Entertainment | Robert Zemeckis Motion-Capture Christmas Carol Hits Wrong Notes Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech By Harry Kimball Posted Nov 6, 2009 1:30 PM CST Copied Motion-Capture Christmas Carol Hits Wrong Notes The "A Christmas Carol" trailer. (movtrack) Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling: "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii Fit avatars and real people." Come on, folks: "Just because something can be done with computers doesn't mean it should be." Mike Scott of the Times-Picayune sees something else: a classic version of a classic. 'No cartoon characters to be found here, no Muppets, no shiny, happy singalongs. That's not the way Dickens wrote it, and so it's not the way Zemeckis presents it." "Mo-cap' comes at a cost," Joe Neumaier writes in the New York Daily News. "Like a dime-store holiday card, this 'Christmas Carol' is well-crafted but artless, detailed but lacking soul." Read These Next RFK Jr. suggests antidepressants to blame after shooting. Isolated tribe members show up in an unexpected place. Details trickle out on 2 more victims of the Minneapolis shooting. Trump just used a spending maneuver last seen nearly 50 years ago. See 1 photo Report an error