge’s convincing animation and the eerie imagery, while criticizing the frantic action and underdramatized transformation. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/a-christmas-carol/) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2009. The review finds the film a satisfactory but unsettling holiday novelty, not a keeper. It praises the attractive visual effects and committed cast, while criticizing motion capture that feels neither fully real nor as beautiful as hand-drawn animation. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/christmas-carol-2-review/) ## Radio Times — Stella Papamichael Rating 2/5. Papamichael finds the adaptation uneven and overly constrained, despite its faithfulness to Dickens. She criticizes the casting of Jim Carrey and the film’s tendency to soften darker moments with comedy or spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-v8xrjk/a-christmas-carol/) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2009. Sharkey finds the film exasperating, with its effects and comic business crowding out the story’s emotional core. She praises the immersive 3-D views of snow and London rooftops, while faulting the motion-captured characters and fleeting treatment of Tiny Tim and Scrooge’s transformation. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-06-et-christmas-carol6-story.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2009. Bradshaw finds the film a faithful but passionless adaptation, with its spectacle failing to enliven Scrooge’s moral journey. He praises the impressive digital imagery but complains that its hi-tech sheen lacks the emotional force of real human faces. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/05/a-chrismas-carol-review) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2009. McCarthy argues that the adaptation prioritizes technological spectacle at the expense of emotional warmth and performance. He praises Jim Carrey’s readings but finds the animated faces and overall execution dramatically unengaging. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/disney-s-a-christmas-carol-1200477640/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2009. Honeycutt finds the film an impressive showcase for motion-capture and 3D technology, but says it lacks the emotional heart of Dickens’s story. He particularly criticizes the gimmick casting and portrayal of Tiny Tim, which he says reduce the characters to caricatures. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/disneys-a-christmas-carol-review-movie-2009-93720/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 3 November 2009. Brew calls the film an impressive, risky, and at times brilliant spectacle. He especially praises Zemeckis’s dark atmosphere and striking visuals, while noting the familiar story limits narrative surprise. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/a-christmas-carol-review-2/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 72/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2009. Wilkinson finds this a charming, faithful retelling, though it lacks some of the warmth and humour of the Muppet version. She especially praises the immersive 3D animation and lively rooftop journeys, while noting that some characters look expressionless. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/a-christmas-carol-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-christmas-carol.md