Parents' Guide to

The Christmas Chronicles

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Edgy, exciting Santa adventure has iffy behavior, peril.

Movie NR 2018 103 minutes
The Christmas Chronicles Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 69 parent reviews

SMTM
SMTM Parent of 10 and 12-year-old
December 3, 2022
age 10+

A lot of fat shaming

Movie story was mediocre, left a bad taste in my mouth... was really disappointed with the constant fat shaming. It wasn't one throwaway comment, there were constant references about Santa being annoyed that he was portrayed as fat and greedy. I don't understand why they keep including fat shaming comments in movies. People can be fat for a variety of reasons including hormonal and medications etc. Normalising fat shaming comments is so unnecessary to the story line and hurtful. Some poor behaviour by kids, but they turn it around in the end. Band only had male musicians and sexy female backing singers.
2 people found this helpful.
StinaAndSe
StinaAndSe Parent of 6 and 9-year-old
December 29, 2021
age 10+

not great

lots of adult content that’s kind of harsh - muggers, stolen cars, jail, ex convicts. not that funny and just not great.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 69 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES tells how siblings Teddy (Judah Lewis) and Kate (Darby Camp) sneak onto Santa's (Kurt Russell) sleigh on Christmas Eve, making the sleigh crash and Santa lose his magic hat and sack full of toys. Oh, and to top it all off, the reindeer are also MIA. If Santa doesn't deliver Christmas in time, the world will descend into another Dark Age where violence and chaos rule the day. So the three of them set out to make things right by retrieving the lost items and getting Santa's elves to help repair the sleigh. Along the way, Teddy steals a car (well, borrows a stolen car, really), Santa gets thrown in jail, and Kate finds herself alone in Santa's workshop at the North Pole. Can the three work together to save Christmas?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (69 ):
Kids say (48 ):

This Christmas adventure has lots of kid appeal and excitement in a quest to save Christmas, but iffy behavior as well as dealing with parental loss make it best for tweens and up. The Christmas Chronicles features Hollywood veteran Kurt Russell playing a gruff Santa who doesn't do "ho, ho, ho!" and who doesn't like being portrayed as fat. But viewers old enough to handle the iffy messages, language, and themes of grieving will enjoy watching Kate and Teddy win him over. Director Clay Kaytis puts his CGI animation experience to good use, especially with the elves. They have a distinct look and sometimes an almost gremlin-like edginess that might be a bit scary for little kids, and some of the scenes seem like a bit of a marketing ploy designed to make kids want to collect them all. But tweens and up can appreciate them as refreshingly distinct from the usual visions.

It's easy to imagine producer Chris Columbus as having an influence over the inventive imagining of Santa's workshop and how to get there. The jailhouse rock-and-roll number feels gratuitous and ineffective as a way to spread Christmas spirit, but you could argue that a rock number like that is logical for something coming out of a holding cell. Parents and grandparents may enjoy looking for familiar faces in the band, as well as the inside-joke actress in a cameo as Mrs. Claus. It may not be an instant classic the whole family can enjoy, but tweens and up will enjoy the excitement and adventure, with a happy ending that wraps things up nicely.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about holiday messages in The Christmas Chronicles. What's the most important part of any holiday? Is it what you get, or something else?

  • Lots of people feel sad at holiday times because they miss loved ones who have passed away. If you've lost a loved one, what kinds of things help you feel better?

  • Is it OK to do something naughty or illegal if it's for a good cause? Why or why not? How do you know?

Movie Details

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