It was 2009 when the impressive-looking A Christmas Carol swept onto the silver screen. A year on, and it finds itself released on all the formats under the sun. If you saw the 3D version at the cinema, you may well want to invest in the 3D Blu-ray version; this will mean of course that you are one of only four people in the whole country who has invested in the jaw-droppingly expensive 3D TV set up and Blu-ray player. Still, it's good to have something decent to watch on it at least. Although it will be difficult to get into the festive spirit watching this in, say, June.

For the paupers amongst you (and, sadly, us), there's always the bog standard 2D Blu-ray to fall back on, as well as the old family favourite DVD.

Yet the question has to be asked, is there room for another animated 3D feature? Not only that, there have been so many versions of this classic tale made for the screen, both big and small, do we really need another one?

Thankfully, both these questions are soon forgotten about during the opening credits to Disney’s latest version of this Christmas classic. Director Robert Zemeckis appears to have almost been practising with this new technology in his two last films (The Polar Express, Beowulf), with the purpose of perfecting it for this one. And he comes pretty close.

A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey); a man who has reached a point in his life where money has become everything to him. He’s about as far from being charitable and generous as a man can be. He is a lost soul who will seemingly remain so until the day he dies.

One Christmas Eve however, he is visited by the ghost of his ex business partner Marley, who informs him that he will be visited by three ghosts; each with the sole purpose of revealing to Scrooge the error of his ways. But can a tight-fisted grouch ever change?

One of the first boxes that Zemeckis manages to tick is in the way he sticks closely to the source material. It is a truly cautionary tale told with a real edge to it; there are several scenes with the spirits that are just downright ghoulish, leaving you sitting in your seat with a well-chilled spine. And this from a Disney film no less.

Getting Carrey involved was a good move too, as he not only supplies the voice of Scrooge throughout his life, but also the ghosts that visit him. In terms of Scrooge however, he shows a welcome restraint, seemingly giving the character a healthy respect, instead of lampooning him into a barrel of silliness. He does manage to flex his comic to good effect with some of the other characters, so Carrey fans won’t be disappointed.

Scrooge, who looks eerily like a cross between Mr Burns (from The Simpsons) and Albert Steptoe, is superbly realised in animated form - as is the entire film. Zemeckis has really pushed the boundaries of the technology available. Not only does it look a truly awesome spectacle throughout, he also uses it to enhance, and not detract from, the storytelling process.

Some of the other characters, voiced by the likes of Bob Hoskins and Gary Oldman, look almost more like the actors who voice them, than they do themselves. It’s not a matter of Bob Cratchit resembling Gary Oldman, more of how did they get a machine to suck Oldman up and reassemble the real Oldman into a cartoon? It’s that realistic.

Of course this creates the argument that if a computer can recreate the image of an actor to such an exact replica, why not simply make a live action film with the real actor involved? Answers on a postcard for that one. The fact is Zemeckis got his hands on some pretty impressive toys and wanted to showboat a little. Okay, a lot. But when he provides such a stunning marvel as this, who can blame him?

It also has to be said that if you can pay that little bit extra for the 3D version, it’s money well spent. Again, it really does enhance the overall experience; in fact, it’s one of the first 3D titles that promotes the technology from gimmick status, to being a real yardstick in cementing the possibility that 3D could be the future of films after all.

Disney must be applauded for giving such free reign to a visionary like Zemeckis. This has to be one of the most grown up features they have produced in years, with very little in the way of mass marketing of merchandise. Having said that, who couldn’t be tempted by the lure of a Scrooge Unhappy meal?

If you feel yourself already humbugging over the yuletide season ahead, this film has the perfect Christmas spirit – actually three of them – to make you feel very merry indeed.