The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Directed by Clay Kaytis
Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.
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3 films that influenced The Christmas Chronicles
What critics say influenced The Christmas Chronicles
Russell’s performance takes nothing away from previous Saint Nicks, such as Ed Asner’s gruff and tender turn in 2003’s “Elf” or, going way back in time, Edmund Gwenn’s timeless performance in 1947’s “Miracle on 34th Street.”
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: If you expand the last third of Elf out to feature length, you’re pretty much on point.
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.
There’s nothing in The Christmas Chronicles * that hasn’t been seen before, from the “Christmas Spirit” ticking clock of Elf to the magical-realist shortcuts for Santa’s tricks from The Santa Clause – Santa zapping around the world through Aurora Borealis-esque wormholes and so on.
Before the movie is over, Russell’s Santa will have channelled his inner Jack Reacher by racing a sexy sports car away from the cops, consequently landed himself in jail and even charmed his jailers with a yuletide musical number totally out of nowhere (complete with a cameo from E Street Band legend Steven Van Zandt).
It’s just a shame that unlike the marketing (and, well, almost everyone who hits play on this new Netflix original), director Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie) and writer Matt Lieberman (the upcoming animated Addams Family movie) couldn’t keep the focus squarely on Santa Claus and the one-time A-list actor who plays him.
The biggest culprit of this is the eventual reveal of what Santa’s elves look like in this universe – yup, they’re an army of obnoxious, lawn gnome-sized ghouls who speak in a nonsense elf language, director Clay Kaytis ( The Angry Birds Movie ) leaning hard into their Minions-level antics to a grating degree.
Director Clay Kaytis, who directed the somewhat better “The Angry Birds Movie,” saps all the color out of Santa Claus and tries to pump him up for this post-Marvel era.
The movie is produced by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire and the Harry Potter films) and directed by Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie), but honestly those credits don’t matter that much.
The live action feature debut for director and animator Clay Katis (The Angry Birds Movie) and the first screenplay produced by writer Matt Lieberman, The Christmas Chronicles is a lot to take in.
Director Clay Katis (The Angry Birds Movie) makes the CGI elves a lot of fun.