A Boy Called Christmas (2021) User Reviews

Cute.

[adamjohns-42575 · 8/10 · 1 December 2021]

This is a slightly 'Klaus' (2019), slightly 'Santa & Pete' (1999) and slightly 'Santa Claus The Movie' (1985) type film with hints of 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' (2000) production and sets. It's an origin story, so it's easy to compare it to these films of a similar vein, but it's still different enough to enjoy it in its own right.

The writer has created a charming story, that kids will love and be able to watch with their families without the adults getting bored.

Matt Haig's usual style of books might possibly be classed as self help, so it was interesting to find that the writer of a book that literally (excuse the pun) saved my life, had also created this enchanting tale, but not a shock to find that I enjoyed it.

It has a large cast of famous faces and they all deliver without anyone stealing focus or performing badly.

It is the type of film that has a fairytale feel to it, so there are some characters that are played with a more stage show styling. Some of the characters would definitely be booed if they were in a pantomime.

I was even surprised that I liked Stephen Merchant's role, he usually winds me up, but he works very well as Miika.

It has a slightly old fashioned feel to it, but yet still has a certain something that keeps it relevant today. There's probably some sort of moral in there too, but I need to watch it again to find it, as I wasn't looking for it, but I'm sure I will watch it again next year, if not again this year.

775.05/1000.

A Magical Nordic Christmas Fairy Tale

[tm-sheehan · 8/10 · 26 November 2021]

My Review - A Boy Called Christmas

My Rating 8/10

I found this very original retelling of the legend and origins of probably the most loved fictional character ever Father Christmas a magical and enchanting tale.

It's a movie that's not too saccharingly sweet or gimmicky and has an authentic Nordic fairy tale quality with beautiful frozen scenery .

This Christmas film has enough whimsical magic terrific sets by Holly Thurman and costumes by Ruth Myers to entertain young at heart adults and children alike .

It's been years since I've been so impressed by a Christmas themed movie with just the right sentiments of hope through adversity and loss plus a real adventure to entertain any movie goer.

The bones of the plot are told by Aunt Ruth (Maggie Smith) to her nieces and nephews who have recently lost their mother . It centres around an ordinary young boy called Nikolas who sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north of Finland in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm .

Taking with him a loyal pet mouse he helps a wounded headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and soon meets his destiny in this magical, comic and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible.

It's a really impressive ensemble cast for this movie headed by the impressive young English actor Henry Lawfull in his first feature film role his only previous television movie was in 2018 in Les Misérables cast as Petit Gervais . Apparently his parents are wisely very protective of Henry even his age is a secret to the press but I'm sure we will see more of him in the future .

A deal was completed in May 2016 for the book to be adapted into film by Blueprint Pictures and Studiocanal. Ol Parker was set to write the screenplay.

In April 2019, Gil Kenan was revealed to be directing the film, with Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Maggie Smith Toby Jones and Kristen Wiig amongst the cast. Filming began that same month, with production set to occur in Lapland, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and London.

It's a joy to see so many great actors together in one movie no one overshadows anyone else they allow it's young unknown central character to shine as the title suggests.

Oscar nominated Director Gil Kenan better known for horror thrillers like Monster House, Poltergeist, Scream and City of Ember has successfully crossed the genre bridge from Horror Thriller to Fantasy Adventure .

Ten year old son gave it an eight

[a-clinch1 · 8/10 · 28 November 2021]

My ten year old boy gave it an 8 and to be fair, this films target audience is the younger set so who am I to argue. As an adult I would give it a 6 as I felt it was quite basic.

My son said it had magic to it and it was a family friendly film.

charming

[Kirpianuscus · 1 December 2021]

Just charming . It is the fair definition of this film about roots of Christmas gifts tradition.

It is charming, first, for Maggie Smith and Jim Broadbet and for Toby Jones.

It is charming for the truths and for the flavor of old fairy tales, so fresh, so soft, so bitter and wise.

It is charming for the adorable end.

Bad points - easy to say the political correctness not elegant deep traces. Or the ignore, again, of the simple, real significance of feast of Nativity . Or to ignore Saint Hierarch Nicholas.

But... .

The young Henry Lawfull is just good worker for a nice Nicholas. And the film is not , exactly , for children but more for inner child of parents. The cultural references is the basic proof.

Yes, I like it.

For actors, humor, inspired portrait of sacrifice for loved one and lost of parent.

And, not doubts, for Maggie Smith. Her presence in cast was, I admitt, the first and powerful kick to see this film.

Good movie

[markuskolstad · 7/10 · 27 November 2021]

This was a suprisingly good movie comparing to other christmas movies made in recent time. Good story and animations. However, im not sure why there are such a multiculturality of african, asian, indian and middle eastern people AND elfs living in snowy Finland a 1000 years ago. It just makes no sense in this scenario.

Above-Average Christmas Film

[deepfrieddodo · 7/10 · 24 December 2021]

A sweet Christmas film which ticks all the boxes when it comes to entertaining kids and their parents. A cute story following the origin of Christmas and it's traditions, and the start of St Nicholas.

The plot is simple to follow but not overly obvious, visually is very nice to look at, and the cast cannot be faulted for the most part. Although it's good to have narration, the arc with Smith and the kids at the beginning and end is unnecessary, mostly because the acting from the kids is very stiff.

Not so child-oriented that there isn't any deeper messages, but also very little in the way of upsetting scenes. Probably not a film to rewatch every Christmas, but certainly enjoyable.

Beautiful looking and enjoyable but lacking.

[asmithee23 · 6/10 · 28 November 2021]

It looks fantastic with the sets and scenery. Enough that I could imagine being cold. But the plot isn't developed enough and, at times, doesn't seem well thought out. Why do toys need to made? How is it that this will solve the despair in the boy's village? Most of the acting is top notch so, coupled with the look of the film, made for an interesting watch. The areas lacking are the aforementioned plot gaps and this hurts to say, the main character. The young actor isn't enigmatic enough to carry the role on his shoulders. This and that annoying mouse take away so much from what could be a Christmas classic in years to come, much like Monster House by the same director is every Halloween. For me, a story is always brought down if that all-important sidekick isn't perfect. Wrong voice, wrong dialogue. The voice actor is fine, just miscast and given poor lines.

COME ON Y'ALL LOOK BEYOND THE TITLE

[Sunsphxsuns · 10/10 · 25 November 2021]

Oh dear, dear, dear. I was getting ready to watch "A Boy Called Christmas" and decided to first read a handful of early user reviews that were posted. I wish I hadn't. While I always try to respect the opinions of most reviewers, positive or negative, there are a few that routinely post careless, negative comments, without much thought towards how it may impact not only the film's success, but also how it may affect the human beings in front of the camera (and behind it) who brought it to life for our entertainment.

In the case of this film, one reviewer literally eviscerated Henry Lawfull, a rookie actor with few credits to his name. Although his legal age isn't available, he's likely in his early teens. In any case, don't think for a moment that some of the more cruelly targeted jabs and nasty comments don't hurt him. They do.

I remember reading similarly rude and callous comments that had been prematurely and carelessly thrown at the young actors Natalie Portman and Jake Lloyd after filming was completed for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). Portman of course went on to win a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Black Swan (2011) and later garnered multiple Oscar nominations. Sadly, Lloyd left the industry shortly afterwards, hurt, and disillusioned. We'll never know if Lloyd could have recovered from those early malicious barbs as well as Portman.

I'm even more amused with one reviewer who expressed his complete annoyance with "the mouse." That's right. A clever, cute, cuddly, and somewhat humorous CGI mouse! OMG where is this heading when even a mouse can garner bad reviews? Heaven help us.

I'll get to the film itself now having summoned the courage to finally watch it. A Boy Called Christmas is a lush and visually stunning production fit for adults and probably children 11-12 or older. There's both a delicate yet harsh feel to the film. Some scenes are wonderfully sweet, only to be followed by a gritty one. Gee, what a concept when art does indeed imitate real life!

Any film with Maggie Smith is a better film with her in it. Sally Hawkins is mind blowing. She's an actor's actor, and her chameleon-like ability to adapt to such diverse characters is stunning. It's also very refreshing to see Kristin Wigg in a more meaty, antagonistic role, and clearly a giant leap from Bridesmaids (2011).

As always, no spoilers here, but I will reveal that the movie is based on Matt Haig's 2015 book of the same name.

A Unique Origin Story

[Slarkshark · 7/10 · 14 December 2021]

An origin story for Santa Claus. A very interesting idea. It was charming, but not overly stimulating.

The film looks nice throughout, but just seems to be lacking something that is difficult to pinpoint. For a Christmas movie it just felt like it was not that engaging, perhaps because Christmas hadn't technically been invented yet so maybe it's harder to generate that feeling.

Either way, it would indeed make a sufficient bed time story during the holidays.

Grief is the price we pay for love, and worth it a million times over.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 5/10 · 21 December 2021]

'A Boy Called Christmas (2021)' features this absolute gem of a line (see review heading), delivered by the absolute gem Maggie Smith. The line itself is undeniably great, a poignant musing that's sure to move you on some level. Sadly, though, it's undercut slightly by what it follows (a rather silly and avoidable tragedy that befalls the picture's young protagonist), as are most of the film's other resonant moments. As a whole, the movie is little more than fine. Despite being relatively enjoyable at times and generally well-achieved overall, it consistently stumbles over itself and is an incredibly uneven experience. There are so many annoyingly contrived, noticeable clichéd and otherwise genuinely odd plot points that the affair is hard to take seriously and, even, properly engage with. One particularly peculiar inclusion is a pyromaniac pixie (well, 'truth fairy') who literally enjoys blowing people's heads up. I have no idea why the filmmakers decided to include that in a kid's film. The tone, in general, is a tad inconsistent, with the adventure slipping from seriously stupid to stupidly serious on a number of occasions. Its characters are also fairly flat and, though it has charming moments, it lacks the sense of Christmastime wonder that it really ought to have. Plus, its 'Christmas begins' elements actually feel a little forced, squeezed into the affair's baggy final third simply so that it can claim to be yet another origin for Father Christmas. Ultimately, the flick isn't bad. It has its moments, including a couple of entertainingly scene-chewing performances and a handful of exciting set-pieces, but it's just a bit unremarkable overall. Its plethora of issues don't prevent it from occasionally being quite a bit of fun, but they undeniably dampen its effect and arguably contribute to the affair's generally forgettable nature. It's the sort of thing that I can see people really liking, though; I guess your mileage will vary depending on how Christmassy you're feeling. It's a decent effort. 5/10.

Really really loved it

[hjchuijbregts · 9/10 · 24 November 2021]

What a great way to tell it like this. Beautiful scenery. I love the mountains and the snow. So it was a really feast for me. Its a reall must see. And it was not that scary, so the kids can see it to.

Believing is as good as knowing

[frank-liesenborgs · 6/10 · 12 December 2021]

"A Boy Called Christmas" is a very good movie that both adults and kids would enjoy. It's Christmassy and clichéd. It has some great acting and gorgeous cinematography. Overall it's a cute pleasing family movie with a superb Christmas ambience. It does not stick out from other Christmas movies but is fun to watch.

Enjoyable and entertaining...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 1 December 2021]

The 2021 movie "A Boy Called Christmas" from writers Ol Parker and Gil Kenan is definitely a nice family movie in the meaning of that word. And this is a movie that has something to offer the audience of any ages.

"A Boy Called Christmas" is about the origin of Father Christmas, so we get to see whom he was and where he came from, and of course how he came to become the lovable character we all love so much, both kids and adults alike. So yeah, this was definitely a nice story. Granted, I haven't read the book from Matt Haig, but this movie adaptation of said story was certainly entertaining.

The acting performances in "A Boy Called Christmas" were good. Not a whole lot of familiar faces on the cast list, which is something I enjoy in movies. But "A Boy Called Christmas" did have the likes of Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Kristen Wiig and Joel Fry on the cast list as well.

Visually then "A Boy Called Christmas" was quite good, and definitely had a very Christmas feel to it. So that counted well in favor of the overall enjoyment of the movie.

I am rating "A Boy Called Christmas" a well-deserved six out of ten stars. While this is not going to be a Christmas classic for me, it certainly is a movie well-worth taking the time to sit down and watch.

Definitely Not Disappointing

[jadgrace-18162 · 7/10 · 7 December 2021]

A refreshing twist on the origin of St. Nick! This could become a holiday classic in the years to come. It is well written and the acting is tree "topper" notch! Featuring the never-disappointing Dame Maggie Smith and a terrific, but brief, performance by Kristin Wiig.

The CGIs are better than I've seen in many major motion picture theatrical releases. The environments and creatures and critters are as engaging as the story itself. Pour the egg nog and enjoy!

Let's believe in magic :)

[barashka23 · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

I haven't seen such Christmas movie in a years. When I was watching it, I was in one's second childhood. I wasn't care about real world, I was in this magic film. It's exactly what we need in the covid time.

Cute fluff

[Calicodreamin · 6/10 · 28 November 2021]

A cute fluff Christmas movie with all the right stuff. Visuals mostly worked, and the kid couldn't have been any cuter. The storyline was basic with a fun ending. The acting and dialogue were a bit stiff.

wonderful...

[ops-52535 · 9/10 · 24 November 2021]

Whenever you have maggie smith in a movie, made in the latter years ,it will be a success. Its a christmas treat to us all from netflix to make the time of advent and waiting feel a bit shorter. Yes... even for a grumpy old man that physically hasnt bought a x-mas present for 10 years ( not due to scrooginess, rather 100% lack of fantasy, and that may spoucy right hand loves to do it.).

Its a story about the making of sankt nokolas in the cold deep winterwoods of suomian lappland, or finland, a story told in a dreamy fashionable mix of ms.smiths narrative, bold special effects, and studio decors, loads of sharp colours and light, even the darkness has its charm, put in some animatronix, alosg with a durable, well known angloamerican acting talent and long time traders on the silver screen then youll have a hit.

This is the julefilm for everybody that believes in hope, and to everybody that knows that a home is more than a home, cause its also a feeling, and if you loose your feeling of home then you may have to reignite your way of life and just to retain hope, and if youre there not hoping and disbelieving, do put this flick on for yourself and everybody around you...

loads of nice music too, but the primrose is dear maggie after all. So a recommend to this one.

Not for children but for an older audience. Don't believe in the marketing.

[rzogby-1 · 7/10 · 25 November 2021]

This was a wonderful story and the cinematography amazing, but its not for young children. It was made for adults but the message is universal. Not all humans are dishonest and evil. We can't generalize all people as evil There is hope but we must believe that there is. We need to continue to believe that there is good under our facade of misery. But we must be patient. It will take time. But until then, we must not lose hope even when the news tells us otherwise. I hope more adults and teens watch this movie. Beautifully done, but very dark, so please do not allow young children to watch it. It's trying to market to them, but the audience is young adults (16+).

Soulless and Stupid

[Doomdark-3 · 3/10 · 30 November 2021]

So here we have a Christmas Fairy Tale set in Finland in what looks like the 18th century. Thus, one might be forgiven for expecting the movie to draw heavily on the rich and complex folklore of the region. Yet there is no trace of the culture, religion or history of either the Finnish, Sami, Swedish, Norwegian or Russian peoples. (Granted, there are some trolls and elves and runes, but their at best superficial resemblance to their mythical counterparts is only insulting to Nordic viewers.)

Oh, and this story happened "before anybody knew about Christmas", which is both mind-numbingly stupid and explicitly anti-Christian. I'm not a Christian myself but it's hard to avoid the Christ in "Christmas". I'm sure the strict Lutheran priests in Norrland did a better job reminding people... Why not rather explore the fascinating pagan roots of the holiday in Scandinavia, where Christmas has always been called Jul (Yule) and Father Christmas is known as Jultomten/Julgubben (meaning something like the "Yule Gnome" or "Old Man Yule")? (There is no awareness of a "Saint Nicholas" beyond modern influences from the Anglo-Saxon world, rendering the movie protagonist's name "Nicolas" pointless.)

As is also mandatory in this day and age - regardless of the setting - there is a rainbow of skin colors. I wouldn't mind at all if it made any kind of sense, but it just comes off as revisionist and blatant cultural appropriation. I wouldn't want to see white folks in African folktales either. It's just so unnecessary and stupid.

Spare yourself and your children this garbage.

Don't always go for the review

[nishujikalal · 10/10 · 25 November 2021]

Just to drop in a review here, I signed up.

So, I have never learnt why Christmas was or is celebrated but if this movie gives even a glimpse of it then I am happy to discover such a wonderful movie. Such a simple story with such meaningful and beautiful messages about life. I don't know why I felt like crying when the movie ended but this movie gave me hope. Hope to find happiness, hope to look forward. The best thing I liked was the dialouge which said...

If you don't believe in something, you will never see it even if it is in front of you.

It is not something we don't already know, but one should always get reminded of this.

Just watch this movie with an open mind and don't go judging the actors.

Had potential

[Drank22 · 5/10 · 27 November 2021]

Now I wasn't expecting this movie to be Oscar worthy or anything so I'm not holding it to that standard at all, but this is nothing but a big budget film that tries to distract you from its poor story line with special effects and outlandish set pieces.

It starts off fine, but around the halfway mark it quickly turns into a big mess that doesn't make any sense at all.

I found the premise of the story interesting and unique. It's a take on the origin of Santa/Christmas that I never heard before so it was refreshing to see something new and a more down to earth or rather a somewhat more believable origin story than other Santa/Christmas origin stories we've seen on the past.

Yet, unfortunately a good premise doesn't necessarily make for a good movie.

I prefer to enjoy movies instead of disliking them, so I try to let little things slide now and then and judge it on if it was enjoyable. I know that most Christmas movies like these are more or less 'turn off your brain and enjoy' movies and there's nothing wrong with that. This movie is definitely a 'turn off your brain' movie, yet even with my brain turned off it still wasn't enjoyable. The acting is bad at times, the majority of the characters motives and actions don't necessarily make any sense at times, and then major parts of the story just don't make much sense at all if you give them any sort of thought.

All of these were just far too apparent to me that they couldn't be ignored and thus it wasn't enjoyable.

It definitely had potential to be so much more (again it had a great premise) but the story they decided to tell us was just sloppy and lazy. Which seems to be a theme for Netflix's movies. They invest in big names and big budgets but serve us a half cooked plot because they know we'll watch it anyway...In comparison to another Santa themed Netflix movie, The Christmas Chronicles was a far better offering than whatever this was.

Which sorta begs the question, who was this made for? Far too boring and mature for little kids, but at the same time far too childish and stupid for older kids/adults to enjoy.

Either way, this is definitely a movie you can scroll right on by to something better.

Nice film

[samyoung-82648 · 7/10 · 25 November 2021]

Netflix struggle to make decent movies at the best of times. They have a habit of pushing politics rather than good story telling. This film tries to be more about story and less about politics, however, it struggles to do so.

This is a nice film. It has some great acting. It has some beautiful cinematography. What is struggles with is the heart. At many times, I felt as if the creators didn't believe in the message they were selling. Despite best efforts of the actors, they struggled to make this film work.

It's a nice film. If you have young children, they are very likely to enjoy themselves watching this. However, I would suggest that Netflix have a long way to go in making decent films for entertainment purposes. It's probably time they find a new leadership team for their film making.

Where it all started!

[phil_doucet · 6/10 · 28 November 2021]

It was a fun movie to watch with the kids that was pretty different from anything else we've seen at this time of the year. It's almost where Christmas as we know it started. Cool concept but nothing crazy for me and not sure it fits the bill if a movie I will be watching as a tradition on a yearly basis.

Perfect for a one time watch.

Not a bad movie, but I have my issues with it.

[koltonbrett · 6/10 · 25 December 2021]

Here we have fairytale take on the origin of Christmas and Santa Claus. A boy nicknamed Christmas sets off to the north to find a legendary town of elves. The snowy Finnish landscape is stunning. I found the snow covered forests more enchanting than any of the magical elements. This adventure/fantasy feels fresh at first but loses some of that feeling as the movie goes on. The target audience is families but the story is too dark to be a feel-good children's movie and too silly at times for adults. The dilemma presented in this movie is that people lack hope and happiness. There is a line from the movie which says that joy leads to hope. Truthfully, I believe it's hope that leads to joy. The message here will likely go right over the head of children. Aside from the scenery, not much resonated with me from this movie.

Cute Story

[lakings97 · 6/10 · 29 November 2021]

A Boy Called Christmas is a Netflix flick adopted by best selling book written by Matt Haig. The story is about a boy named Nicholas played by Henry Lawfull who is on a mission to find his father (Michiel Huisman) that left him behind with his aunt played by Kristen Wiig. Nicholas starts out his adventure northbound to the fabled village of elves with his loyal mouse voiced by Stephen Merchant and a reindeer called Blitzen. He soon meets his destiny as Father Christmas thru magic and passion, he discovers that nothing is impossible. Maggie Smith retells the story to kids she is babysitting. This was a feel good family movie, it's good for the kids but I can't see myself watching it again.