A Boy Called Christmas is a family-friendly movie that hit Netflix ahead of the holidays. This is a film adaptation of the British bestseller with elves, a talking mouse and a flying pixie. Famous actors who we remember from other fantasy projects starred in the tape.
A Boy Called Christmas
Genre fantasy
Directed by Gil Keenan
Cast: Henry Lowfull (Nicholas), Maggie Smith (Aunt Ruth), Jim Broadbent (King), Sally Hawkins (Aquarius Mother), Michiel Huisman (Nicholas’ Father), Toby Jones (Topo’s Father), Rune Temt (Anders), Kristen Wiig (Aunt Carlota), Joel Fry (Matt) and others.
StudioCanal, Netflix, Canal+
Release year 2021
IMDb website
Where to watch Netflix
The film is based on the book of the same name by writer Matt Haig. This is the story of how the famous Santa Claus came to be. The legend is retold by actress Maggie Smith as her character tries to bring hope and joy back to modern children at Christmas.
The main events of the tape take place long before our days. A boy named Nicholas and his father a lumberjack live in the wilderness. They are happy, but very poor, so the main character has only one toy made from a turnip. In order to earn at least some money, the woodcutter agrees to take part in the expedition that the king started. Soon, Nicholas himself will go on an adventure, making his way through winding snowy roads that will lead him straight to Elfhelm – the village of elves.
“A Boy Called Christmas” is a winter fairy tale with very rich colors. The protagonist’s red cap, festive treats and colorful elves’ clothes look especially magical, not to mention the red mouse and snow-white deer with giant horns.
Filming took place in Lapland, the Czech Republic and England, and the most beautiful scenes were filmed in the Slovak mountains, where a real blizzard replaced the winter special effects. So real landscapes appear in the tape, but the mouse and the deer are, of course, computer graphics, but they are quite pleasant.
It is noteworthy that well-known artists, whom we know well from other projects, have gathered in the cast of the picture. There’s Michiel Huisman as the lumberjack and Jim Broadbent as the eccentric king, both of whom starred in Game of Thrones. Joel Fry also appears in the frame – he also worked on the film adaptation of the works of George R.R. Martin.
By the way, Maggie Smith, who is the narrator of the story, previously crossed paths with Broadbent on the set of the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Toby Jones, who plays the elf Topo in the new film, was involved in the voice acting of the Potter series – he gave his voice to Dobby.
Negative roles went to Sally Hawkins from The Shape of Water and Kristen Wiig from Wonder Woman 1984 (Wonder Woman 1984). And the main character was played by Henry Loufull – an aspiring actor with a wonderful appearance, which is the best suited for fairy tale stories.
If we talk about the plot of “A Boy Named Christmas”, then it is quite simple. The protagonist goes towards magic, finds himself in the wondrous world of elves and finds out that even they sometimes lack hope, not to mention the festive atmosphere – it will have to be recreated.
The situation in the film is discharged by a talking mouse, who owns almost all the humorous remarks. However, an adult viewer will most of all laugh at the scene in the royal palace, where the subjects answer the question of the monarch about what could improve their lives.
Villains and unexpected friends appear in the tape, secrets and a new destiny are revealed. Unfortunately, family conflicts, forest dangers and magical problems do not have time to gain momentum – all difficulties immediately dry up, they are replaced by good deeds.
Everything happens too simply and quickly, so the film “A Boy Named Christmas” does not turn out to be a memorable fantasy. Still, it’s a good family-friendly option if you’ve already seen the Klaus animated cartoon.
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Pros: famous actors; rich colors and nice computer graphics; snow landscapes; funny moments with the mouse and the king Cons: all problems are solved too quickly and simply Conclusion:
a movie for the whole family, which is suitable for a festive evening and winter weekends.
