Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Writer-director David E. Talbert’s marvelous, groundbreaking musical-fantasy Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey stands to join the ranks of holiday movie classics. Smartly conceived, lovingly mounted and beautifully performed, this Victorian era-set extravaganza nearly sings out to be enjoyed as a communal, big-screen experience.

More care for pacing and character development, and less focus on moment-by-moment wow-factor, would have made a less strenuous film. Still, the sheer exuberance and skill of the visual design and performances are uplifting.

The movie is packed with thrilling sequences, charming songs (by Philip Lawrence, John Legend and others), flashy dance numbers and a delightful cast. Although parts of the film veer on cliché, its intentions are well-meaning and its messages about nurturing curiosity and fostering community are well worth hearing right about now.

The film is a proudly over-the-top, entertaining musical comedy extravaganza.

The film works its showy magic. Or perhaps enforces its magic would be more accurate.

It’s silly and a little too slow, but the characters are enormously charming and the design is overwhelmingly sumptuous. It should give viewers, especially children, a welcome hit of Christmas magic.

His vision is big, but the execution clunky and crowded with detail, such that it all plays like a regional-theater production of “The Wiz” staged within the walls of “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.” Talbert is positively unabashed about Jingle Jangle’s too-muchness, as if trying to make up for a century of underrepresentation by stuffing everything he can into two hours’ worth of Christmas pageantry.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Positives: Solid children's Christmas movie. Broadway-style show numbers. World was built SO well! Best I've seen a "Christmas town" look. Performances are great. Negatives: Music is pretty forgettable. Not bad but not something that stays with you. The main character wasn't introduced until 31 min mark. Slow to start. Long to end. Personal thoughts: Black cast and WHO CARES? Race had nothing to do with any character's journey. But a black cast performing mostly(not a music expert) hiphop and soul numbers? The movie felt like it was stereotyping music to a specific race and therefore stereotyping the audience... I felt pretty unsettled. I enjoyed this movie but it is not a holiday classic.

It's a musical, with some decent CGI. But what it does well in the CGI, it lacks in actual acting skills. The children, I have the feeling it's their first time they ever acted, and for the adults.. well.. I guess it's never too late to change your career. The plot is as boring as you can expect it - man is inventor, inventions get stolen, man goes after thief. During the entire movie, every time a bit of the story progresses, it instantly comes to a halt, as yet another song is sang, and you forget what you were watching. An average Netflix movie, but not one which I'll ever watch again.

This movie drags painfully long. The pacing is atrocious. Nice costumes and effects but it's a brutal watch.

Positives: - Lovely animation - Clear care in the design - Great singing and choreo - A beautiful line or two about imagination Negatives: - Flat characters who don't change - Questionable performances - A rushed ending and an odd demise for the antagonist - Sync issues during songs - Confusing plot elements Overall not for me.