A Christmas Carol - One to remember!

AMAZING!!! MAGICAL!! Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!

Today we went and saw "A Christmas Carol" in 3D at the Navy Pier IMAX theater in downtown Chicago, and it was all of the above - and then some.

You know the story - you've heard it, watched it and thought about it before. Let me tell you - this movie brought it all full circle to me today. I sat in this theater with my husband, daughters, sister, and brother-in-law, and I was in a state of complete disbelief that animated movies are able to look so completely real. I sat thinking about how talented and brilliant Robert Zemeckis is, to have created this film. I sat thinking about how gifted all the people involved in bringing this film to life must be - how I wish I had just one little teeny tiny itty bit of their creativity. Just brilliant. And Jim Carrey - he was awesome. I actually forgot it was Jim Carrey and became lost in this Ebenezer Scrooge. Just Fantastic. The movie did have a few "dark" moments in it, but my daughters (yes, even Ella) did really really well and seemed to enjoy the story. And so far (knock on wood) they are having no ill effects of it. It means alot to me for them to know of this story, because it's a special story to me.

"A Christmas Carol" has been a part of my own Christmas story for a very long time. Growing up, it was our family tradition to go to church the evening of Christmas Eve, and then visit my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin's at their home for a small Christmas Eve gathering. My immediate family would end the night and return home to our house (my parents house, that is), to find that Santa had already made his first stop of the night . . . . and left a pile of gifts for each of us. (I never noticed that my Dad had left my Aunts home for a short time during that Christmas Eve celebration, and quickly assisted Santa in leaving our gifts out for us. Sneaky, weren't those parents of mine?) We kids would then spend the remainder of Christmas Eve night opening gifts to the sounds of It's a Wonderful Life in the background (which was always on Channel 11 - WTTW - the local PBS station here in Chicago).

After all the presents were opened and the vacuum cleaner had returned our carpet to normal, A Christmas Carol would be starting on Channel 11. (SIDE NOTE: This was long before the time of DVD's, DVR's, TIVO's, or any of those other modern television contraptions. This was back in the day when you actually received a TV Guide in your Sunday paper, and would actually have to READ IT and PLAN on watching your particular program. I don't think my Dad would have understood, or would even want, a DVR.) Many a Christmas Eve was spent on the couch near my Dad, watching this story. My Dad was a fan of the Alastair Sim version. Mr. Sim was an absolute FANTASTIC Scrooge.

But I have to tell you - I think my Dad would have been amazed with the version I saw today. I think seeing it in 3D was pretty special, too. One particular scene had snowflakes falling and I felt as if I was standing right there - with the snow all falling around me. So amazing. I decided, during the 90 minutes of this film today, that this is truly one of my all time favorite stories. And I'm thinking that the book written by Charles Dickens (166 years ago - can you imagine?) might need to be given as a special holiday gift to all those I see this year. Yes, I think it is a MUST for holiday gift giving.

If you see it, or have already seen it, let me know what you think.