The Naughty Nine

Andy is a smart kid. His schemes keep getting him into trouble. Santa's Naughty List is real and Santa Claus (Danny Glover) puts Andy on it. He recruits 8 other naughty kids to do a heist on Santa's workshop.

It's a Disney Channel TV movie. I recognize one or two of these kids. I don't particularly like any of these characters. I do like the silly concept. At least, it's unique. The execution is another story. It's just so tween in filmmaking. Maybe you have to be that age to like this. There may also be too many kids. Fewer kids would allow each to stand out. In the end, I don't care about all these kids or their scheme by extension.

Let me begin with the positives first because there aren't too many. The sets in this movie are probably the best I've ever seen for a Christmas film, which is unfortunate because the rest of this movie is complete garbage. Not only does this movie teach kids to be naughty, but it also represents everything that Christmas shouldn't be. And Danny Glover as Santa? Really? Not that I'm opposed to it, but why him? He comes across as judgmental and unforgiving, contradicting everything Santa is known for. I simply don't understand why this movie spends almost its entire runtime teaching children to misbehave, steal, and lie, and then, in the last 5 minutes, Danny Glover appears at the very end, telling the naughty kids that he needs their help, with no explanation whatsoever. Sure, the naughty kids might learn their lesson to some extent, but to have an entire movie completely undermine the essence of Christmas and the importance of being good? I don't think this movie sends kids the right messages at all. But as I said, the set design in this movie is the best I've ever seen, and that's the only good thing about it. It seems like Disney wanted to create a naughty Christmas movie to teach kids that it's okay to misbehave.

The Naughty Nine is an enjoyable holiday romp rittled with plot holes, which is somehow held together care of a few strong performances by the child actors playing the title characters. Beware if you have mischievous, thrill-seeking children... This movie offers plenty of inspiration. Some potential fun is sacrificed in service to a plot and pace that feels weighed down by the sheer amount of ground it purports to cover (and the number of characters sharing significant screen time). This reviewer may have dozed off in the latter half but I recall only one of the "Naughty" getting a satisfying redemptive arc, which, again, is a result of a story bogged down by the overall concept. There are fun moments and ideas a-plenty but leaks spring from the plot holes hastily covered with a thin veneer of sugary, peppermint glaze. Some solid performances left this viewer pining for a more concise holiday jaunt, but the 8 year old viewer next to us squealed in delight when the sequel was teased, so Naughty Nine certainly struck a few notes just right. 5.7/10.

I'll be honest, at first I thought it was gonna be a stupid movie just by judging the concept for this. After watching this, it kinda is, but turned out okay. The Naughty Nine is a mixed heist where some may have gone well, while others that have been blown. It may have a generic story, stale jokes and some of the characters being bland. But there are some of the things that surprised me such as good acting, creative set ups for the North Pole, and the heart of the film that connects well. I won't say that it's a must watch, but if you're looking for a Christmas movie from Disney Channel, this might be something during Christmas time. But maybe at least once to see what you think of the movie more than the stupid concept of a naughty list heist. It may not be the best heist I've seen, but like the Naughty Nine themselves, at least it's to change a little bit of Disney Channel's colors for Christmas movies.

IN A NUTSHELL: When a young boy finds out he's on Santa's "Naughty" list, he puts together a group of other naughty kids with specific talents for a heist in order to steal their presents from Santa's workshop in the North Pole.

The family-friendly film was directed by Alberto Belli. Writing credits go to Jen Elinoff and Scott Thomas.

THINGS I LIKED: Winslow Fegley is adorable and very talented. He has a bright future in Hollywood. He was also adorable in Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. If you haven't seen that family-friendly movie, check it out! I thought it was super cute!

The rest of the cute cast includes Deric McCabe, Madilyn Kellam, Clara Stack, Camila Rodriguez, Ayden Elijah, Anthony Joo, and Imogen Cohen.

The characters are well-designed and different from one another. They each have unique skills and get their unique learning moment in the movie.

Fantastic sets, especially at the North Pole.

It has all of the adventure and action that kids would want in a movie like this.

Great costume design by Julia Caston.

One of the characters has a really cool tent in his bedroom. You have to look fast! I feel bad for the crew that probably spent a lot of time building it because you only see it on screen for a split second but my sons would have absolutely loved having something like that in their bedrooms.

Anthony Joo's character lives in a beautiful house. Did you see the façade?

We get to see the incredible Aurora Borealis in the sky. I got to see it when I traveled to Iceland a couple of years ago! Amazing.

Ayden Elijah can do those adorable big eyes like Puss in Boots.

Some Latinos sing a traditional Christmas song for everyone. I sang that song when I was an exchange student in Mexico!

Danny Glover as Santa.

I love it movies reference other movies. For example, the two schools in the movie area named McAllister Elementary from Home Alone in 1990 and Griswold Middle School from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in 1989.

Yep, the movie leaves a very wide-open door for a sequel. I'm up for it!

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: There are some bad acting moments.

Don't get annoyed by all of the plot holes; it's a kid's movie.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Bullying We see a lot of rude, entitled kids do really mean things We hear kids lie a lot One of the kids has gay dads Kids try to convince a good girl that it's dumb to follow rules.

A little boy swears.

Fart sounds Stealing.

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