Lots of holiday, but little spirit

“A Christmas Carol” is another in the long line of Robert Zemeckis’ creepy CGI films, coming on the heels of “Polar Express” and “Beowulf.” It is also an unnecessary retelling of the Charles Dickens classic, and Disney’s third remake of the story in 25 years.

Yeah, so what’s the point?

The character design is inconsistent, and the movie fails to play by its own rules, seemingly undecided as to whether the animated creations should act like real people or cartoon characters.

Jim Carrey pulls off some surprisingly good work as he plays almost every role, and the movie uses its off-putting CGI characters well, scaring us senseless with them.

Unfortunately, they then try to throw in random ineffectual gags to lighten the mood.

Confused, unfocused, genuinely creepy, visually impressive but lacking any soul or substance, the emotional impact of this movie is about as real as the characters on the screen.