I saw this Jetlag version of A Christmas Carol as I do like Jetlag's animations in general and adore the story. Of the three Jetlag Christmas animations, the others being Magic Gift of the Snowman and The Nutcracker, both of which I loved, A Christmas Carol was the one that fared least. It is also one of my least favourite Jetlags alongside Alice in Wonderland and Jungle Book, lacking in what was so good about the likes of their animations of Heidi, Magic Gift of the Snowman and Little Red Riding Hood. It does get some good points for the whimsical score and the heartwarming song Keep Christmas in Your Heart. I however found the other songs Sleep No More and A Wholesome Merry Christmas to be forgettable with lyrics not as meaningful in comparison to those of Keep Christmas in Your Heart. However, I didn't like the animation, finding the character designs awkward and the backgrounds flatly coloured. The writing doesn't fall into the trap of being over-simplified but it did feel corny when meant to be amusing and actually cloying in the more emotional moments. A Christmas Carol(1994) also suffers from being too short, I personally would give an adaptation of this story 70 minutes minimum so that you can feel the emotional impact of the story's meaning and to identify with the characters. I consequently found the storytelling rushed, and in regard to the characters the Cratchits are barely developed and Scrooge's reform is the least convincing I've seen for any adaptation of the story. The details are there of course, the problem is that the emotional impact for me was not. On the whole, very disappointing and one of Jetlag's weakest though not irredeemable by all means. 4/10 Bethany Cox
