ANY film that stars the likes of Nicolas Cage, Kate Winslet, Simon Callow and Jane Horrocks has got to be worth a look.

Unfortunately, we don't see these great thespians we only hear them. They lend their voices to some of the characters in Christmas Carol: The Movie (U), a new animated version of the Charles Dickens festive heartwarmer.

This is a rather flat, insipid adaptation of a great story that is clearly aimed at a young audience.

It begins promisingly, in live action form with Callow as Charles Dickens beginning a recital of his story on stage in America.

Then the cartoon kicks in as we revisit the familiar tale of Victorian miser Ebenezer Scrooge (Callow again) and his journey to redemption, along which he meets various ghosts and sees the past, present and future with fresh eyes.

Cage vocalises Marley's Ghost and Winslet is a young woman working at an orphanage (she also gets to sing a particularly sickly song).

The animation is rather uninspired and the addition of a couple of comedy mice doesn't help. It's the under-eights who may get the most from the film, but even then the very young could find some of the ghosts a little scary.

Probably the only people who will see it are those who can't get a seat for Harry Potter.

Out! rating: 4 out of 10