melissarockchica Reviews

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

Great vocals, average script

[7/10 · 4 December 2022]

Did we need another A Christmas Carol film? No, probably not.

Was this worth it? Just for Luke Evans vocals alone I'd 100% say yes. Some of the songs were spectacular.

The animation was great, with exciting new imaginations of scenes. I think it was a successful modernisation of an over saturated film and will definitely get younger kids enjoying it, but maybe not enough to stand out alone if it wasn't a musical. There wasn't enough emphasis on some of the other characters stories, so you don't build much of an emotional connection with them. Some of the accents were pretty bad, and parts of the original script and wording is lost, which is important to its essence.

Despite that, it's enjoyable, and after all it's a children's film. I will be going back to replay Luke Evan's singing solos on repeat.

Pinocchio (I) (2022)

An adaptation made for the younger audience it was intended for

[6/10 · 11 September 2022]

I'm seeing a lot of, in my opinion, very poor yet unwarranted reviews.

The film was certainly not a copy and paste of the original but in general it lived up to the story and it's essence unlike other adaptations (cough Mulan cough).

When I watched Pinocchio as a kid it absolutely petrified me, which wasn't the case here. Yes, Pleasure Island may have lost some of the gut wrenching fear it invoked in us as kids but I think the message was still clear (don't go off alone, trust your gut instincts, don't trust any stranger, being peer pressured into something fun but feels wrong) without giving you nightmares although the henchmen were pretty terrifying.

The CGI was good for the most part where it mattered. It felt more like cartoon mixed with real life rather than making something look 100% realistic which I think was fitting and still great.

Tom Hanks' Geppetto was endearing and fun and Benjamin's Pinocchio was spot on. It was just missing more of Jiminy and the conscience song. All in all a decent adaptation and something kids would enjoy.