Film Review – The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

There is no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than watching a festive movie. While multiple Christmas films come out every year, there is only a handful that actually manages to remain memorable across the years. As a movie that combines a festive story with a beloved children’s tale that many of us may already be familiar with, The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland promises to appeal to both children and adults who will enjoy it in different ways.

Based on a children’s book by the same name, The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland follows St. Nick (Gerard Butler) on the titular night before Christmas as he receives a last-minute letter from Wonderland. Embarking on a new journey his reindeers are increasingly unsure about, St. Nick will find himself wondering around Wonderland, a realm where its inhabitants – including the March Hare (Asim Chaudhry), Mad Hatter (Mawaan Rizwan), and Alice (Simone Ashley) – cannot celebrate Christmas as the Queen of Hearts (Emilia Clarke) is vehemently against the holiday.

The mix between two children’s classics—your typical Christmas story and the timeless Alice in Wonderland—is particularly successful. While both elements have been told over and over on the screen, especially when it comes to media aimed at children, the combination of the two tropes in this story allows it to feel a lot more original than the usual Christmas story we see during the festive season.

In fact, the Wonderland setting However, the characters in Wonderland are as explored as they could have been. This is especially true considering that these are characters many of us are familiar with and could therefore have been analysed even further and more in depth in this Christmas rendition of Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Some elements of Wonderland are still especially fascinating to witness in this film.

The Mad Hatter and the March Hare are a joy to see on screen, to the credit of the two actors playing them who bring out the best elements of each character as well as of the dynamic between the two. Their chemistry brings out the best out of both characters, allowing both children and adults to enjoy their nonsense comedy that definitely makes up for most of the movie’s humour.

Amongst a very impressive cast that all manage to sketch out their characters very well, Asim Chaudhry and Mawaan Rizwan are two of the stand-outs of this film. Similarly, Simone Ashley and Gerard Butler deliver impressive vocal performances in the songs that will most certainly get stuck in your head after watching the movie.

The animation style is also fascinating to see as it references the drawing style of the children’s book it is inspired by. However, it also quickly becomes quite repetitive too soon. While the change in setting keeps it interesting in the first act of the film, the elements of novelty stop soon after that. While the third act is normally meant to be the culmination of the entire plot, the film drags its final part too much with musical numbers that feel overly long and at times unnecessary towards the end.

Overall, The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland is a really sweet movie that proves to be an interesting new addition to the canon of Christmas films. While it is too early to declare it a Christmas classic just yet – after all, the movie is nothing groundbreaking in terms of its narrative or visual style – it is certainly a delightful movie that is perfect to watch on Christmas day.