The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

As a lover of 'off beat' Christmas movies (think ''The Nightmare Before Christmas', or Terry Pratchett's Hogsfather) I really looked forward to watching 'The Night before Christmas in Wonderland'!

Sadly while watching it I ended up thinking ''Meh."

I found the music tiring to listen to, with nothing really clever in the lyrics (no, I don't expect Shakespeare in a Christmas film!). Combining these predictable lyrics with the uninspired musical scores, all I wanted to do was fast forward till the songs were over.

The colours used to create scenes were beautiful, and many of the static scenes were lovely to look at. And trying to make the animation look painfully hand created is difficult to do, yet the creators did a good job in meeting that goal. But somehow I couldn't help but think that, in the end, the actual 'movement' of the characters in the film looked just too 'basic', or static - which detracted from the vivid imagery.

I really wanted to like this film! Unfortunately, in the end it just felt flat and uninspired. Certainly not repeatable to look at next year, or any year after that when the Christmas season rolls around again.

I know that searching for Christmas coziness is a nearly futile pursuit, and has been for awhile, but seriously-does EVERYTHING need to be geared toward the TikTok/ <20s community??

Nasal, generic female singer proffers auto-tuned pop songs, while snarky young Scottish actresses who sound gleaned from trashy soaps charmlessly voice Santa's reindeer who are all bullying a single outlier (YAWN).

And Gerard Butler--really? He has ONE setting! Gruff-but-jolly Scotsman, and he is NOT a singer. He isn't really an actor, either, but no one loves Butler as much as he loves himself-can he look at a camera lens without that smug "yes. I AM Heathcliff, and my ponytail and jack boots are here to whisk all of you Shirley Valentines away to the wild heather'ed Moors" Recall the days, about 30 years ago when the rags were plastered with the tousled-hair-to-the-collar guys? When women actually swooned over the icky greaseball commonly known as Vigo Mortensen? Or how about the wan twig who's now aged into Gramps Munster, Orlando Bloom, or the sentient whiskey bottle who portrayed Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sean Bean? Hugh Jackman's barely-concealed cheesiness was at its peak when he stole the widdle tweedy heart of cutesy-wootsy Meg-my-sleeves-cover-my-hands-because-I'm-so-little-and-New-York-awkward/adorable Ryan in his 18th-century dickie and frock coat (and jack boots-don't forget the JACK BOOTS!). Oh, and he also portrayed Van Helsing, a fictional vampire hunter. With one of the English Kates.

Yeah. You even got a bit dewy over the crashing bore of a drunken boar Russel Crowe, didn't ya! Well, Gerard Butler was working that blue-collar brogue hoping to plant his smirk on your heart somewhere amongst the rakish cads....

..and what he'll be remembered for is a Scottish Viking riding a cartoon dragon. He just isn't that interesting. More interesting than I, admittedly, but so are many people.

The artwork is folksy and warm, but it's ruined by digital cut-out movement that only serves to make it look like a literal cut & paste job, and the authors' pilfering of better material trying to blend a nursery rhyme and a fantasy tale just isn't that clever. Nope.

As an adult and a parent I've not sat through this film even once, but it's been played by my kids over Christmasnat least 20 times, they can't get enough of it. It seems to have the magic of Christmas about it, and at least one of the songs is an ear-worm (not in a good way sadly). This is a kids Christmas film and you can feel the love it was made with, it's pure joy and fun; and parts I've seen are totally bonkers. I'm a way it reminds me of Santa's Apprentice, in that it's totally different from everything else that's out there. We need to be kinder to children's Christmas films, which I believe is on message for this movie.

I was very surprised by the lower average rating given to this movie on IMDB. I thought the story was very unique, the songs were very catchy, and the animation was wonderful. My 16 month old son has watched it twice now and absolutely loves it. We've recommended it to everyone and they've all loved it as well. I enjoyed it as an adult and catch myself singing St. Nick's opening song randomly.

The story starts with Santa about to take off for the night when a last minute letter to Santa arrives. That is the end of the familiar part of the story and the start of a new christmas adventure begins.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland is a mashup of upbeat music, the twists and turns of Wonderland, and the holiday spirit! It's perfect for families and it definitely brought up some Christmas memories for me

The film follows the story of St. Nick (Gerard Butler) on Christmas day as he gets ready to deliver presents. He receives a last-minute letter from the Princess of Hearts (Eliza Riley) who requests a special present, her own special pet. Despite being warned of the twisted Wonderland by his reindeer, St. Nick goes on a musical journey to fulfill the princess's wish. But on arrival, he has to face the Christmas hating, Queen of Hearts (Emilie Clark) and try to teach her what Christmas is all about.

The main characters are St. Nick, Alice (Simone Ashley), Prancer (Mae Muller) and the Queen of Hearts! I love how the music is super catchy and fits the holiday theme, but it also gives you a little something to dance to. I love the fun combination of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Clement Clarke Moore's poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas." The story is well-developed. The animation is unique, especially since it is not a style you see much today; it's a line-drawn style that is reminiscent of older-style holiday films. I got to speak with Gerard Butler who plays St. Nick, and he told me about how special this movie is for him. It can definitely impact people who may have lost the Christmas spirit and remind them what Christmas is all about -- having a great time during the holidays with their families. Just like the Queen of Hearts who has lost her faith in the holidays and developed a large hatred for them is helped by St. Nick who allows her to feel better and lose her bitterness.

This film reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas and allows viewers to become immersed in the happiness and fun of Christmas.

I give The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It is streaming now on Hulu. By Tiana S., KIDS FIRST!