Movie Review: Saving Santa (2013)
Synopsis: Bernard, a low-ranking stable elf, strives to be one of Santa's inventor elves. However, when his latest invention causes a power outage, revealing the location of the North Pole, an unscrupulous heir to a delivery company takes Santa Claus hostage and demands to know how he is able to deliver presents around the world in just one day. Bernard, hoping to save Santa, uses the sleigh to travel back in time in an effort to correct his Christmas-altering mistake.
Who's in it? The animated film uses voices from Tim Curry, Ashley Tisdale, Martin Freeman, Tim Conway and Joan Collins.
Review: I am still trying to get into the Christmas spirit with the holiday a couple weeks away and once again decided to watch a Christmas movie for my morning movie. It had been more than a decade since I last saw Saving Santa with my kids, so I gave it a try. It was as entertaining as I remembered.
One of my biggest concerns about this film and animated films in general is it would turn out to be predictable to the point it would be dull. That, however, was not the case. The film had a surprising number of twists and turns, with new details being revealed whenever Bernard (Freeman) traveled back in time (he does twice). As those details are revealed and there are, at one point, three Bernards running around, the story becomes much more interesting with quite a bit that was unexpected.
Another concern I had was the time travel. While it was an interesting premise, time travel movies have the potential to become confusing. However, the film actually does a pretty good job of keeping the story from becoming too complicated. There were various hints that a lot of the events happened solely because Bernard decided to travel back in time but, they were kept somewhat subtle and the filmmakers clearly remembered there would be young kids watching and made the movie in a way that wouldn't be confusing for them.
My only real complaint about this movie was one I remember having the first time I saw it, the musical interruptions. This wasn't really so much about the frequency of the songs in the film as much as it was the fact none of the songs were particularly memorable. I think part of the reason for that was the songs fell into a generic "believe in yourself" category that didn't fully capture the movie's Christmas spirit. It wasn't anything that made me hate the film, but it wouldn't have hurt to just leave them out.
Final Opinion: I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film, especially when watching it for a second time, but it was a fun holiday movie that isn't bad. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a Christmas movie to watch this season, especially with the kids.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other family movies:
Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Movie Review: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
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