The Christmas Chronicles **

 

REVIEW:

Let’s be honest. There isn’t a whole lot of new territory to explore out there as far as movies about Santa and the North Pole go. Violent Night, about Santa taking on armed robbers in an R rated Die Hard take is one thing, but if it’s a movie for kids and features Santa, yiy better believe the story will be about saving Christmas. You better believe there will be a conflict regarding delivering all the presents on that one night.

That being said, The Christmas Chronicles is a fun take on some of the usual cliches. Yes, our characters catch Santa on the roof like in the Santa Claus, and yes there an issue about Christmas spirit being down all over the world, but unlike most of these movies, this one isn’t about a character becoming Santa. Instead, Santa knows what he’s doing and he’s also not a side character, but the lead. And just like that, movies like Noelle, Fred Claus, and the Santa Claus, which are about a character learning the ropes of the job, are out.

Here the situation is that Santa and the two kids who caught him have to find a whole bunch of things. First hid reindeer, then his sack of presents, and then magic hat (kind of.) If that just sounds like a bunch of McGuffins, you’re not far off. But it surprisingly makes for a fun time, with Santa shutting down most of the usual cliches, (“I don’t say ‘ho, ho, ho,’” and “why do they always draw me so fat?)

To give this movie a little extra pizazz, the elf’s are a bunch of cute creatures akin to something like Gizmo from the Gremlins. And the story, while not incredibly creative, is filled with enough conflict that finds our characters along the way, from robber thugs to Santa winding up in jail. It’s not a great movie, but as far as this genre goes… the kid appropriate Santa movie… it’s better than most.