It’s Christmas season and we look back at Netlix’s The Christmas Chronicles movies and ponder if Kurt Russell will come down the chimney for another…
The trees and decorations are up, you’re buying candy, cookies and booze ahead of the holidays and then rebuying it all when you eat and drink those intended gifts yourself. Okay, maybe that’s just me but the shops and high streets are filled with a festive atmosphere. Santa is tooling up for his once-a-year gig and we mere mortals are starting to go through our traditional Christmas-time viewing lists. Home Alone, check. Die Hard, check. Scrooged, check. The Tits That Saved Christmas, check.
In more recent years it feels like potential new viewing traditions are becoming fewer and farther between. Most of my festive must-sees tend to be from the last century, and there have rarely been Christmas films in the past decade which feel worthy of becoming a regular seasonal watch. 8-bit Christmas, a warmingly nostalgic and affable reworking of A Christmas Story, has certainly been one such for me. It’s now a Christmas staple.
In 2019, Netflix delivered The Christmas Chronicles, produced by a creator of iconic festive mirth, Chris Columbus (the man behind Home Alone 1 and 2). The Santa-centered family adventure cast Kurt Russell as jolly old Saint Nick and the results were hugely enjoyable.
Upon rewatching it again last week it felt like slipping into a comforting and well-worn pair of slippers. Sure, having only seen it once before I don’t know it inside out quite like Die Hard, but the story doesn’t stray too far from recognisable Christmas movie tropes. It’s Ernest Saves Christmas without Ernest P. Worrall.
A young girl has grown apart from her moody and troubled older brother, having lost their father. Christmas has lost its lustre but when Kate accidentally captures Santa on video, she pulls her older brother away from the prospect of petty crime and into some seasonal misadventure. After encountering Big Red (Russell) they accidentally put the whole of Christmas at risk when Santa gets separated from his magic hat and his reindeer. Thus begins a mission to save Christmas, for the kids to appreciate each other again and for Teddy to face his grief head-on.
It doesn’t rewrite any rule books but this is rousing, enjoyable and heartwarming fun. More importantly and in no small part down to Kurt Russell’s relish in playing Claus, it still entertains me. Even more important than that, it entertains my young daughter in equal measure. Finding that balance for a festive favourite is important.
For some reason, I never got around to the second film when it first popped up but having so enjoyed revisiting Kurt Russell’s masterclass in screen presence, we launched into The Christmas Chronicles 2 a day after watching the first. Goldie Hawn popped up in a brief but welcome cameo as Mrs Claus in the first film but is more prominent in the second (with Columbus directing this time). Once again it does a good job of cranking up the festive charm and striking a good balance between cutsie Elf shtick that the youngsters love, with universal humour and the odd more mature gag too. This time a rogue Elf (cursed to appear human) who fled the workshop to defy Mr and Mrs Claus, has devised a scheme to steal the power of the North Star, wreck Christmas and reinvent it his way.
Though the film isn’t quite as good as the original, it manages to effortlessly entertain. Darby Camp returns as Kate and is a likeable presence. Here, Teddy (Judah Lewis) takes a back seat and sits out the main adventure, whilst their would-be stepbrother Jack (Jahzir Bruno) tags along to Kate’s initial ire. The villainous Belsnickel, played by Julian Dennison is your classic misguided antagonist who just needs to feel loved again, whilst this time around, Kate has to learn to accept that her mother needs to move on with Tyrese Gibson (presumably so she can appear in Fast XXV).
As a Columbus-helmed Christmas sequel tends to do, The Christmas Chronicles 2 repeats a few key gags and sequences from the original and both have had big musical numbers that aren’t great but certainly aren’t a turnoff. It just adds another pinch of cinnamon to the merriment pie.
Both films will likely be added to my seasonal watchlist next year but after bursting out of the blocks quickly in 2019 and 2020 with the first two, we’ve been left Chronicle-less since then. The endless possibilities of Christmas in peril adventures mean there’s no shortage of avenues to take. Russell still has plenty of spring in his step and gravitas to lead another sleigh ride or two. Nothing has been mentioned sadly and no movement is forthcoming but Columbus has reportedly had ideas. Much might depend on whether Netflix deems it a worthwhile project but they’ve had plenty of money out of me. They owe me another. My daughter wants another, you hear me Netflix!? Do you!?
Time will tell and it would probably require a new young protagonist to take the place of Darby who is 18 soon and whose character has completed her arcs. A more overt and dark villain could be the way to go next time and give Christmas its biggest threat yet. Any new adventure with Kurt in the classic red get-up will be more than welcome in my household.
Would you like to see more Christmas Chronicles? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe