This nicely animated picture features some genuinely funny moments, not to mention some famous characters, and not just Santa Claus. Captain Hook, Dracula, and Frankenstein, as well as the werewolf and the Phantom of the Opera are all featured. But yes, Santa himself is a key player in the movie.
The movie opens with Santa’s sleigh heading for a free fall, and Santa frantically calling out, “Help! Can anyone hear me?” What is the cause of this desperate moment for Santa and his sleigh? The story backpedals to two days before this moment to set up the events of the plot. Santa says he loves this time of year as the elves are working feverishly hard to make the Christmas deadline.
Baron Funesto speaks at the World Villain’s Convention and states that an evil genius is about to appear. In a funny scene he asks what would make the children of the world sad, and someone responds with, “Take away all the candy in the world.” Funesto replies that would only make the dentists sad. We see Dracula in the audience as well as the Frankenstein monster who speaks in gibberish. “No, not that either,” Funesto humorously replies. He says that in two days children will go to sleep on Christmas Eve, and they will wake up to discover no presents, and that Santa didn’t come. His plan? To kidnap Santa!
Funesto wants the villain’s association agreement to use a cannon to take down Santa’s sleigh. The plan is approved. A brother and sister see a star fall from their tree and a mouse named Leslie helps put it back up. The kids, along with Uncle Ambrosius are looking forward to the big day. Uncle Ambrosius has a ham radio and receives a distress call from Santa himself. He lets the kids know they need to help him save Santa. The boy, Junior, wants a skateboard and the kids are more than willing to help Santa in this jam. This 72-minute adventure moves ahead speedily, with a theme of good vs. evil and the kids believing they can make a difference in saving Santa.
The monsters continue to be a strong addition to the picture, including a scene in which some characters mention being hungry and Dracula states he’s already satisfied his hunger!
The kids along with Uncle Ambrosius, Leslie the mouse, and the spider Florabella, battle the evil Baron Funesto and they go underwater in a submarine to help them try to stop Funesto and his evil plans. Santa’s sleigh is located but there are no toys, not to mention no Santa. When Funesto attempts to take out the submarine with an evil octopus, the situation looks dire for a time. Funesto’s goal is to imprison them all, including Santa whom he has already kidnapped. And when an evil witch becomes involved, suddenly it’s Halloween meets Christmas! And an evil election takes place to see which character will lead this evil, motley group. Captain Hook does not want to be re-elected. Will the werewolf win? Or someone else? Frankenstein? Baron Funesto?
Rest assured a battle between the various characters lies ahead. Will the Baron be defeated in his goal to stop Christmas from happening? Will Santa be rescued? Will Junior receive the skateboard he wished for? The movie does a good job in focusing on the real important issues of Christmas, not presents. As Santa himself says, “The true spirit of Christmas isn’t in the gifts but it’s the celebration with family and friends.” And when Santa himself is grateful, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Content Analysis: Although not overtly Christian, the importance of giving and of the people in one’s life being important, more than gifts and presents, is nicely shown in the movie. The movie is rated PG, and it has earned our Dove Seal for Ages 12+ although parents should consult our content listings. Some kids a bit under age 12 would be fine viewing the movie.
Think About It: There are some good discussion topics in the movie, such as the loyalty of friends and family and its importance, and that crime doesn’t pay (as stated in the picture) and good guys do win.
The Dove Take: This movie does a great job in showing the difference between good and evil, and the terrific animation, fine voice actors, and the music all work together to make this a fun watch. It has earned our Dove Seal for Ages 12+.
