It’s Christmas movie time and Netflix is once again getting in on the action with a handful of original Christmas movies. Of course many of them are the overdone fill in the blank, Mad Libs type Christmas film. You know, (girl’s name) leaves (high stress career) and returns home to (cute town name) where she meets (boy’s name) who used to make her cringe but now he is the hot town (another career). The Christmas Chronicles breaks that mold, bringing adventure and heart when your family just needs to chill over the holidays.
Staring Kurt Russell, The Christmas Chronicles feels like Home Alone meets Adventures in Babysitting. Ten year old Kate (Darby Camp) coerces her older brother Teddy (Judah Lewis) into a scheme to catch Santa Clause on video Christmas Eve. The thrilling and sometimes dangerous evening that follows is nothing like what they anticipated, especially for Teddy who no longer believes Santa is real.
Santa
He’s magical, he’s musical, he’s svelte and he has the best tech around.
Critters
I am in love with these reindeer.
The elves of The Christmas Chronicles are not your run-of-the-mill tiny people with pointy ears. Instead they are depicted as some sort of cat/mouse/chihuahua/gremlin hybrid. Once you adjust to their appearance they are actually quite delightful.
Additional Cast
Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride) appears as Kate and Teddy’s mother and parents will appreciate the cameo Mrs. Clause makes at the end of the film.
One Caveat
I can see The Christmas Chronicles becoming one of those movies children and families will watch again and again over the years. Unfortunately, there is one very problematic line in the film. Toward the end when it seems Santa will not be able to make all his deliveries in time, Kate says something like ‘It won’t be Christmas without presents’. Although it fits the context of the moment, it’s obviously not the message parents want kids to take away from the movie. For the most part, The Christmas Chronicles is about the magic of Christmas and families sticking together through good times and bad.
