Saving Santa

You can do with better than Saving Santa but you can also do with worse. It is formulaic with moments of cheesiness and some of the story is thin and only just about sustains the running time. The songs are hit and miss with Some Kind of Miracle and Do and Die being quite nice but the others rather forgettable and some of the voice cast like Joan Collins don't have much to do and don't register as much. The animation is colourful and well-textured with appealing character designs- though Neville's is on the stereotypical side. The music score, songs aside, is pleasant and catchy with some contemporary Christmas sparkle too. The dialogue has cheesy moments but also heart-warming and funny moments too more often than not, and the time travel stuff, while maybe convoluted for some children but something that adults will enjoy and appreciate, is very clever and inventive. And there is a really heart-warming Christmas spirit here, it is easy for considering what's happening in the story to be mean-spirited but that never did come across to me. The characters are cute and easy to like, Bernard in particular, and most of the voice acting is great. Martin Freeman- always an engaging actor- is immensely charming as Bernard and allows you to relate to him and his plight. Ashley Tisdale is both sassy and sympathetic, but top honours with no bias intended belongs to Tim Curry whose voice acting oozes with smarmy menace and it is the most energetic characterisation of the film(not a surprise, he is the most experienced voice actor in the cast and villains always has been his speciality). All in all, thoroughly decent family entertainment but perhaps won't please everybody, have already seen a rather indifferent reaction from some critics. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Likeable festive fun that seems to be targeting the kids without really caring about the more discerning adults. The character animation is vibrant and well designed even if it is rendered rather poorly, often looking more like a PS2 cut scene. But it was still an interesting time travel based narrative that feels like it would have been better used as a double length episode of some TV show. The memorable aspect is a recurring song that, in each retread of the same moment in time, adds a new voice to it. I guess it's fine if you want to keep your prepubescents quite but you could do so much better. I would recommend any of the great non-festive family animated movies over this but if you really want something Noelesque I'd suggest "Get Santa" a delightful if imperfect Christmas romp.

Did you know Martin Freeman can sing? However you think of him, as Bilbo in The Hobbit or Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes or Mandy Moore's husband in Swinging with the Finkels, you probably don't associate him with the cute Christmas cartoon, Saving Santa. Check this movie out; it'll be so much better than you think. Yes, it's a cartoon, but it's not geared towards young kids. There are romantic jokes that will go right over their heads, quick comic timing that they'll most likely tune out, and a plot so fast-paced they'll get confused. This one's for the teenagers or grown-ups in the audience. Martin voices an elf who works in the reindeer stables in the North Pole who's unhappy with his station in life. He's an inventor, but his presentations never go over well with the other elves. When he finds himself the only one who can save Santa from the evil bad guy, voiced by Tim Curry, he enters a very entertaining rabbit hole. It turns out, Santa uses a time machine to deliver all his toys in one night, and in order to stop Tim from finding and stealing the secret, Martin uses the time machine himself! This is such a fun movie, with tons of layers you wouldn't expect. You'll see the same scenes played over and over again, from different points of view, and with different time-travelled people making a difference. It's very clever, and the musician in me loves when the songs turn into duets with past- and future-versions of Martin! I know you think it'll be silly, but trust me and give it a shot. I've sat through more than my fair share of lousy Christmas movies, and this one isn't lousy at all. It's great from start to finish. I've watched it three years in a row now! DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In pretty much every scene, the camera either tilts or swirls, and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

The kids love it and that is the target. I don't like Christmas movies much but this one has a story line out of the normal Christmas sap! Plus the kids love it! SO as long as they don't learn some gory lesson and learn a sweat lesson I am all for it. They are the ones who count anyway. My grandchildren are 9 and 6 and they can not get enough of this movie! The grandson gets the biggest kick out of watching the elf. He loves him! The granddaughter just enjoys the whole movie. So if they like it I am all for it. The animation looks pretty good to me and even though it might not be as sharp as the other kids movie producers out there I think they have a hit here.