Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Borget
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Poorly-produced horse tale has minimal holiday tie-in.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Ace and the Christmas Miracle
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In ACE AND THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE Big Freddie (James Chalke) and Tony (Steven Chase,) who are deep in debt, get a chance to turn things around when they meet Amanda (Brande Roderick). She's frustrated with her brother's behavior and wants to hire Tony to kidnap her brother's horse Ace (voiced by Jon Lovitz) for ransom. But after Tony and Ace bump heads, Tony is able to communicate with the horse. The pair team up to try to win in gambling on horse races. Will Tony get rich or decide to give up gambling?
Is It Any Good?
Amateurish production values combined with a slow story make this well-intended holiday movie a complete snooze. Though the movie poster for Ace and the Christmas Miracle features a jolly-looking horse and his festive sidekicks, the film barely mentions Christmas and the horse Ace hardly gets any screen time until halfway through the movie. Even then he's not as much of a character as you might expect from the previews, as his role is minor through the remainder of the film. It takes most of the movie for the one-dimensional characters to learn important lessons about friendship and believing in themselves, which all seems to come together halfheartedly in the last 10 minutes of the film.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how movies are marketed. Did the advertisements for the movie give you different expectations than what you saw? Were you disappointed that Ace didn't play a larger role?
Ace told Tony he needed to "bet on himself." What do you think that means? What are some ways you can bet on yourself that don't actually involve gambling?
Did this feel like a holiday movie to you? Do you think it could've been set at another time of the year and been mostly the same? Why do you think the producers wanted it to be a holiday title?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 14, 2021
- Cast : Jon Lovitz , Brande Roderick , James Chalke
- Director : Asif Akbar
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Holidays , Animals
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Some language, thematic elements and brief smoking images
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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