Film shows us a fictional, fairy tale- like approach to how Dickens wrote the story, his inspirations, his brainstorming, how he might have imagined the characters while he was writing, and most amusingly, how difficult it can be to write is depicted by Dickens characters themselves appearing in physical form, to playfully argue with him about plot points, and what their characters would and would not do.
Much more comedic than I expected, and that's a positive note about the film, with lead actor Dan Stevens hamming it up quite nicely, without over doing it, and Christopher Plummer a wonderfully grumpy Scrooge, without turning the character into a depressing old man.
Beautiful sets and costume design and lighting, too