 Regarding the list of Golden Christmas Classics, it's easy to see why this is one of them. It didn't seem to be one we visited much while I was growing up, as the big names in our household for the classic era were 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'A Christmas Carol' (1951, specifically). So, I only actually saw this for the first time, maybe about a decade ago. Over the years, it has grown on me as something to add to the "Golden Classics" category that delivers that good old "Christmas magic" I love so much in a good Christmas movie.
There are a few different ways to tug at my heartstrings enough to reignite my love for Christmas every year, and one. However, it might sound very strange to some, is to reinvigorate my belief in Santa Claus, and 'Miracle on 34th Street' is a beautiful example of one such movie that can do that. But I should probably clarify that by saying that, I don't speak of a physical being who can fly around the world in one night, fit down chimneys, consume half of the snacks we leave out for him and leave gifts for us in our stockings and under our Christmas trees. I'm talking about a symbol, but I'll get to that later. The story here involves Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who comes to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan only to find that the Santa they have hired is a disgraceful lush. He then voluntarily replaces him for the parade and does such a good job of representing Santa that he is later asked to be the Santa Claus for Macy's department store, which he agrees to. He's such a good Santa that he even gives parents advice on where to shop instead of Macy's for bargains and deals, which, in turn, gives Macy's loyal customers for their Santa's honesty! Meanwhile, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), the coordinator of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is raising her daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood), to not believe in such "nonsense" as Santa Claus, fairy tales or anything of the like. However, her attorney neighbour, Fred Gailey (John Payne), cares a lot for Susan and believes that her upbringing is taking away her childlike sense of wonder (which I tend to agree with). So, one day, Fred takes Susan to visit Santa at Macy's, and after a little conversation, Susan becomes pretty convinced. The rest of the film leans heavily on Kris, a very sweet, kindhearted old man who believes he is Santa Claus and how people treat him like he's gone off his nut. After he starts to send Macy's shoppers to other stores to find what they're looking for at a bargain, the whole thing turns into Kris against the world as some aim to have him committed for believing that he is actually Santa, which many people find preposterous and even potentially dangerous, especially in an era where mental health was looked at much differently than it is today. Going back to this talk about Santa being a symbol, this is essentially what I was taught upon finding out the truth about things. He might not be real in the physical sense, but Santa, at least to me, represents joy, happiness, the spirit of giving and even some of the mystique and excitement we experience on the night of Christmas Eve. When one thinks of all the stress that Christmas brings, one can look to Santa to remind them that there's still a lot to love about Christmas that isn't material and doesn't cause you enough stress to rip all your hair out for a partially bald Christmas morning. That's really what 'Miracle on 34th Street' is all about. It's a very warm and sweet film that does an excellent job of reinvigorating the true spirit of Christmas in the same way 'Wonderful Life' reinvigorates a positive outlook on life, or 'Christmas Carol' reinvigorates a spirit of giving. It may not be at the top of my list as an annual go-to, but it's still undeniably a sweet movie that puts the warmth of Christmas back into my heart when I watch it. And indeed, in its own way, it reminds me that, at least symbolically, there is still a Santa Claus in my life. 4/5
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 As it is with most high-school kids, there was a point in time when I had quite a thing for a girl in one of my art classes. Unlike many at that point in time, she was very sweet and gave me the time of day. Things didn't ultimately work out, but we remain on friendly terms, and I'm always grateful to her for simply being her. Another thing I have to thank her for is introducing me to this movie, which, in turn, made me feel better about romantic love altogether, as I once thought some pretty bitter stuff about the whole concept.
Funnily enough, I first watched this movie in the summer of 2013, only to realize it's a Christmas movie. My friend didn't explain a whole lot more to me about the film aside from it being a combination of different stories having to do with concepts of love, it was an all-star cast, it was directed by the same guy who did 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and that she really wanted a lot of it to be a surprise for the first time I watch it. While I first passed it off as just another mush movie, I have to admit that when I finally got around to it, I was more than pleasantly surprised. The film centres on a massive group of interconnecting characters, all of whom have their own "love story," using different concepts of love for everything! To be perfectly honest, about ten different storylines are going on here, and to think that one can take the concept of "love" and come up with ten different ways to show it is, at least in my opinion, quite clever. Before this, I was basically stuck on three: the love for your family, your friends and, of course, the obvious, romantic love. That said, to go through them all would take forever. I think, however, the viewer has to take away the stories they relate to the most to get something special from the film. Speaking personally, I related to the British Prime Minister, David (Hugh Grant), inconveniently smitten with his new staff member, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), and Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who is infatuated with his best friend, Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) new wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley). This also shows his loyalty and love for his friend despite his feelings for her. To a lesser degree, I can also relate to Jamie's character (Colin Firth) just for using writing to help fill the void romance has left behind. There are so many other stories going on here that odds are one will find one to relate to in some way. A lot of them are actually much funnier than I would have expected, ranging from Collin (Kris Marshall), who just wants to travel to America in hopes of getting laid with his British charm, two movie sex doubles, John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page) who hit it off at the job and of course my personal favourite character of the entire film, pop singer Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) and his constantly giving his manager (Gregor Fisher) a hard time. Of course, no movie about love would be complete without a little bit of difficulty, which is where the three more profound stories come in. Sarah (Laura Linney), Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), and Michael (Michael Fitzgerald) show how sometimes love for family has to take priority over romantic love. Harry (Alan Rickman), Karen (Emma Thompson), and Mia (Heike Makatsch) is a story about temptation outside of one's family, and last but not least, Daniel (Liam Neeson) and his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), who have lost their respective wife and mother and deal by discussing how Sam can win over his crush, Joanna (Olivia Olson). I didn't think I'd be able to get through all of the stories in the review, but somehow I did. The tenth story in question is a somewhat deleted one involving Rowan Atkinson, who was initially meant to be a Christmas angel - something reasonably evident if you consider his role here. Anyway, I think there's something here for everyone, and it gets more criticism than it deserves. I actually found it to be creative and well-thought-out. It's another nice, down-to-earth film that one must watch with an open heart and mind. Remember that for as many storylines as there is here, none of it is as repetitive as one might think. This one holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, and that's not gonna change any time soon. 5/5  In the tradition of Christmas movies, one of the biggest central themes to make things so magical tends to be "love." More often than not, this is punctuated with "romance." That's all good, but it doesn't usually tend to be my forte. I'm more of a fantasy kinda guy when it comes to Christmas whimsy, ranging from Scrooge getting his ass haunted on Christmas Eve to just about anything putting heavy imagination in Santa Claus and his surrounding concepts. But occasionally, one of these Christmas romances brings me back to reality.
In my opinion, the best example of such a movie is 'Love, Actually.' But much of that has to do with having a connection to that film that I will have to explain for that review. Otherwise, I usually just find these kinds of films a bit "mushy," using Christmas as an excuse for "falling in love" to happen. Don't get me wrong, they're fine for what they are. But I do find that I genuinely enjoy very few of them. 'The Holiday' is one such exception as it doesn't go over the top in any way trying to relay its comedy, and it's plain and simply charming. It is a quaint slice-of-life film with a nice story, and Christmas remains nicely placed in the background. Plot-wise, Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) lives in London, England, writing a wedding column for a newspaper. She has pretty heavy romantic feelings for her coworker, Jasper (Rufus Sewell). He doesn't entirely return the same feelings but still manages to string her along like some kind of jerk-ass as he goes ahead and gets engaged to a different colleague. Needless to say, Iris's feelings are more than hurt, and she decides she needs to get away for a while. She has the idea to put her house up for a two-week exchange for anyone potentially interested. On the other side of the world, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), a movie trailer editor, has recently been cheated on by her boyfriend, Ethan (Edward Burns), and likewise wants to get away from everything to try to forget him. The two ladies meet online through the house exchange website Iris uses, and they make the deal to switch things up for the aforementioned two-week exchange. Amanda heads to Iris' Surrey cottage, and Iris heads for Amanda's L.A. mansion. During Amanda's trip, she meets Iris' brother, Graham (Jude Law), and they fall for each other immediately. On the other side, Iris befriends her new neighbour, a 90-year-old screenwriter named Arthur (Eli Wallach), who is probably my favourite character in the film. He's a kindly, mellow old charmer who helps Amanda with her overall self-esteem, and I'm a bit of a sucker for these sweet characters of guidance and advice. She also meets a film composer named Miles (Jack Black), who has a solid sense of humour and might be the key to her happiness. I find the story following Iris and Miles much more relatable and even more down to Earth than Amanda and Graham's, and in my opinion, they carry the movie. I appreciated Amanda and Graham's story, but if this movie had any sense of going overboard sometimes, it had to do with them. As far as a character's personality goes, I found myself relating to Iris in that the habit of falling for the wrong person is an ongoing story from my past I'm not proud of. Beyond that, I also find that a bit of encouragement from perfect strangers goes a long way. I've only watched this a couple of times now, and I find it interesting that while I like 'Love, Actually' as much as I do, this feels like it could be two separate stories from that movie that were cut for length. This is not to say that this feels like a copy, but more to say that one could put the two titles back to back and have a pleasant time with it. As a single man, films like this do a pretty good job of warming my heart and reminding me not only that it may still be out there but that we all have our moments of heartbreak, and we never know what's around the corner. 4/5  I was actually going to review this with further chit-chat about the differences between 'Bad Santa' (the theatrical release) and 'Badder Santa' (the unrated version) as there's so many more laughs in the latter. But there's something I want to discuss more than just comedic differences. It's kind of hard to believe that at the time of writing this, this movie has been an (almost) annual watch since its 2003 release, and it only just this year clicked for me that, while very much played for laughs, there's a dark drama underneath it all.
To summarize, Willie T. Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner, a little person named Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox), make a criminal career of annually posing as a mall Santa and his elf to research the ins and outs of the mall's security system and, as they close for Christmas, rob the place blind with Willie's safe-cracking skills as Marcus goes "shopping," taking whatever he can. They always seem to succeed, but while Marcus seems to do a good job at holding onto his share, Willie has a tendency to blow it all on a combination of drinking, prostitutes, strippers, presumably drugs, and who knows what else? The film begins with a demonstration of all of this, including Willie pissing his share away, which very much establishes his character as a bit of a loser. The following year, Marcus calls him to do another job in Phoenix, where they meet the likes of mall owner Bob Chipeska (John Ritter) and chief of security Gin Slagel (Bernie Mac). Bob's a pushover character trying to do his job to the best of his abilities with this drinking, cursing Santa working his mall. But Gin is someone Willie and Marcus need to keep on their toes for. In the meantime, Willie meets a kid named... well, his name is a pretty funny surprise upon its reveal, so I won't be spoiling anything if some of my readers haven't seen this yet. He's credited on IMDb as "The Kid" (Brett Kelly), so we'll go with that. To make a long story short, the kid is a perfect solution to Willie needing a hideout while the heat's on. He further meets a beautiful waitress named Sue (Lauren Graham), who provides another "convenience" for Willie as she fetishizes Santa Claus, and one can use one's imagination from there. What's interesting is that when the film starts, Willie essentially tells us all about how much crap life has thrown at him, and he comes across as a character we don't want to sympathize with. We sort of take him as the loser and everyone else as some kind of "professional" or at least "better" than him. As the film unfolds, he meets the kid and Sue, both of whom are very likable characters in their own ways, and by the end of the film, we find that Willie is a character to route for because Sue and the kid seem to bring his "good" back. Willie is a hard character to actually route for, as we constantly see him at his lowest lows, and his only highs seem to come from the bottle and sex where he can get it. He almost shoves how much of a "loser" he is in your face, and Marcus lets the audience know how he feels by what he says. But over time, I've learned to empathize with Willie far before we're "supposed to." Put simply, Willie's an alcoholic with an extremely negative outlook on life, and it takes the kid and Sue to bring him back around. So, while this film is an altogether hilarious, raunchy comedy on the surface, it also covers being at one's absolute rock bottom and the idea that there's still a glimmer of hope in a sea of people who seemingly hate you. The kid holds a mirror to his "loser" side, and Willie learns to help him. Sue, meanwhile, brings him back to not only the love of a woman he doesn't have to pay for but, I'd also say, his humanitarian side to some degree. While this is still great on the surface as a raunchy comedy, take what I've said into consideration the next time you watch it and try to put yourself in Willie's shoes. You might be surprised to find your heartstrings actually getting a little tug. 4/5  Speaking personally, 2015 was pretty tough for me for a few reasons I won't bore anyone with. So when it came to the release of a new Christmas comedy made for those of the pot-smoking variety (and yes, this was before it was legalized up here in the Great White North), I was more than thrilled at the idea - especially considering it features the combo of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, who I loved immensely as a combo in a previous movie; 2011's '50/50'. It seemed the perfect way to wrap up an otherwise bothersome year.
It turns out this has since become an annual watch for me, and this is me in year #9, which is hard to believe. Since its release, it has become such a perfect Christmas movie for me that it has ultimately replaced 'Bad Santa' as my one must-see "adult" Christmas movie of the year (not counting 'Christmas Vacation,' which is irreplaceable!) Every time I see it, it leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling, even though it's still a raunchy stoner comedy full of adult humour. Speaking from my perspective, there's a relatability that is almost unparalleled in Christmas movies, but I'll get to that in a bit. The movie opens with a Christmas rhyme, telling us the backstory of Ethan (Gordon-Levitt), who lost his parents in a terrible car accident several years earlier, around Christmastime. Since the incident, Ethan's best friends, Chris (Anthony Mackie) and Isaac (Seth Rogen), have supported him every Christmas by developing an annual tradition of hitting the streets of Manhattan, painting the town red, and having a great time celebrating the holiday. One year, they are told about the glitziest of parties known as "The Nutcracker Ball" - an event one can attend by special invitation only. They continue their traditions each year while looking for this epic annual party. However, since Isaac is becoming a family man and Chris is becoming a famous athlete, their time is coming to a close. 2015 marks the last year of following this fun tradition but with a catch. While working a holiday party serving hors d'oeuvres, Ethan is asked to quickly take over the coat check station, where he just so happens to stumble upon three tickets to the Nutcracker Ball. Seeing his opportunity, he snatches the tickets and runs out the door to meet up with his friends for this last chance at making this Christmas the best Christmas ever, ultimately wrapping up their tradition in a nice, shiny bow. As one would expect, this is one of those "one-night party" movies in which the main cast encounters all sorts of roadblocks on their way to this amazing Christmas party. Ethan spends much of the film still in love with his ex, Diana (Lizzy Caplan), with whom he'd consider getting back together, but he is unsure if she's on the same page. He also has a strong sense of nostalgia and wants his friends to stick together for as long as they can. I tend to relate to his situation on a deeper level in that he has difficulty adapting to necessary change. He also tries to be the voice of reason through the night, which is not a brag, but I can say I've been there a few times and understand his frustration. Meanwhile, Isaac's wife, Betsy (Jillian Bell) is pregnant. Because Isaac has been so strong for her through her pregnancy, she gives him a container with any drug you can possibly think of as a gift for the last night of their Christmas tradition. Between him and an ever-popping-up pot dealer named Mr. Green (Michael Shannon), I'm not sure who owns the comedy relief through the film more. While I relate to Isaac as the pot smoker (not so much the other stuff), he also provides a good, albeit hilarious, look at how anxiety can work. I think it's safe to admit that I can overthink situations like nobody's business. With Chris, the relatability has more to do with what's on the surface and putting his life on social media - again, I'm totally guilty of this. But it's nice to see how the film pokes fun at the idea, showing me how dumb it can sometimes look. Maybe this is one of those situations where I look at the movie more deeply than I should, but I would also argue there's nothing wrong with that, and movies are art, largely open to interpretation. This is a stoner comedy of often over-the-top proportions, but when the film ends, one can see a deeper meaning of how family can ultimately be defined. It's actually kinda beautiful in its own way, and it always puts me in the holiday spirit. 5/5  This title comes from a great niche director by the name of Michael Dougherty, who also did the instant Halloween classic 'Trick r' Treat'. The beauty of this man is that he's not afraid to give us the strange and twisted without holding anything back. He just goes for it while taking pure pleasure in creating these surreal creatures that provide some pretty fantastic nightmare fuel. Perhaps the prime example is the now widely regarded Sam from 'Trick r' Treat' who has taken his seat at the table of recognizable horror villains.
While 'Krampus' isn't quite the calibre of 'Trick 'r Treat,' it's very much done in the same spirit. It's a dark and creepy ride the whole way through, and all of those comfy, cozy things we love so much about Christmas end up taking a turn and get pretty bloody horrific with this movie, catching us a touch more off guard than a Halloween-themed movie would because hey, it's Christmas! The way 'Trick 'r Treat' compares to 'Halloween' nowadays can also be seen here, comparing 'Krampus' to 'Black Christmas'. In other words, it's probably the best horror movie for the respective holiday since 1970-something. The story centers on a young boy named Max (Emjay Anthony). A sweet boy with his imagination still hanging onto Christmas magic, he's actively getting into the holiday spirit and getting his letter for Santa ready. A part of him, however, "knows better" about the truth behind Santa. In contrast, another part listens to his Omi (Krista Stadler), considering Santa to have a bit of a deeper meaning than something physical in a red suit. I was taught the same way upon discovering the truth. The idea is that Santa is totally real, for he is the symbol that represents the magic and warmth of the Christmas spirit. Everything gets ruined for Max when his family comes by for the holidays, sporting their very redneck, ignorant attitudes, which ultimately sets him off to go upstairs, tear up his letter to Santa, and essentially lose faith in the whole Christmas deal. However, in doing this, he accidentally seems to summon the anti-Santa, Krampus - a being sent to punish those who have been bad. This is how some cultures look at Christmas instead of our much more tame tradition of "coal in the stocking" (which I'm not even certain is a thing anymore). And while the idea of an anti-Santa is fun to those of us a bit more morbid about things, I would still prefer the coal idea after seeing what this thing can do. The movie ends up being more or less a "bottle movie," borrowing a lot of inspiration from movies like 'Night of the Living Dead,' and I'd even say, to some extent, oddly enough, 'Christmas Vacation' based on a lot of the comedic dysfunction of the family. It also features Adam Scott and Toni Collette as Max's parents, David Koechner and Allison Tolman as his aunt and uncle, and topped with Conchatta Ferrell as miserable Aunt Dorothy. So, all in all, it's actually an interesting combination of B-C-listed talent, and I wouldn't have it any other way. For some reason, I feel like an A-lister would feel out of place here. Actors aside, however, they're far from the best thing about this flick. The practical creature effects are What really sell you on this as a horror movie. There IS a fairly sad-looking army of killer gingerbread men done in CG. Still, once you see what's lurking elsewhere in the house, you're provided with some genuinely creepy and imaginative creatures straight out of one's nightmares. It's no secret that I also give horror movies much more credit when they ensure the audience that no one in the cast is safe. I will not spoil anything here, but the final outcome of this movie is really cool and leaves the viewer feeling very disturbed. This is not something I'd consider a traditional "Christmas movie," but if you want the darker side of the holidays, it functions very well as a spookhouse film. Much like 'Trick 'r Treat,' it was made as not much more than a creepy, fun ride that highlights a specific holiday. Some of the imagery might be rough for some people, and it's not a movie you're gonna wanna sit and watch on "Family Movie Night." But it's a lot of fun as long as you can treat it as the spookhouse film it's meant to be and have an open mind about it. One could almost think of it as a long, Christmas-themed episode of 'Tales from the Crypt.' 4/5  Since its initial release, I've been dubbing it the 'Die Hard' movie for those who believe 'Die Hard' not to be a "Christmas Movie," as it's essentially a similar concept altogether. The thing is, here, the John McClane character is actually Santa Claus. Once again, I want to clarify that I still think 'Die Hard' as a "Christmas Movie" is a simple matter of personal opinion. But it almost feels like this movie came along in an attempt to put that entire argument to rest simply based on how things play out. The main difference is that this is more comedy-based.
First, we meet this movie's Santa (David Harbour) at a bar, having a few drinks before heading out on his gift-giving run on Christmas Eve, stating that this may be his last year. As he delivers presents, he copes with a constant stream of greedy children's wishes, often simply asking for money, among other expensive material items, and losing the Christmas spirit. He goes from house to house until he arrives at Gertrude Lightstone's (Beverly D'Angelo) fancy mansion. There, she hosts a dysfunctional family Christmas gathering while Santa finds a massage chair and has a little nap. Among said family includes the film's supporting lead, Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell) and his estranged wife, Linda (Alexis Louder) and daughter, Trudy (Leah Brady). Having to think on his feet for a last-minute gift for Trudy while at the mansion, Jason gives her a walkie-talkie and tells her it's a direct line to Santa, who will be able to hear everything she says but may not answer as he may be busy, especially on Christmas Eve. She uses it, and as these things go, she wishes for Mom and Dad to get back together, so there's a bit of tension there with that situation the whole time, but fret not, for it takes a total back seat to everything else. Things build when the mansion is stormed by a man calling himself "Scrooge" (John Leguizamo) and his team - some of them posing as caterers for the Christmas party to get on the inside. They kill the guards and take the whole family hostage, there to get their hands on a fortune locked away somewhere in a vault. The thing is, Santa's there too and can communicate via walkie-talkie with Trudy. At the same time, he sneaks around the mansion as best he can, kicking ass and crossing names off his "Naughty List," all to protect young Trudy, who remains on his "Nice List," along with the rest of her family. While the whole concept may sound pretty ridiculous, I can safely say that this is something that fully embraces its ridiculousness. The idea is, "What if Santa Claus was an action hero like John McClane, but talking to a kid instead of a police officer via walkie?" And I have to admit, the whole concept ultimately pays off with quite a bit of surprisingly hardcore violence balanced with quite a few solid laughs. It's a movie for adults, but somehow, it manages to squeeze in that Christmas magic we miss from our childhoods AND make it work! Nine times out of ten with a movie like this, I would say that "it doesn't know what it wants to be" between its magic and child-like innocence and its gory violence and foul language. But for some reason, it manages to all come together here, complete with a blood-mist-loaded kill that actually uses Christmas magic for it to happen, and it's sincerely one of the most creative kills I've seen in a movie outside of the horror genre. But for as much as I'm trying to sell the violence here, I can also sell the heart behind it, as the bond between Santa and Trudy gets very sweet and might hit one in the feels. I think just about every year, I find at least one Christmas movie that has the potential to become an annual tradition for me, and this is most definitely the one I pulled from 2022. It's kind of incredible the way this one works out to be a near-perfect balance of violence, innocence, foul language and Christmas charm. I do think there will be some people out there who don't entirely "get it." But if you're looking for something new that is a Christmas movie that follows the action-packed premise of 'Die Hard' and don't mind a little gore, this one is most definitely for you! 4/5  If you're in the mood for something animated to boost the childhood Christmas spirit but a little fresher than 'Arthur Christmas,' one can find this wonderfully warm title on Netflix. This one is a bit more of a fictional historical account of how Santa became the traditional jolly gift-giver who visits us once a year. Just to say it straight up, though, this is no modern adaptation of the Rankin Bass classic, 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town', so if you're looking for that, I'm afraid you're stuck with something I'd consider much better.
The story behind this one's conception is kind of interesting. It comes to us from Sergio Pablos, a former Disney animator who worked on Renaissance titles like 'Hunchback', 'Hercules' and 'Tarzan.' His ideas for the animation in this had to do with exploring the medium of animation and how it may have evolved without such a heavy use of computers. The resulting animation, without going into a lot of the technical details, is actually something to be admired. There's a certain beauty to it with the use of lighting effects and details that actually separates it from typical modern computer animated films. Our story starts, somewhat unexpectedly, with a guy named Jesper (Jason Schwartzman) who purposefully fails at following in the footsteps of the family business of being a postman. His Dad and Postmaster General (Sam McMurray), in an attempt to make him turn things around, sends him to the almost impossibly secluded town of Smeerensburg, which has become known as a sort of mild war zone as two families (the Ellingbows and the Krums) have been feuding for generations. There, he must post 6,000 letters in a year, or he's cut from all of his fancy privileges as Postmaster's son. As a result of the feuding families, the mail flows like frozen molasses, making Jesper's job damn near impossible. Just as he's about to give up, he discovers that there's actually a very secluded place nearby that's home to a hulking, toy-making hermit named Klaus (J.K. Simmons). He goes to check it out, but upon seeing Klaus for the first time, imagining him to be some sort of axe murderer, Jesper flees, dropping a drawing he got from one of the Krum kids that portrays an unhappy child. Klaus, picking up the drawing to have a look at it, is the beginning of everything. Klaus enlists the help of Jesper to deliver a toy to the child portrayed in the drawing. Jesper then takes the idea of Klaus delivering toys to the children of the town, and opens a post office for kids to deliver their letters to Klaus, requesting toys. As the film unfolds, we get a really cool depiction of where the legend all started, leaning a bit more towards the plausible, and the magical parts of the legend of Santa becomes word of mouth from kids. Things like fitting down the chimney, reindeer flying, etc. Everything actually has a decent explanation behind it, and the way it ends really tops it all off, filling the viewer's heart with a certain joy. There were a few nitpicks I considered when I first reviewed this a few years ago. Some of the character design was almost just straight up weird, including two children who outsize Santa's sleigh. There was also a soundtrack to it that I thought felt off, being more modern than the time the film takes place in. But I would take those nitpicks with a huge grain of salt, because the more I see this, the more I enjoy it. It's definitely a solid film for being Netflix's actual first stab at animation. For me, it's not as much as a traditional animated Christmas film as 'Arthur Christmas', but I'd still highly recommend it as something "new & different" for a Christmas movie. The film is an easy hour and a half to get through, contains some good laughs, and even a few somewhat dark moments for the grown-ups (nothing I'd call particularly "scary" for the kids watching), and a great voice cast that also includes Will Sasso, Rashida Jones, and Joan Cusack among others. I've only watched this a few times now, but I always have a pretty good time with it. It's another Christmas flick that certainly has the potential to grow on me. It's a lot of fun, and it's a high recommendation from yours truly. 4/5  Released around Christmas of 2011, this title has become one of my highest personal recommendations for a more modern Christmas movie. Not only is it as funny and cute as it looks on the surface, but there's a certain charm to it that I hadn't felt in a Christmas movie before it since maybe 'Elf,' released eight years prior. It stands as proof that every once in a while, despite how many similar things are released each year, one comes along every now and again, which allows you to feel that whimsical spirit you felt as a kid.
One thing, in particular, I try to look for in a movie involving how Santa Claus manages to do his thing is some sort of plausibility in his tactics. Show me how he gets around the world in one night and delivers all those presents in some creative way, but try not to take away from tradition as well, i.e. going down chimneys, consuming milk & cookies, presents under the tree, etc. This movie's entire opening scene does so in a humorous but, in all honesty, pretty awesome way, in that it's more of a tactical mission for the elves who travel around in an almost city-sized ship they call his "sleigh." Keeping in mind that there is no perfect explanation for Santa's tactics, this hit me very positively, and I have to credit the filmmakers for the creativity behind the idea. But beyond all that, they bring in a generational concept of Santas going down a family line. This year is Santa's aka Malcolm's (Jim Broadbent) 70th year, and it goes incredibly well with the help of his elves and his sergeant-like son, Steve (Hugh Laurie), back at the command center. But after all that, an elf named Bryony (Ashley Jenson) finds that one single gift for one little girl was not delivered. Upon learning of this error, Santa's other son, Arthur (James McAvoy), worries about the girl's disappointment upon waking up to find nothing under her tree. The rest of the family suggests delivering it in a few days, and we also find that 100% Christmas runs are difficult to pull off. While most of the world would probably lean towards the majority's opinion, Arthur's need to deliver the gift in time doesn't mean just delivering a material possession. It means delivering Christmas magic to this girl's life when she sees her gift on Christmas morning and knows in her heart that Santa has come and gone. Luckily, Arthur's "Grandsanta" (Bill Nighy) sympathizes with him and decides to help him, using old-school methods. Bryony also joins them and can often be seen using her incredible gift-wrapping skills to get them out of a bind, often getting pretty creative with it. While these three are racing against time, Malcolm remains indifferent about the present, and Steve doesn't wanna help due to his selfishness in wanting to be Malcolm's eventual replacement in the long line of Santas. But what both are missing that Arthur holds close to his heart is the spirit of giving - so much so that he's willing to go completely out of his way for one child. There's a lot to appreciate about this film as a more modern Christmas movie. The aforementioned near plausibility of how Santa works on Christmas Eve is a lot of fun to watch, and I have to give the writers credit for those ideas. I further enjoy the idea of Santa's existence being not just one person but a long line of them and whether the passing of the torch will be based on either how much Arthur cares with all his heart or how incredibly good Steve is at his home base job. To top it all off, Grandsanta is a crack-up and a solid contrast to Arthur on their big adventure. But they also take the time to deliver some real heart and spirit to the writing. Over a decade ago, when I originally reviewed this, I considered it an "instant Christmas classic." I still stand by that statement, not changing my mind about it one bit over the years. It's 100% family-friendly, with jokes for adults and kids; it has a lot of heart and delivers the Christmas magic I remember feeling when I was a kid. When I first saw this in theatres, I was 29 and felt the same way. Here, we have something timeless, which I'd highly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it and is also seeking a touch of that Christmas spirit. This one allows you to find that wondrous magic all over again. 5/5 |
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