Movie review
November 22, 2018 · 104 min · PG · Kids · Fantasy · Comedy · Adventure · Family
Kate Pierce is a young girl who still believes in Santa after her firefighter father dies. Her older brother Teddy has stopped trusting Christmas and has begun stealing cars because grief has made him angry. On Christmas Eve, the siblings try to film Santa in their Lowell, Massachusetts home, but they cause his sleigh to crash in Chicago. The children must find the lost reindeer, magic hat, and gift bag before morning, while police, thieves, and wild magic make the night harder.
Santa joins Kate and Teddy as a rough but caring guide through the strange night. Kate keeps her faith in Christmas, while Teddy learns to face his anger and accept that his father is gone. Their adventure brings the family back together and gives Teddy a final sign from his father through a Christmas ornament. The movie uses jokes, car chases, songs, flying reindeer, and bright fantasy scenes to tell a warm story about grief, forgiveness, teamwork, and belief.
Community feedback
Was our 2% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Christmas Chronicles.
Woke representation / casting
Not present in this title.
0%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. No political speeches, activist lines, or social-justice messaging in the script or performances.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
Not present. Narrative centers on family loss, Christmas belief, and adventure with zero focus on race, gender, sexuality, or identity politics.
0%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Not present. Film embraces traditional holiday customs, family structures, and Christmas magic without critiquing masculinity, patriarchy, colonialism, or Western norms.
0%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. original story with no source material or canon alterations.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. No complaints accusing the film of pushing woke or DEI content; viewers and reviews treat it as apolitical family entertainment.
0%
Creator track record context
The provided creator notes describe the main team as mainstream people without a recorded activist or identity-focused pattern. Chris Columbus later said J.K. Rowling’s views about transgender people were sad, which gives a small progressive context signal. Michael Barnathan’s civil-rights drama credit is historical and does not shape this Christmas story. The film itself does not use the team’s outside views as a theme.
12%
Production
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