A Christmas Carol – Dir Robert Zemeckis, starring Jim Carrey, Robin Wright Penn, Colin Firth

It's that time of year again, and it's been a while since Charles Dickens’ classic tale has had a cinematic revamp. But while Disney's cleverly animated version plays well as a family film, it's a little disappointing to see the story take a back seat to modern-day 3D effects. Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy old merchant and money lender whose bitter and selfish ways have distanced him from friends, family and employees. On Christmas Eve he's visited by his late business partner, Jacob Marley, who spends his afterlife carrying heavy chains around as a result of his own greedy ways. Warning Scrooge that his merciless habits will lead him to an even darker fate, Jacob foretells that Scrooge will be haunted by three spirits who will try to show him the error of his ways before it's too late.

The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come take their turns at scaring Scrooge into redemption; and, as with all Disney stories, there’s a happy-ever-after ending.

The stunning visuals include an extraordinary life-like cast of animated folk – and Zemeckis works hard (and mostly successfully) to retain the dark moralistic undertones of the story. Our only grumble? If it ain’t broke, don't fix it; rent out the 1938 or 1951 versions for a tale that gets closer to Dickens’ idea of A Christmas Carol.