Every new Holiday season brings with it tons of new movies and shows on every streaming platform, and this year was no exception.  Netflix debuted two new films this holiday season, both with All-Star casts:  “Jingle Jangle” and “Christmas Chronicles 2”.  Christmas Chronicles 2 came just 2 years after its predecessor, and stars Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn.  The original Christmas Chronicles was a smash hit when it debuted in 2018.  It was clever, fresh, and showed an entirely new spin on what Santa Claus is really like.  I believe its main success was due to Kurt Russel’s performance.  He definitely made Santa Claus modern and cool!

Goldie Hawn was only in the movie for a few brief moments at the end, but her appearance was a surprise that audiences loved.  It the sequel, Goldie is in the entire film and we see the main characters a couple of years in the future dealing with different problems.  This time the plot doesn’t focus around Santa getting back on track to save Christmas in time, instead it focuses on a rogue elf that has been changed into a human who is also trying to destroy Christmas and take over. While the plot is sketchy at best and the actor who plays the angry elf is fairly obnoxious, the duo of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn still manage to make this movie enjoyable for a family.  It’s not a blockbuster hit and I didn’t think it was as good as the original, but it still had some great moments and was all around pretty cute and happy as far as feel-good holiday movies go.

“Jingle Jangle”, on the other hand, was an entirely new kind of holiday movie.  While there is nothing really “Christmassy” about it, (perhaps besides the time of year it is supposed to take place), its all-star cast did a beautiful job with song and dance in portraying an interesting tale.  The all-star cast includes Forest Whitaker,  Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville, Phylicia Rashad, and Ricky Martin.  In a story reminiscent of the likes of “Hugo”, and other science fiction/fantasy, Jingle Jangle is the tale of a magical toymaker who seeks to use magic to make his toys come to life.  However, after a disgruntled, jealous employee steals his master creation, as well as all of his designs and uses them to propel himself to fame and glory, the toymaker is destroyed.  He can no longer use magic and loses not only his wife, but his relationship with his daughter as well. He gives up on himself and his dreams and becomes a sad and broken pawn shop owner.

Many years go by and it isn’t until his granddaughter visits him and realizes that she too has the magic that he is finally redeemed. I won’t ruin the climax and resolution for you, but it is a story of family, magic, hope and redemption.  There are no allusions to Christmas or Santa, or anything of that nature, but there are plenty of toys and wonder and joy–all of the elements that make the holidays magical.

It’s hard to compare the two movies as to which is better because other than the use of magic and wonder, they are entirely different kinds of films.  One is very traditionally Christmas based, while the other is more of a modern holiday musical. As a parent I am kind of on the fence, I love Kurt Russell so I am a little partial to CC2, but I am also a dancer, so Jingle Jangle was wonderful for me as well!

As far as my kids go, the younger ones enjoyed both movies!  My teenagers didn’t really care for either, but at least tolerated them! I think younger children will be entrances by both.

Christmas Chronicles 2

Jingle Jangle