Film Writer Annabel Smith finds the latest, festive Netflix hit to be slightly devoid of originality and excitement, despite some cheerful performances and fun musical numbers
Think Blended, Minions, and Home Alone, plus the real-life couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell taking on the famed Mr and Mrs Claus; that sums up The Christmas Chronicles 2.
The theme of loss and holidays…is typical in these kind of films, this one doesn’t miss the boat on dabbling with those clichés.
The first film followed Kate (Darby Camp) and her angsty teenage brother, as Kate attempted to embrace Christmas, whilst enduring her mum’s intense work schedule and her brother’s unwillingness to accept the cheer after their dad’s passing. It follows the siblings scrambling to keep Christmas intact – with bonding along the way – as Santa is arrested. This sequel takes away the city landscape as the troubles emanate from the South Pole. The Pierce family have overcome their loss, embracing a new father figure and a younger, goofy son Jack. All except Kate, who is revolting against these new additions and her rigid idea of Christmas’ expectations – in the snow, at home, with original family members only. Christmas films tend to follow this line of thought. The theme of loss and holidays (with Kate and her dad) is typical in these kind of films, and this one doesn’t miss the boat on dabbling with those clichés. Kate manages to be thrown into helping Mr and Mrs Claus, along with her new stepbrother Jack, in which they encounter a vengeful elf who wants to tear down the North Pole. And, shock horror, Christmas is nearly ruined again.
A flash mob, a singing Russell and a festive choir adds a sprinkle of cliché we love to this festive family film. Another musical number, this time with Darlene Love in an airport terminal, and a transportation back in time to the 80s, seems like an attempt to make the sequel a true original. Although, compared to the first musical number (where Santa is in prison, frantically trying to persuade others he is in fact THE Santa) and the intense chase to get Christmas on-track in the first, the sequel seems a bit been-there-done-that.
Think the Smurfs combined with Gremlins – but instead of eating after Midnight, it’s ‘elf’s bane’ that turns them rabid.
Nonetheless, the elves have more attention this time around and they don’t fail to add the Christmas spirit, with just a bit of chaos you’d expect from tiny little helpers. Think the Smurfs combined with Gremlins – but instead of eating after Midnight, it’s ‘elf’s bane’ that turns them rabid. The first movie only touched upon their pinnacle role in Santa’s Christmas operation, but this film delves right into how the elves, along with Mrs Claus, are the core to Santa’s village – or as Jack calls it, ‘Mrs Claus’s Village,’ a nice improvement considering she was its designer. The elves provoke thoughts of Minions, who have consumed popular culture for years, with their own language and allegiance to a big-time actor (in the Minion’s case, Steve Carell and the elves,’ Kurt Russell).
In a change of pace, Belsnickel, the vengeful elf, is a clever, youthful-looking villain, a nice diversion from the likes of Christmas villains like the Grinch, who are often old, grumpy, and done with cheer – exactly what Belsnickel wants to escape. Ironically, Belsnickel has a New Zealand accent – Julian Dennison’s own. The nice contrast to the elves based in the North Pole adds a nice comical effect for the adults enduring the watch.
A nurturing mother to the reindeers, elves and children who land in the North Pole, she takes on a matriarchal role who distracts from Mr Claus’s bland portrayal.
Lest we forget Goldie Hawn takes a stand-out role as the terminally underrated figure at Christmas – Mrs Claus. A nurturing mother to the reindeers, elves and children who land in the North Pole, she takes on a matriarchal role who distracts from Mr Claus’s bland portrayal. But her role and the helpless Mr Claus feels underwhelming in the overdone North Pole setting. and the originality of the entire film feels lost even with Mrs Claus’s central role.
For a Christmas movie, it adds the adventure needed to keep you watching. Screen time from Goldie Hawn and the up-and-coming actor Jahzir Bruno make the new Chronicles fresh enough to give it a go. But ultimately the movement from big city to North Pole loses the originality that made it so refreshing in the first place, and not even the odd bit of time-travel can overcome it.
Nevertheless, as a solo film, it is a nice addition to the plethora of Christmas films and adds some magic and adventure as well as a refreshing divergence from the romance-filled Christmas films stocking Netflix. But does it beat its predecessor? Not by a long shot.
Verdict:
Forgetting the clichés and repetitive storyline, Chronicles acts as a pleasant example of blending families, the benefits of bonding and the new family structures that can be created out of loss. If you felt it was a cliché Christmas movie, at least there are children seeing different types of families being represented on screen.
5/10
The Christmas Chronicles 2 is now streaming on Netflix
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