New Italian Trailer for Zemeckis' 'A Christmas Carol'

There's a new trailer for Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol. Two problems: It's a fairly low quality camcorder grab, and it's in Italian. Having said that, I'm still as impressed as I've ever been by the sliver of footage we'd seen up till now, and this doesn't disappoint. Keep in mind, it's Zemeckis' motion capture stuff, which he's used in The Polar Express and Beowulf. I think he can claim a real victory here, at least in terms of how this stuff works. It's looked better and better with each movie, and nobody else has had the balls to try it three times, hoping to get it right. It's still not quite there, and I don't think they'll ever get the eyes right. It's just one of those things. But if it's 100% success if you get everything else right, then this is in the 90th percentile. Check out the new trailer: Again, it's not pristine quality, but you can still see the advancements in the technology, so give Zemeckis all the credit in the world on this one. Whether or not he's made an engaging story is still a big factor, but this has all the markings of being one of those repeat performers at IMAX like Polar Express.

Comments

[D. Bethel]

I'll agree with you that the Zemeckis animated films have been dancing dangerously close to the kind of realistic perfection he yearns for. What's missing, though, instantly holds back the believability in a way that a more caricatured style wouldn't. I think it's because it looks so close to reality that such a style comes under an unconscious scrutiny. I mean, we all know what real people look like and if we see someone that is trying to be real (that when standing still could even be mistaken for real) then the slightest difference is going to bring down the charade.

What is it, though? You mention the eyes, with which I wholeheartedly agree, but I'd even widen the "problem area" to the entire face. I don't know what it is, but it kept me from enjoying the Marley scene included in the trailer. The heads seem to be a separate entity from the bodies to which they are supposed to be attached. I think this speaks to a tenuous amalgam between a hand-animated body--done with limited squash and stretch and exaggeration--and motion capture--which probably wasn't enhanced too much on the face seeing as how they're pushing the fact that Jim Carrey IS Scrooge for this film.

There's a problem though. I watched that last shot of the trailer over and over again. It is perfect. The most gorgeous CG animation I've ever seen. What did they do in that shot that is missing in the previously mentioned scene, I wonder? Is it just the right balance between acting, voice acting, and animation (i.e., motion done by animators, not just motion capture)? It's a perplexing riddle, and I hope, for the sake of analysis, that Zemeckis keeps on with these experiments, though unfortunately I'm not speaking much for the quality of the films as cinematic narratives. The style and "holy grail" aspect of the technology overshadows it all.

[Get The Big Picture]

Thank you very much for the comments. Well said.

[wedding]

very good film