As the film title suggests, this is a festive film, dedicated to that of Christmas. And it definitely takes on a unique approach to the concept of Santa and gift-giving. With a military like procedure, the elves act as soldiers under the command of Steve, to safely deliver presents without exposure. However, this is jeopardized when a child is missed, and chaos breaks loose.
The animation is cute and the colors are very complementary to the tone of the film. The characters however, are too stock like and have very stereotypical shapes; the stick, the oval, and the upside down triangle. A bit too much cartoon-like for my taste, with the emphasis on shape matching personality.
The voice acting is pretty good. I couldn't tell that it was James McAvoy, and I think he might have altered his voice to match his character. Some of the voices of the elves are a little too squeaky for my taste, but they certainly match - once again, the size of their respectable characters.
As for the plot, it isn't anything outstanding. While the idea behind having a story centered on the son of Santa helps to bring a new perspective on things, I didn't really like how Santa was depicted. Logically, Santa would have been doing this for decades, but it was depicted that he didn't really know what he was doing. Also, the military take on delivering presents might have been a cool idea, but it implies a sort of invasion and detracts some of the warmth that is associated with the event.
It doesn't help that this is a truly patriarchal film, with Mrs.Santa doing predominantly housekeeping, and Bryony having special 'gift- wrapping' ability.
Overall, it's a fun film to watch, but it won't be my go to Christmas movie.
The animation is cute and the colors are very complementary to the tone of the film. The characters however, are too stock like and have very stereotypical shapes; the stick, the oval, and the upside down triangle. A bit too much cartoon-like for my taste, with the emphasis on shape matching personality.
The voice acting is pretty good. I couldn't tell that it was James McAvoy, and I think he might have altered his voice to match his character. Some of the voices of the elves are a little too squeaky for my taste, but they certainly match - once again, the size of their respectable characters.
As for the plot, it isn't anything outstanding. While the idea behind having a story centered on the son of Santa helps to bring a new perspective on things, I didn't really like how Santa was depicted. Logically, Santa would have been doing this for decades, but it was depicted that he didn't really know what he was doing. Also, the military take on delivering presents might have been a cool idea, but it implies a sort of invasion and detracts some of the warmth that is associated with the event.
It doesn't help that this is a truly patriarchal film, with Mrs.Santa doing predominantly housekeeping, and Bryony having special 'gift- wrapping' ability.
Overall, it's a fun film to watch, but it won't be my go to Christmas movie.