08

Good lord! With an opening that’s all sparkly and attractive, I was disappointed I had to pause and look for something else to watch – but I’m glad I came back to it because from where I left off, the later part of the story began to be better in terms of pacing.

The visuals in the movie are worth discussing as you’ll find yourself marvelling over scenes of snow and Christmas imitating real-life.

Truth be told, I was looking forward to catching this on Netflix largely because from media reports, Ed Sheeran has a song in it. But of course, I was in for more surprises. Hey, is it a coincidence that both Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree and Ed Sheeran’s Under the Tree are used in the movie?

Despite it being aimed at kids, you’ll find the intertwining of different stories a craft that’s quite well-pieced together. Interestingly, Santa’s perspective helped propel the story forward.

I also enjoyed the scenes where there were lots of sticky notes, but one in particular that touched me was when one of the characters used a sticky note on which it was written – Sorry, Mum.

Hints of artificial intelligence and app-driven tools including one mention of self-driving sleigh and how the characters are to find their way using their own version of Waze add to the laughter. And who would have thought of red-nosed reindeer flu? Haha.

Even if it’s pretty much Christmas-centric, the messages on climate change, family, health and love make this a comforting watch – regardless of the festive season.

Though it’s in the animated form, the beach scene was very well-done, if you ask me. Watching it will melt your heart and put a smile on your face. It’s easy to feel like you’re there with those characters, in their fictional community.

Included in the cast lineup are Fiona Shaw, the Irish actress, famous for her portrayal of Aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter film series, alongside the Scottish actor Brian Cox who plays the big-tummy-bearded Santa Claus, as well as Bill Nighy, the British actor.

Richard Curtis, who has his portfolio of movies including Love, Actually and Notting Hill, returns to write for the film. For this particular film, it is based on the trilogy of children’s books that Curtis wrote. Simon Otto who has worked as Head of Character Animation on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ makes his directorial debut on this 2024 film. 

I do think that the portrayals of Christianity (or any other religion for that matter) should have been excluded, no matter if it was subtle or how well-intentioned the producers/director/writers meant them to be.

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to end with this quote:
For all the talk on who’s naughty and who’s nice, it’s actually incredibly rare for me to follow through with an empty stocking on actual Christmas night.

Happy Christmas!