My daughter has seen Mickey's Christmas Carol when she was younger and it was fun for her to see it older. She seemed to appreciate that I let her see a more grown up adaptation of the book.
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Disney's A Christmas Carol
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
3-D adaptation of classic holiday tale may scare young kids.
Themes in this movie include: honesty, loss
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 8 and Up
The good stuff
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Educational value:
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Disney's A Christmas Carol
Parents need to know that, unlike The Polar Express, this Robert Zemeckis adaptation of a classic holiday tale is too intense both visually and in content for families with very young children. At its heart, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a ghost story, and not only are the many spirits very creepy at times, but the 3-D technology makes certain scenes -- as when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come's red-eyed black stallions jump out at the audience -- all the scarier. And the realistic nature of the motion capture technology often makes the movie seem more like live action (and thus more intense) than animation. But on the other hand, the language is mild (British slang like "bugger" and "blast") and the drinking limited to Christmas toasts. And the messages are all quite positive, as Ebenezer Scrooge's (Jim Carrey) transformation is one of literature's ultimate stories of redemption and hope, even in the bleakest of times.
Read our full review by Sandie Angulo Chen
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the lessons that Scrooge learns. How does he change throughout the movie? What is the story trying to teach us about not just Christmas, but about human behavior in general?
- How are the themes of A Christmas Carol still relevant more than 200 years after it was originally written? Kids: How can you act generously during the holidays and year round?
- Do you think the 3-D technology enhances the movie, or would it have been as good/better without it?
Our Members Say
See all 70 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
For older kids with a context of the story
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
A huge disappointment for a holiday movie with the kids. We did not walk away with the warm and fuzzies. It seems like they made this movie just to show off the special effects.
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Spoiler Alerts! This is not the Christmas Carol like the Mickey Mouse version or the Muppet version. This one has a much darker tone. There are many "jump-out" things that will cause you to jump (even as an adult though you know it's coming). Many things could be frightening such as Marley, Christmas Present who withers away into bones and the 2 nasty children at his feet, Christmas future and the horse carriage. This will be a movie that you as a parent will have to decide if your child can handle it. Also, this movie may go well over the heads of the younger kids and may get bored along with frightened. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the movie. They didn't make it into a cutesy movie cause it did have dark moments in the actual story...which Charles Dickens wrote without the thought of making it into a cutesy, everybody is happy movie. I think many people are making the mistake of thinking it's a happy/funny story (due to Mickey and Muppets), but deep down it's not. Although there are light moments in the story such as the transformation of Scrooge at the end. It's a story to make you think (for an adult anyway) of how you're spending the days you have with your family, friends and to others. I also think Jim Carrey did a superb job with all the voice overs he did.
- I rate this title off for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Hate it for kids. This is not a typical Disney or Holiday film to share with your kids! The images are too scary and creepy. My 8 year old daughter and I walked out half way through...could not stomach all of the negativity, scary and creepy images/concepts, nor the 2 embodied images of ignorance and want...which turn into this almost zombie like adults in form, hissing and growling figures that seem to jumpt out at the viewer. The trailer and previews are misleading...the price you pay to get to the positive message and ending is not worth it. The 3D images make the lifelike factor all the more real...demon like facial images, skeletons, corpes, horses with red eyes running right toward you. I will not be seeing this movie again, nor will I buy it to watch in years to come.
- I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
A great 3D adaptation for older children
A great 3D adaptation of the classic ghost story. Very scary and frightening for children under 8, has lots of things that go bump in the night also. DO NOT TAKE LITTLE CHILDREN TO THIS MOVIE,they will be traumatized! Great movie for the older kids!
- I rate this title on for age 9 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
Young ones should not see in 3d
Surprisingly scary for a childrens movie. Also very boring and probably will not keep young children interested.
- I rate this title on for age 7 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Educational
Scary in parts for young kids . . .
An excellent telling of the original Dickens story without "Disney-fying" the tale. It's true to the classic. The portrayal of the ghost of Christmas Past is the most accurate to Dickens' description of the specter than I have seen in any portrayal. The look of the movie is out of this world. The story is scary in parts for kids. My 4 year old hid his eyes a couple of times, but otherwise enjoyed the film. Our 8 and 10 year olds, thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, the use of the language from Dickens-era London might be confusing for younger kids to understand.
- I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
Thank goodness there's a non-3-D version out there! My 6 year old really wanted to see it but we've had bad luck with 3-D before. Even with "regular" movie viewing, however, some of the scenes are pretty intense: eg. The door knocker turning into Marley, the black horse and carriage racing towards you. Luckily the seasoned viewer (ie parent) was able to forewarn some of the predictable places that could get a little scary for our daughter. Other than that, she still really enjoyed it and seemed to understand the importance of the story overall. We say know your younger child, enjoy the story and look for a non-3-D movie theatre if you're not 100% sure.
- I rate this title on for age 9 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Educational
Not for little kids
There were a lot of unnecessarily scary scenes. We saw it in regular, not 3D and my 8 year old, who is a brave girl, was hiding in my arm for a good many parts. She also said she was so glad that we didn't see it in 3D.
- I rate this title off for age 8 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Way too scary for little kids.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Perfect for tweens and up
It holds true to the classic tale, however some of the ghost were a tad scarey.
- I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
This movie is INTENSE and very dark. My 8 year old was very bothered by the creepy music and the number of things that jumped out. Some 8 year olds may be better able to handle this, but mine wasn't. As an adult, I found the movie very slow and not all that enjoyable. After watching the Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, I've decided that I really don't care for this style of animation.
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Definitely for older teens.
I am appalled at how WAY OVER THE TOP scary this movie was. , the intensity and scariness of the ghosts made this movie just disastorous to leave with a positive feeling. It's too terrifying for children. The only reason we laughed was due to the fact that we couldn't believe how scary they made the ghost not to mention the intensity factor. PARENTS: This is incredibly scary for children and even some tweens. Beware. Also, why did they have to show those images? It's not aproppriate in a children's movie or a christmas movie, not to mention a children's CHRISTMAS movie! We were very glad it was over. We will NEVER be renting this nor recommending it to others. WHEW!
- I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
3D makes these haunting images worse
If your child is eight or so in age and has seen scary movies and can handle them then the movie is great. But for children that cant handle them it is intense and frightning. Being in 3D only makes those images stronger. There were scenes were I jumped. When the movie was over my daughter said finally its over, lets get out of here. She later told all her friends not to go see because it was to scary.
- I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Take your kids:)
Some parts just kind of jump out at you, and if i was a little kid, that would scare me so bad:) they use about 2 bad words, but not in a bad way. no "sexual" things at all. it made me laugh. it was realistic for animation.
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
I loved the movie but I disagree with your rating of 8+. The gost are scary and I took 12 year olds that were nervous when the ghost were there. Jim Carey was unbelievable and the artistry of how they did this movie was fantastic. Sometimes you really thought you were looking at real people.
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
A very well done film, but it is also the most violent, graphic, and disturbing one I've ever seen. It shows several corpses, some half alive, others not. Marley is seen in the beginning, lying in a coffin, looking very dead indeed. Then in Scrooge's house, when he comes up and talks, his jaw literally shatters, leaving his tongue lolling all around the place. Ignorance turns into a prostitute, and then goes insane, screaming as a strait jacket appears on her. While Want turns into a crazed murderer and slashes at the audience. All in all, it was good, but not for anyone younger than twelve.
- I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
My 6 and 8 year old girls loved it.
Hmm, I was scared to take my 6 year old daughter and my girlfriends 8 year old after reading all of these reviews, but I'm glad I did. I attended a sold out IMAX viewing that was full of kids from 2+. No one walked out and there were no crying kids etc. There was actually a round of appluase at the credits. As for my girl(s) they absolutely loved it and were still talking about it excitedly as I was trying to tuck them into bed. I don't know how all these reviews are so heavy handed but our experience was definitely different lol.
- I rate this title on for age 8 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Not for those with young kids who scare easily.
Definetely for kids over 7yrs old...unless he/she is not scared easily. Took my six year-old, and she was fine with everything except the (*spoiler alert*) really really loud and scary Ghost of Christmas Future, and the even more loud and scary black horses that chase Scrooge's character for about ten minutes. (She actually sat on my lap for that part). The movie was very good, I just figured that a movie geared towards children would be a little more friendly with all the animated imagery.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
I can't believe I stayed for the whole thing!
Way to scary for small children. Not that fun for adults. It was rather dark with the 3D glasses on and by the end I had a headache. While the motion capture was well done, the attempts at trying to frighten the audience seemed inappropriate for a Disney holiday movie. I'm soooo glad I did not take my 5 year-old daughter to see this. My adult wife was very scared watching the movie. Boo on you Disney and Robert Zemekis. Boo on you!
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Ratings at a Glance
| 86% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 45% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
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