He plays this character with a sense of false strength that betrays his inner flimsiness, and gives us no lifeline to the potentially fantastical world around him. As our central inventor whose greatest products were stolen by a vengeful Keegan Michael-Key (wonderful he should play villains more often!), Whitaker is a shell of a man, a human reduced to a ghost. But the center of Jingle Jangle, its silly name and all, is Forest Whitaker’s courageous, unexpected, and frankly bizarre performance. Yes there are catchy pop-MT bangers lensed and choreographed with panache, yes the production design is eye-poppingly gorgeous, and yes, every child performer in the film is unstoppingly adorable, optimistic, and joyful. Jingle Jangle is a story of loss, of betrayal, of casting aside dreams, of keeping the house standing when the lights have long dimmed, and only e ventually of regained hope. But unlike Elf, which is rife with childlike glee and slapstick set pieces, Jingle Jangle has another, more unorthodox fuel powering its steampunk-flavored sleigh: Melancholy. I’m just gonna say it: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a new holiday classic an instant addition to the canon the most recent family-friendly Christmas film to so thoroughly capture its audience’s heart and soul since Elf. Haleigh FoutchĬast: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville, Anika Noni Rose, Madalen Mills, Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Davina Phillip, Ricky Martin And that’s the real trick to Christmas on the Square, it’s such a product of genuine Good Will Towards Men, overflowing with Parton’s pure spirit (and some squee-worthy sequined angel costumes, while we’re at it) that you can’t help but feel a little cheerier when it’s over. It’s all very campy, a Christmas pageant with a Netflix budget – and yes, it’s all very Godly, but when the message of faith and kindness comes from a bonafide samaritan and a track record of good deeds as long as Dolly Parton’s, you know its earnest. Second is the wonderful Christine Baranski, who makes a meal of every line delivery as a Scrooge-y owner of a small town that learns to embrace the Christmas spirit with some help from a Dolly Parton angel. They’re not her best work, but when Dolly sings, I listen.
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Obviously, Dolly, who’s singing all original songs she wrote for the film. There are, however, two very good reasons to show up for this one. But it knows that and it’s okay with it, and so am I because that’s not what either of us showed up for. It’s not that Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Squareis a good movie.
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SchlatterĬast: Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Josh Segarra, Jenifer Lewis, Jeanine Mason, Mary Lane Haskell, Treat Williams, Selah Kimbro Jonesĭo ya want to spend Christmas with Dolly Parton? Yeah, of course you do. If you’re not familiar, the Chiodo Bros are some of the most spectacular stop-motion craftsmen in the biz, having provided the enduringly disturbing puppets for Team America: World Police and the North Pole segments of Elf, and in keeping, Alien Xmas features some pretty stunning animation.
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Imagine The Grinch, except its little kleptomaniac aliens coming to steal your Christmas spirit and you’ve pretty much got the gist of it. With powerhouse producers like John Favreau and Karen Gilchrist on board, Netflix’s Alien Xmas had all the right WTF factors to ensure I tuned in as soon as it was available, and happy to report, it’s a charming Christmas treat that’s a bit thin, but thanks to the 40-minute runtime, never stretches its charms beyond their payoff. Adapting from the 2014 book of the same name, co-written by director Stephen Chiodo, the Chiodo brothers put their stop-motion sorcery to work in a sub-hour Christmas special that updates the charms of the classic Rankin & Bass stop-motion Christmas specials for a new generation.
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#BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES ON NETFLIX MOVIE#
Writers: Kealan O’Rourke, Dan Clark, Noah KloorĬast: Keythe Farley, Dee Bradley Baker, Kaliayh Rhambo, Michelle Deco, Barbara Goodson, Jessica Gee-GeorgeĪ kids’ Christmas movie from the filmmakers of Killer Klowns from Outerspace? Say no more, I’m in.