‘Noelle’ turns out to be a jolly addition to the Christmas movie rotation
Scrolling through Disney+ upon its launch in mid-November, we came upon a new Christmas movie starring Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader called “Noelle.” Feeling a need for some holiday cheer, we put it on and settled in for what we expected to be a cheeseball holiday movie akin to a Hallmark or ABC Family original. While some moments were that, the majority of the film was delightfully heartfelt and charming.
“Noelle” stars Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, The Last Five Years) as the titular Noelle Kringle, daughter of — you guessed it — Santa Claus. In this world, Santa Claus is a title and position, like a king or president, typically passed down the family line for generations. The current Santa Claus is approaching retirement and it’s time for his son Nick (Bill Hader of SNL and Barry fame) to don the red hat and suit and start his training. But it turns out, when their father passes away and it’s time for Nick to drive the sleigh, he doesn’t want to be Santa. At all. In fact, he’d do almost anything BUT be Santa. Noelle, always one to make people feel jolly, suggests he take the weekend off to clear his head before the big Christmas push.
But then he doesn’t come back.
Everyone at the North Pole is furious, blaming her for ruining Christmas. So she does what any sensible sibling of Santa would do: She hops in the sleigh with Elf Polly (Shirley MacLaine) and heads to *checks notes* Phoenix, Arizona, where Nick has taken up yoga and is enjoying the dry heat. Can she convince him to get his act together and get back North in time for Christmas?
As I said at the top, I fully expected this to be hot garbage covered in tinsel. Surprisingly, it’s far from it! The script is very smart: Everyone at the North Pole uses very silly Christmas verbiage that Kendrick and Hader handle with the skill of Shakespearean actors. Their cousin Gabriel (Billy Eichner of Billy on the Street and The Lion King remake) is tapped as the next male heir to take over as Santa, but he’s far more interested in turning the North Pole into an Amazon-esque online delivery service. Noelle begins to discover untapped talents once she’s left the North Pole and some of the connections she forms with Arizonians are really heartwarming, particularly when she learns she knows sign language while talking to family in a shelter.
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