The Christmas Chronicles 2

Humans fight each other and elves with nerf guns, crossbows, fire, potions, racing sleighs, snowballs, time-traveling devices, and shooting drones. Kate and Belsnickel are both set on fire momentarily. Jack and Kate, who have both lost a parent, are essentially kidnapped, thrown from a moving golf cart into a wormhole, dropped into the snow at the North Pole, and left to nearly die of frostbite. To retrieve a magic plant and save Santa's Village, Jack is sent out into the dark forest, where he has to scale a cliff, which he slides down unharmed. A fierce animated wild cat ("Yule Cat") attacks Dasher, leaving the reindeer injured, and tries to attack Jack, but Jack sets off an explosion to scare him away. Santa's and Belsnickel's speeding sleigh rides are fast-paced, and at one point they play chicken. Belsnickel often sneaks a ride on the bottom of Santa's sleigh. A potion turns elves violent. Doug uses a pocket knife to break Kate out of an airport holding room. Delayed travelers at a Boston airport lose their temper.

Santa and Mrs. Claus kiss. There's talk of Bob proposing to Kate's mom on a romantic night away.

"Buzzkill," "scaredy cat," "freaking," "brat," "suck," "butt cheek." There are burps and whoopee cushion-created farts.

Teen says, "I know -- no alcohol," when his mom leaves him unsupervised for a night. Various potions are concocted that can heal animals or affect humans' and elves' behavior.

Parents need to know that The Christmas Chronicles 2, like the original, has some action that could scare younger viewers. The film's length and aspects of the story and character details might also prove overwhelming for them. Some plot points are questionable, such as parents leaving their kids alone at a Mexican resort for a night, or that two kids would pick a lock to break out of a holding cell. Sure enough, the kids' adventure begins when they're abducted the night their parents are away. They're tossed from a moving golf cart into a wormhole and left to potentially die from frostbite in the snows of the North Pole. The kids continue to face repeated peril and attacks, including from an animated oversized "Yule Cat." The cat's fight with Dasher leaves the reindeer injured and whimpering. Speedy sleigh chases are similarly nail-biting. But the kids always emerge stronger, wiser, and physically unharmed. Language includes "buzzkill," "scaredy cat," "freaking," "brat," "suck," and "butt cheek." There are burps and whoopee cushion-created farts. Both kids have lost parents, and Kate's encounter with her father as a teen when she travels back in time is emotional. The kids are reminded of the importance of family, and all the film's characters learn the value of love and the uplifting spirit of Christmas.

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