There’s the family and friends gathering around James Stewart at the conclusion of It’s a Wonderful Life, the defiant Hugh Grant speech in Love, Actually and Zooey Deschanel leading a sing-along in Elf. Original director Clay Kaytis dropped out and was replaced by Chris Columbus, who produced the first installment. And Christmas trees look great on film. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide, and was released on November 22, 2018 on Netflix.[1]. The script by Matt Lieberman, whose only previous feature credit is a direct-to-DVD Dr Dolittle movie, struggles when it swaps silliness for sentiment, but the performers are able to lift it to the next level. Stars Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Judah Lewis were all confirmed to reprise their roles, while Julian Dennison and Jahzir Bruno were cast to appear in the sequel. The plot follows two children, Kate and Teddy, who notice Santa Claus in their home and jump into his sleigh with his reindeer; however, the sleigh eventually malfunctions and crashes, and the Christmas presents are lost. A journey into the world of the CGI-rendered North Pole elves – including one who’s inexplicably well-armed – has a real sense of magic and wonder, while the multiple car chases have a slick style and energy that’s often absent from Christmas movies. We’ve got flossing elves, a prison cell Elvis homage (‘Jailhouse Rocking Around the Christmas Tree’, perhaps?) At the police precinct, Santa tries to explain his situation to Officer Poveda. In Netflix’s new seasonal outing, The Christmas Chronicles, there are moments aplenty. When Claire returns, they go inside to find the living room decorated like their father used to. The Christmas Chronicles … Directed by Clay Kaytis. Starring Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Martin Roach, Lamorne Morris, and Oliver Hudson. It opens with a polished year-by-year montage of home movies chronicling Christmas morning excitement that is so Hollywoodised it’s unlikely to draw comparisons to any viewers’ real experiences. I already can’t wait to dive back in. Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Through a series of madcap occurrences, Santa, Teddy and Kate end up stranded in Chicago, working together to fix Santa’s sleigh, find his magic hat and track down his flying reindeer. However, he escapes to the roof. On Christmas Eve, Claire is forced to fill in for a coworker, leaving Teddy to look after Kate. After teleporting to Chicago, Illinois, the sleigh breaks down, causing the reindeer to scatter and Santa's hat and bag of presents to be lost. Kate decides to hide in his sleigh to get a closer look, and Teddy reluctantly follows her. Sure enough, dear old Dad (Oliver Hudson) died tragically on the job, heroically saving families from a burning house. and Kurt Russell’s Father Christmas at the wheel of a bright red Dodge Challenger. As Christmas morning approaches, it is up to the children and Santa to save Christmas by correctly delivering all presents. When Teddy hangs it on the tree, he sees his dad magically appear in his reflection, and they both express pride in each other. Meanwhile, Teddy is quickly devolving into juvenile delinquency from underage drinking to stealing cars – an action that is portrayed with shockingly little repercussion in a film aimed at families. The two children follow. The official site of epic fantasy author Michael Wisehart. Santa goes outside to find his sleigh repaired. Even away from Russell’s star wattage, it’s worth shining a light on The Christmas Chronicles for some of its surprisingly impressive visual flourishes. But just as quickly as Santa arrives, we’re treated to the worst green-screen filming in recent memory and all hope is lost. Her younger daughter Kate (Darby Camp) nevertheless is trying to keep Christmas spirit alive. Teddy and Kate let their sibling dysfunction ease slightly and work together to set up a hidden camera in hopes of catching a glimpse of Santa. Santa is arrested, while Kate and Teddy escape with the reindeer. [8] The Christmas Chronicles 2 will be released on Netflix on November 25, 2020. Kate clings to Dad’s favorite camcorder (a hilariously outdated model even when the diaries begin in 2006) and is introduced recording a video message to Santa. Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★. But before he makes his arrival as the surprisingly svelte St Nick, we’re treated to the beginnings of a fairly conventional Christmas tale. While Russell does his killer Elvis impression and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul cameo as his backup band, you might ask yourself, if this still for kids? The kids find Santa's bag, and Kate goes inside to find help. They start opening presents, When they get to Santa's gifts, Kate gets the skateboard she asked for, while Teddy gets a magic ornament. Principal photography began in January 2018 in Toronto, Ontario. [3], The film was released on November 22, 2018. Christmas movies are about moments. Santa is able to deliver all the presents, saving Christmas. But as a festive movie, there’s a tolerance for saccharine schmaltz and Christmas cracker comedy that doesn’t exist at any other time of year. That’s not to say Netflix shouldn’t keep trying. The former has terrific comic energy that allows her to grow out from the basic stereotype of the precocious little kid into someone far more fully-formed and lovable. The Christmas Chronicles has largely been promoted as ‘Kurt Russell is Sexy Santa’ – and that’s not an unfair description of the movie, which wallows in the power of his presence. The two set up a makeshift trip wire and a hidden camera. When Santa reveals his wish this year is to reconcile with his ex-wife Lisa, who also shares that wish, Poveda is taken aback, but still refuses to believe him. Kurt Russell & @GoldieHawn are back to save the holidays in THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES 2, only on Netflix 25 November", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Christmas_Chronicles&oldid=987554989, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 November 2020, at 20:17. One of the elves arrives through the air vent to give Santa a spare hat. On top of all that, thanks to the fact it’s a Netflix release, repeat viewing is a certainty. Poveda has Santa locked in the holding cell, though he becomes suspicious when he sees a larger number of arrests than usual on Christmas Eve. As the world draws nearer to waking up, Christmas spirit begins to fall and Santa reluctantly enlists Kate and Teddy to help mend what they have broken. It’s being given a sizable marketing push with the star power of Kurt Russell and the production clout of Chris Columbus (“from the film-makers that brought you Home Alone …”) but sadly, no number of mobile push notifications could turn this into a movie worth watching. The answer is, for a minute or two it’s something more, glimmers of an inspired take on the Christmas movie with enough to appeal to an audience beyond desperate parents and bored elementary school students. The same is true of Lewis, who finds room to spread his wings outside of the joyriding teen tearaway he is depicted as in the early going. "[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews. After a painfully long prologue, we arrive at Christmas Eve and Mom has been called in at the last minute to cover an overnight shift. This is Russell’s movie throughout and he really relishes the opportunity to take part in something so unashamedly stupid. Russell’s line delivery of some of the worst clunkers – more than once, he’s asked to simply quote a Christmas carol – is suave enough to rescue them and, in many cases, they provide the most entertaining comic beats of the film. The world needs Christmas movies. When a pair of siblings try to catch Santa Claus in the act on Christmas Eve, they inadvertently crash his sleigh and trigger a race against time to save Christmas. The kids are forced to help him after he threatens to list them as bad kids permanently. This is a film of such joyous stupidity that it is impossible not to be carried along by its soaring emotion and the easy charisma of Kurt Russell – the only St Nick who can smoulder. It’s also so oppressively cheery that you just know it will culminate in the absence of a family member by the time we reach present day. Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Tom Beasley Tagged With: Clay Kaytis, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Kurt Russell, Lamorne Morris, Martin Roach, Oliver Hudson, The Christmas Chronicles. The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. We see 10 years in the life of the Pierce family through slightly anachronistic camcorder footage, which becomes tinged with sadness for kids Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis) after the death of their father (Oliver Hudson). Her son Teddy (Judah Lewis) has started stealing cars. Forced to churn out Holiday specials of some sort every year, studios must scramble for fresh ideas on a theme that doesn’t have much wiggle room from the start. The loss has … The true strength of The Christmas Chronicles is not in its conventional plotting, but the relentless sense of silliness and fun it brings to the format.