I left the screening of Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol as fast as I could -- and highly disappointed. Shown in 3-D and made in motion-capture animation, the movie is excessively dark with many scenes too frightening for children. During the entire film, I felt Zemeckis had taken the Charles Dickens holiday favorite and jammed it into a garbage disposal where emotionless characters, CGI, and horrible images rattle around for 96 minutes constantly spewing pieces of rubbish everywhere.

Since Dickens penned his short story of A Christmas Carol in 1848, the theme has been rewritten and explored in almost every medium. The story of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who has no heart, his faithful employee Bob Cratchit who must plea for time off on Christmas to spend with his family, and the emotional subplot of Cratchit’s son Tiny Tim and his failing health are all unforgettable.

This new version of the classic seems spawned from some ghoulish dream. The three Ghosts who appear on Christmas Eve to baptize Scrooge in recollections of better times are more like something out of a Transformer movie than from a Dickens story. Scenes of Jacob Marley’s (Scrooge’s former partner) embalmed corpse and hideous flapping jaw belong in a horror cartoon. The chase scene with skeletons gnawing at Scrooge’s heels reflects a reason why Scrooge would lose any sense of normalcy. And that’s only a few of the far-fetched and distasteful images in this film.

And then there’s the cast. Jim Carrey portrays the elderly Scrooge, Scrooge as a young boy, Scrooge as a teenager and Scrooge as a middle-aged man plus the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come -- whew! Usually there’s some trace of Carrey in a look, a funny motion, or something. But with the motion-capture technique and the miserable or gruesome faces on these characters, it’s insignificant that Carrey plays these roles. I really didn’t care because I didn’t want to spend time with any of them. Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright Penn also portray characters, but unless you can push the pause button on this film, you’re likely to miss them.

This technique is not new for Zemeckis. Beowulf and The Polar Express are both films he directed using this process. And while some stories may benefit from constant motion every second in front of your eyes -- Beowulf, for example -- films like The Polar Express or A Christmas Carol have a real message to impart. Why use this method when there are so many filming options? I just watched a recent DVD release of Mickey’s Christmas Carol, a Disney adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, and it was delightful every minute.

I never felt anything warm, nurturing or symbolic of a tradition while viewing Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol. I don’t recommend it for children of any age. The little ones will probably be frightened and the older ones too confused about what they’re seeing.

(Released by Walt Disney Pictures and rated “PG” for scary sequences and images.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.