Il regalo di Angela

Wife left me in charge of the girls we babysit on occasion (not something I relish) and I was left in position of entertainment for an hour. Strict is the guideline of what is allowed for viewership (no mindless junk). This popped up on the Netflix channel and looked innocent enough, even had a very light Christian message that was appreciated. But lets just admit it, not many Christian movies are memorable to say the least, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well this movie progressed and commanded their attentiveness, I even liked it (and I mostly like Old War movies).

In a word or two, it was "sweet" and "innocent".

Charming can be the fair term for define it. But , obvious, it is more. A story just perfect for wise mix of animation, story about begger and king, siblings and, off course, Angela. An old fashion story, seductive first for the splendid eulogy of goodwill. Fascinating for atmosphere , tension and end. You know, from the first part of film what is the content of big surprise. And you hope and expect. And the prize is fair. All details are great but the admirable aspect remains the familiarity of Angela family, the reference to the stolen statue of The Savior and the care for the other, in Christian tradition. So, just great.

Angela's Christmas Wish (also known as Angela's Christmas Wish 2) has better quality animation than the original and is at least 15 minutes longer, but in terms of story doesn't quite match up to its predecessor from three years back.

In this particular instalment our titular heroine is on the hunt for her long-gone father to bring him home from Australia for the festive season. She's accompanied on her travels by her somewhat cowardly brother and a new female friend who may have even more spunk than her.

What follows is a sequence of events around town that could basically be described as a shaggy dog (or reindeer) story. Some scenes are more interesting than others, but as a whole they barely rank above average, and certainly don't feel very Chrismassy.

That is, until the 'big surprise' towards the end wraps everything up nicely, and Angela's song played over the credits is kind of lovely. But it's hard to justify the 45 minutes it takes to get there, unless you're very young or have a hankering for festive fare with virtually nothing in the way of frills or flavour.

Like eating a Christmas pud without any brandy, in other words. 5/10.

A heartwarming story that can be watched over and over, that celebrates the innocence and goodwill in a child that opens us unto the goodness in our own hearts. A celebration of generosity inspite of poverty. An upbringing on stories of love and kindness. Not only is the story deeply touching, but each character has depth and charm not easily seen in animation. A holiday film with meaning, humour, and playfulness that is to be treasured and shared with loved ones. So grateful to these writers and makers for the delightful and endearing experience. A rare example of a good Christmas film.

A child's heart is pure and innocent and this story was a good example of that. It was enjoyable to watch this with my 20 month old daughter.