Tonight as a family: when the director back to the future hires Jim Carrey, it gives a great film

If you have never seen the funny Christmas of Scrooge before, prepare to embark in a big sensational! Robert Zemeckis' film is the adaptation of Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol (translated in France under two titles: A Christmas song And A Christmas tale).

A great classic

Published for the first time on December 19, 1843, this work rocked many generations of readers, particularly Anglo-Saxon, and inspired television and cinema with more than 75 adaptations, sometimes unofficial like ghosts in celebration or haunted by its ex.

After the Express pole (2004) and the legend of Beowulf (2007), the funny Christmas of Scrooge is the 3rd film by Robert Zemeckis in performance-cap. It is a technology derived from the motion-capture, which is no longer content to capture the movements but also the performances of the actors, in order to reinject them in virtual characters within a digital environment.

Jim Carrey interprets the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, old -fashioned older man plagued by Avarice, who will notably inspire the character of Balthazar Picsou (Scrooge McDuck en VO). Among all London merchants, Ebenezer is known as one of the richest and most pinging.

This lonely and insensitive old man lives in the obsession of his account books. Neither the death of his partner, Marley, nor the poor condition of his employee, Bob Cratchit, never managed to move him.

From every day of the year, the one Scrooge hates the most is Christmas. The idea of ​​spreading joy and gifts is definitely against all its principles! However, this year, Scrooge will live a Christmas that he will not be almost to forget …

It all starts the day before Christmas, when when I got home, Scrooge has strange hallucinations. The specter of his former partner makes him the most frightening of visits, and he announces others, as magical as disturbing.

Scrooge is first confronted with the minds of past Noëls, which plunges him back into his own memories, awakening in him forgotten wounds and deeply buried regrets …

Disney

Jim Carrey in a state of grace

The whole story is based on the mind-blowing performance of Jim Carrey who, thanks to the performance-cap, interprets not one but 8 roles! “Jim is an extraordinary artist. When you observe him playing, you realize that each muscle of his body, each gesture, from the most tiny to the most spectacular, serves the emotion he gives off. He embodies Scrooge to the various ages of his life, but also the three Christmas spirits”said Robert Zemeckis. “”

For Jim Carrey, playing several ages of the character was a real challenge because you have to find for everyone what makes their deep nature. You have to change the voice, the gestures, the attitude and the rhythm of play.

“A child does not move like an old man. Suddenly, I do not play scrooge but several people who are scrooge! The fact of playing the 3 Christmas spirits is an idea of ​​Robert and there again, there was an exciting challenge to take up. We had to embody three distinct entities, which each have their personality and their characteristics. It was exciting”said Jim Carrey.

In addition to the singular performance of the actor, it is of course necessary to underline the graphic beauty of the feature film. Robert Zemeckis' team was inspired by the canvases, plans and engravings of the time to restore the refined and mysterious atmosphere of London from the Victorian era. The whole is punctuated by the splendid partition of composer Alan Silvestri, favorite musician of Robert Zemeckis. The music for the film was recorded in Los Angeles by an orchestra of 103 musicians!

What they will love:

– The 19th century London atmosphere, between chills and wonder.

– The character of Scrooge and the beautiful lesson he receives at the end of the film.

– The frantic pace of the story, which captivates from start to finish.

Which can worry them:

– The appearance of ghosts and certain slightly “horrifying” sequences may worry the youngest. Disney+ advises the film from 9 years old.