A Boy Called Christmas: The magic of Christmas and the power of hope

Movie Review: A Boy Called Christmas on Netflix

This back-story film on the origins of Father Christmas begins with Maggie Smith in character as Aunt Ruth telling a small group of sleepy-eyed children a Christmas bedtime story. The bedtime story becomes the essence of the narration. Now, who wouldn't love the legendary Maggie Smith to tell them a delicious bedtime story? And so it ensues.

A Boy Called Christmas is about a boy called Christmas--clever, no?--who live an impoverished life alone in a Norwegian forest. His father (played by Joel Fry) is a woodsman. Young Nikolas (played by Henry Lawfull) helps his father but dreams of his late mother, who died when he was very young but gifted him with dreams of elves and the hope of a life of wonder in Elfhelm, one of the magical kingdoms of Viking lore. But Nikolas's father doesn't exactly buy into the legends and forces Henry to live a more realistic and rustic life until one day the king (played by Jim Broadbent) challenges the people to search far and wide for tangible signs of hope to encourage the people of the kingdom. His father sets off with a bunch of local men in search of Elfhelm, leaving Nikolas in the care of his self-centered sister (played by Kristen Wiig) and a red cap knit by Nikolas's mother. When Nikclas inadvertently discovers a map sewn inside the cap by Nikolas's mother, Nikolas runs off the find his father to help him in his quest. Thereafter lie mayhem and conflict. Also a pet mouse, a flying reindeer, a city of elves intent on imprisoning Nikolas, and lots of cold, snowy, mountainous terrain. 

This is your usual boy against the odds battle to survive and be understood story. It's also about the magic of Christmas and the power of hope. There are lots of interesting characters and fun settings, and children will enjoy seeing themselves in the personas of the children receiving a bedtime story by a beloved character actor and watching imaginative characters coming to life on their TV screens. It's also a story good for adults who like a little fantasy in their fiction--perhaps some hope in tough times.

A Boy Called Christmas isn't full-blown fantasy like a Babes in Toyland or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But it is fantasy an audience can suspend disbelief in long enough to enjoy the story and tag along for the journey and the warm-hearted message. I'd rate it A for admirable effort.