Metacritic Movie Ratings
Disney's A Christmas Carol Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 100

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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

• 100

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  A marvelous and touching yuletide toy of a movie.

  Read full review

• 70

  out of 100

  The New York TimesA.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

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  This Christmas Carol seems like a pale ghost of Dickens' magical Christmas classic.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  VarietyTodd 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

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk 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

• 30

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesBetsy 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

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  This sad excuse for family entertainment tries to enshrine a classic while defacing it.

  Read full review

See all Disney's A Christmas Carol movie reviews at Metacritic.com