The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

 

Although I am enough of a fan of Alice in Wonderland to be curious about other takes on the story and characters, it’s more often the more unique takes that grab my interest the most. The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland is one such take, being an adaptation of a book by Carys Bexington and Kate Hindley that combines Lewis Carroll’s story with the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas in an interesting way with its own unique premise. Although I have not read the book, the title and visual style were enticing enough to me when I stumbled upon the movie’s existence through an issue of Animation Magazine and seeing that it had already been out for a month as of this writing. After making the time to watch it for free through Amazon Prime Video, I liked it a lot more than I expected, enough to make me want to read the book.

The night before Christmas, Santa (Gerard Butler) is about to set off for his annual deliveries when he receives a last-minute letter from the Princess of Hearts in Wonderland. Despite the reindeers’ protests, Santa insists on making a detour to Wonderland and deliver the princess’ gift first. Unbeknownst to him, however, the Queen of Hearts (Emilia Clarke) has banned anything even remotely related to Christmas, putting the citizens of Wonderland in fear of her around the holiday.

In all respects, the movie feels like a storybook come to life. The elements of Christmas and Wonderland are meshed together in a way that not only works, but maintains your interest throughout its entire runtime, taking advantage of its setting for some clever and unique shenanigans on Santa’s journey. The dialogue is also delivered entirely in rhyme, completing the experience while still sounding natural. Despite how dark it can get, a sense of whimsy permeates throughout the movie in part due to Santa’s optimism contrasting with some of the other characters, as well as some nice visual humor.

 

There is some humor in seeing a reindeer using public transportation.

 

I did not know going in that the film was a musical, but I ended up enjoying that aspect of it as well. The songs are not only minimal at only six musical numbers (not counting occasional reprises), but those songs are worked in very organically and even get acknowledged a few times in funny ways. The songs themselves are also written well and each have the potential to be an earworm, which for me include “Topsy Turvy World” and “Bandersnatch.” The voice acting is also really good and well-cast, helped by the voice actors also having nice singing voices, though special mention goes to Gerard Butler as a great choice for Santa and Emilia Clarke (of Game of Thrones fame) as the Queen of Hearts.

What really makes the film feel like a living storybook is the animation that faithfully recreates the original book’s art style. Due to the complexity of the designs, 2D animation rigs were used for greater consistency, but they are used in a way that’s surprisingly fluid and makes the use of said rigs unnoticeable and is especially impressive in scenes such as the Mad Tea Party that feature a lot of Wonderland whimsy. In general, the visual style gives this film a very timeless quality, and the visual gags are executed in a way that don’t feel out of place.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland has the makings of an instant Christmas classic and succeeds in all areas. Those looking for a more unique take on Lewis Carroll’s work or something new to add to their holiday rotation should check this out, whether through Amazon Prime Video or Hulu, if they can.