Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" has been retold so many times and in so many forms since its first printing in 1843 that it would be difficult to come up with a new way to tell this most famous of Christmas tales.  And after such classic rebrandings as Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Scrooged and less classic remakes like The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, filmmakers had few avenues left to explore with this tale of redemption and turkey. That is, until director Robert Zemeckis saw an opportunity to take a story we all know and turn it into a 3-D extravaganza that actually skews much closer to Charles Dicken’s original text than most of the reincarnations before it.

With little alteration, this version of "A Christmas Carol" stays true to its source material. Ebeneezer Scrooge (played by a reigned-in Jim Carrey) is the original grumpy old man—a money lender who clings to every farthing he’s earned at the expense of his relatives and employees like the sweet-natured Bob Cratchit. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by an old friend—his long-dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley informs Scrooge that he must change the errors of his ways or be doomed to an afterlife of pain and penance. Soon, Scrooge finds himself visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future, who guide him through the streets of London on a tour of the light and dark sides of human nature.  

Zemeckis and 3-D animation have come a long way since his last attempt at a revolutionary Christmas film, The Polar Express. Regardless of the beautiful scenery and universally loved story, the people of The Polar Express were creepy—at once photo-realistic and totally dead-eyed. After honing their skills on 2007’s Beowolf,  it would seem that Zemeckis' team has approached their latest film determined to right the wrongs of Christmas movies past.

In particular, the level of attention paid to the character of Scrooge is painstaking. With 3-D glasses, you see every slightly disgusting aspect of his body from the hairs on the end of his nose to the holes in his teeth to the sternum protruding from his chest while dressed in a nightgown. And the detail carries over into the other major characters in the story. While it can be slightly disconcerting to see dead-ringer animated version of actors Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Bob Hoskins, there is no denying that the work is flawless. Dead eyes are no longer a problem as every eye flicker and twitch is shockingly true to life.

To match the detail paid to the main characters of the story, Zemeckis’ team has also created a breathtaking view of 1800’s London. As Scrooge sails his way across the skies with each of his ghostly guides, the audience is treated to a gorgeous map of old London that’s almost worth the price of admission alone. Although, be warned that those with issues of motion sickness may not take kindly to the very real lightheaded feeling that accompanies watching each of Scrooge’s flights in 3-D.

While the dazzling animation and family-friendly story may encourage adults to bring their children to the theaters in droves, I hesitate to recommend this movie to parents with very young children. Zemeckis has chosen to stay very true to the original source material written by Dickens. And the original "A Christmas Carol" is really more ghost story than Christmas tale.

Zemeckis does not shy away from the many scary moments in Carol and in fact, seems to enjoy reveling in them. There are some truly frightening moments involving the ghosts of Marley, Christmas' Present and Future that are decidedly not meant for impressionable youngsters that might scream at, say, someone’s jaw falling off mid-sentence.

In addition, Zemeckis has chosen to stay very true to Dicken’s writing and has taken most of the dialogue from the original book. This lends itself to some rather dry scenes that even Jim Carrey (who remains remarkably low-key even past the moments of Scrooge’s redemption) can’t manage to liven up and will most certainly bore kids with MTV attention spans.

At the time of year when families are clamoring for holiday movies to take the whole family to, it’s a tough call to say which members of the family will actually enjoy the film. For adults looking for a classic retelling of the story and for heartier tweens and teenagers, A Christmas Carol is a pleasant and visually beautiful way to spend an hour and a half. For little ones not ready for a little Halloween thrown in with their Christmas, you might want to find something a little less likely to make them say, "bah humbug."