So the first original film (not tv show) that Disney+ has is Noelle… a Christmas movie that borrows pretty liberally from Elf… only it stars Anna Kendrick instead of Will Ferrell. So it’s different!
The plot follows Santa’s children – Kendrick and Bill Hader – after he (Santa) dies. Hader is supposed to take up the mantle of Santa Claus but, instead, freaks out and runs off to become a Buddhist. Kendrick chases after him and has to adjust to the real world… including fake Santas that don’t wear pants in the Phoenix, AZ heat. And other chuckle-worthy gags that are sometimes borrowed directly from Elf.
This starts out very weak… I found it really unfunny and the special FX (which we all care about in frilly little Christmas movies, right?) especially shoddy. Well, the FX don’t get any better but Anna Kendrick’s enthusiastic and adorable charm does. She’s pretty much the only reason this movie works at all… and if you don’t like her, then you probably won’t like this frothy nonsense. There are a few other things that work such as some moving Meaning of Christmas type moments that I’d usually roll my eyes at… but worked on me here. Billy Eichner gets a handful of smiles over his attempts to hand Christmas over to the IT crowd… should have been a lot funnier though.
This is barely there recommendation if you have Disney+. It’s a reasonably cute movie with an enthusiastic – if kind of standard issue for her – performance from Kendrick. If you are a sucker for Christmas movies – any Christmas movies – it’s not so bad. Within that narrow range of expectations and some shoddy workmanship.
Score: 76