YMMV / The Christmas Chronicles

• Awesome Music: Santa and the inmates performing Santa Claus Is Back in Town while in the holding cells in Chicago. The inmates even do so with the instruments they asked for growing up, and Santa asks for and gets a piano so he can do a rocking solo.
• Director Displacement: The marketing tended to emphasize the involvement and filmography of producer Chris Columbus while not mentioning the actual director, Clay Kaytis, which makes sense since Kaytis previously had mostly worked as an animator and only had one directing credit to his name (The Angry Birds Movie). This is especially notable since Columbus went on to take over directing duties for the sequel.
• Genius Bonus: Santa’s origin story, discussed under Freeze-Frame Bonus on the main page, is, in part, how St. Nicholas — as in the actual Christian saint from whom Santa Claus is derived — became famous for giving gifts. Although the origin story in the film is a Bowdlerization: According to Christian tradition, the daughters St. Nicholas saved were in danger of being forced into prostitution.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Santa mentions that should he fail to complete his rounds bad thing happen around the world mentioning the "Dark Ages" and several real-world wars. The movie takes place in 2018, right before a global pandemic put an end to several Christmas plans.
• Heartwarming Moments: When Teddy taunts Kate for making a video message for Santa at the age of ten, she indicates that she still believes he exists. Thus, he stops and changes tactics. It's a little thing, but a nice touch.
• He Really Can Act: Even people who don't like the special will applaud Kurt Russell's performance as the Christmas mascot himself. Just see for yourself.
• Just Here for Godzilla: General consensus is that, while the overall movie is average, Kurt Russell's performance as Santa Claus is definitely worth the watch.
• Questionable Casting: From its very announcement, many were puzzled by the decision to cast Kurt Russell, the quintessential 80s Action Hero, as the jolly old icon of the Christmas season. Sufficed to say, Russell's performance exceeded all expectations
• So Okay, It's Average: Critical and audience consensus for both films seems to be this, with two largely by-the-numbers Christmas stories elevated by Russell's performance as Santa (and, for the sequel, the novelty of seeing Russell and Goldie Hawn sharing the screen). That said, while critics generally consider the two films equal, audience statistics favor the first film.

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