Going into this movie, one might be wary of the prospect of Jim Carrey taking on the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol," after seeing the disaster of a job he did in the adaptation of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Luckily for movie-goers, the latest remake of Dickens' Christmas staple is above and beyond what this reviewer expected.

Writer and director Robert Zemeckis allowed the movie to follow the traditional storyline of "A Christmas Carol," where Scrooge is depicted as a miser, frugal with his money and time, and is haunted by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come in an attempt to save his soul from an afterlife of haunting the earth.

Scrooge is shown as old, wrinkly and cursed with pointed bones and an extreme pointed chin, reminiscent of Jay Leno. Scrooge's business partner, Jacon Marleyis a bit more terrifying than his predecessors and uses the full extent of the theater's sound system when attempting to frighten Scrooge into submission. The Ghost of Christmas Past is an effeminate man in the shape of a candle with the flame as his head, and while speaking, the flame moves from side to side as if flickering in the wind.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is a large, seemingly Irish man with a flowing red robe, and laughs at the sight of Scrooge's embarrassment on their journey as they look into the lives of those he has made bleak. The movie takes on a darker tone during the last spirit to haunt Scrooge, as expected, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, characterized by a figure that closely resembles the Grim Reaper, reveals to Scrooge that unless he changes his ways, the future holds a very dishonorable death.

In addition to voicing Scrooge, Carrey also lends his voice to Marley, as well as the three spirits that haunt Scrooge. As recognizable as Carrey's normal speaking voice is, viewers won't realizing Carrey is voicing multiple roles, or even involved in the film at all because of how he disguises his himself.

The real surprise is how closely the movie mimics the original Dickens tale, not only following the original plot laid out by Dickens, but also in the dialogue. Despite being released by Walt Disney Pictures, Zemeckis does not cater to the younger audience, but mostly uses phrases word-for-word from the original writing, which might make it hard for children to understand the full extent of the story; however, the look of the film will keep their attention, even if the language doesn't.

The movie was released in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D, and the experience of a performance capture film has improved immensely since Zemeckis' attempts with "The Polar Express" in 2004 and "Beowulf" in 2007. Despite an inordinate amount of scenes that followed Scrooge attached to one of the spirits flying through the air, the use of 3D in the film is artistic, and succeeds in giving the viewer the feeling of actually being involved in a conversation or action scene, like when Scrooge falls into his own grave.

Thanks to the realistic look of the falling snow and the eerily life-like expressions reflected on the faces of the characters, "A Christmas Carol" is able to rise above average animated movies into an entire category all its own. Though a bit darker in some places than most parents would expect of a movie released by Walt Disney Pictures, Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" is a wonderful start to the holiday season.

Bah humbug, indeed.