RJ Writing Ink

When it comes to Christmas Specials, I’ve seen plenty of them over the years. I’ve watched A Charlie Brown Christmas countless times, and some of the other Peanuts specials. I’m familiar with Frosty the Snowman, seen it a couple of times. And I hold the Spongebob Squarepants Christmas Special as one of my favorite specials. Christmas movies, though, I don’t know that many.

I’ve seen several adaptations of A Christmas Carol, including one I wish I never saw. Nightmare Before Christmas was terrific, and every year my family loves watching A Christmas Story on repeat. My favorite Christmas movie, though, has to be 2003’s Elf.

Elf

I never saw Elf in theaters, but I love watching it every year. I don’t know why, but I just love it.

Let’s start off from the beginning: the movie’s about a human named Buddy. Buddy is a normal human who came to the North Pole as a baby and ended up being raised by Santa and the elves. But then the day comes when he realizes that he is actually human, and the elves tell him the truth. His mom and dad fell in love, his mom gave him up for adoption (and passed away), and his dad doesn’t know he exists. He’s living in a “magical place” called New York City.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that joke. So, Buddy, wanting to meet the dad he never knew he had, heads to New York.

The thing I like most about Elf is the fact that Buddy is clearly a fish out of the water, in a good way. Buddy is childlike and sees the good in everyone that he meets, greeting each day with a skip and a smile. In contrast, this is… well this is New York. It’s the city that never sleeps, and it’s an ocean of cynics. Almost everyone that Buddy meets either doesn’t believe him about being from the North Pole or is convinced he has an ulterior motive. Buddy just takes it in stride, though. And his optimism ends up rubbing off on everyone he meets. Plus there’s this.

Thank heavens for gifs. Everyone he meets ends up regaining their holiday spirit, and what it means to be nice in general. Everyone except for his dad. Dear old dad ended up on the naughty list for being the Scrooge of New York. And in spite of Buddy endearing himself to the rest of his family, Walter wants nothing to do with him. At the lowest point of the film, Walter snaps at him and tells him to get out of his life.

Things Get Better

This was a sad sight, but even sadder was how it almost broke Buddy. But at that moment, Santa (played by Ed Asner. This is where I got my love of him as Santa) comes crashing into Central Park. The sheer lack of Christmas Spirit sucked his sleigh dry. So, like any good Christmas movie with Santa, Buddy has to save Christmas.

The way he ends up doing this is in one of the most heart-warming ways I have ever seen. Buddy ends up reconciling with his dad, who finally accepts him as his son no matter who he is, and they all team up to save Christmas through the power of song.

I loved the caroling the most. I’ve heard Christmas Carols sung better, but what gets me is how many people sing it. Everyone that Buddy has met since he came to New York ends up joining in to sing “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”. This moment goes beyond the plot of the movie for me, though. I think it shows just how much of a positive impact the kindness of one person can have on people. That’s something that a lot of the world desperately needs. And it works: Santa’s sleigh gets back up to full power on its own, and Ed Asner gives such a hearty “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!”

I could keep rambling on about why this movie is great, but I don’t want to take away from your sugarplum dreams. I loved this movie, it’s my favorite Christmas film, and plenty of other people agree with me on Elf

Don’t think for a second that my 25 Days will be done tomorrow because it’s Christmas! I’m going to be doing a double-header tomorrow as I talk about two more Christmas Specials I watched. And on December 26th, I’ve got a bonus story about one of the best Christmas Gifts that I ever got. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

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I thought that I had seen a lot of good Christmas movies, and maybe some bad Christmas movies. But when I saw that Netflix had a new Christmas movie, I had no idea what to think. So I got on my laptop, put on Netflix and put on The Christmas Chronicles to see the funniest Santa yet.

The Christmas Chronicles

It’s about this family, the Pierces in Massachusetts. They have loved Christmas as much as any family could, especially the dad. But when their Dad, a firefighter, dies while rescuing some people, the kids, Teddy and Kate, start to drift apart from each other.

Come Christmas Eve 2018, Mrs. Pierce has to cover for a coworker, forcing Teddy and Kate to be home alone for Christmas. When Kate thinks she sees Santa on a recording of last year’s Christmas, she does what any kid would do: stay up and try to see Santa. I tried doing it as a kid, and I know plenty of other people did.

Not only do Kate and Teddy see Santa, though, but they also manage to sneak aboard his sleigh. Then they cause it to crash, the sack to fly off, and the Reindeer to scatter in Chicago. What’s worse, without any of these things, Santa can’t do his job. And when he can’t do his job, bad things happen. As Santa, puts it, the Dark Ages and all the rotten stuff that came with it. So it’s up to Teddy and Kate to help Santa save Christmas while also conveniently restoring their bond as siblings.

One of My Top 5 Santas

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the movie’s version of Santa, played by Kurt Russell. I loved Kurt Russell as Santa. Unlike the way he’s normally portrayed in pop culture, this Santa is of reasonable weight and is a wise-cracking, savvy toy-maker. It’s hard to describe, but if I had to explain it, I’d say that Kurt Russell makes Santa seem more… human. As in he’s not always so jolly. He can be sarcastic, energetic, happy, charismatic. He’s very charismatic. At one point in the film, when he lands in jail (don’t ask), he leads the inmates in a jazz rendition of “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”. It’s amazing! He does refuse to go “ho ho ho”, though, because he says that’s a myth. Apparently along with him being fat. In short, I love Kurt Russell as Santa.

And the elves! They are like the Gremlins crossed with the Minions from Despicable Me. They are cute, they are mischievous, and you will either love them or hate them.

The Kids

Lastly, we have the kids, Teddy and Kate Pierce. At the start, it was shown that they both have some problems. More like Teddy has problems. Ever since his dad died, he’s been falling in with the wrong crowd. Kate follows him at one point early on in the film, and sees him steal a car with some other teenagers! The worst part is that that is never actually resolved. His night before Christmas experience sets him back on the right path, but he never actually tells his mom of what he did or makes any amends for it. That seems like lazy writing.

I’d talk more about what happens, but I don’t want to spoil the ending. I liked this movie, and if you have Netflix, I urge you to watch it. It’s a pretty good Christmas movie with a new spin on Santa. Kurt Russell became my second favorite Santa of all time after watching this. The first is Ed Asner. Happy holidays!

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