We will watch all Christmas productions at home this year. I am reviewing one of them. Mr. Jangle and the Christmas Journey is available on Netflix.
Many of us have a soft spot for Christmas movies that are filled with lights, snow, warm interiors and touching moments. Despite the fact that the actual holidays rarely resemble the fairy-tale ones, we like to feel the holiday atmosphere by watching this type of productions. Hence the inconceivable number of holiday titles that bombard us from left and right every year. And this goes hand in hand with the massive reproduction of the same pattern. Not all of these movies have something new to offer.
The film, in line with the set goal, takes us in the blink of an eye to a beautiful, festive world. The fairy tale is full of happy songs, beautiful interiors, winter town and decorations, as well as well-thought-out, neatly selected outfits. Thanks to them, the fairy-tale world welcomes us warmly and makes us not want to run away from it quickly. After all, Christmas illuminations, snow outside the window and the scenery that reminds us of the Nutcracker delight with their splendor and panache. Even the fact that the movie looks like a Disney-inspired combination of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with A Christmas Carol seems irrelevant when we just immerse ourselves in this cozy little town. With the naked eye you can see that the production of Netflix was not the cheapest, which the platform has been able to afford for some time.
Unfortunately, all the spell breaks when the heroes start singing. The little captivating songs are not catchy and do not add anything interesting to the plot. With each track we see how poorly the choreographies and the camera work have been thought out. The vocals of mainly male actors are more amusing and embarrassing. This is very much exposed after the real gospel shows of the female part of the cast. None of the songs remain in the memory, and after the screening, instead of humming one of them, we come to the conclusion that it was because of the bad songs that the movie was so long.
The only argument for repeating such trivial patterns is that Netflix made a holiday movie politically very correct. Finally, we get a heart-warming Christmas tale with nearly 90% of the black cast. I think that such a production can mean a lot to the African American community. The platform consciously makes such diverse films showing that anyone can create the perfect Christmas atmosphere. And as we know, the festive atmosphere means the same as love, acceptance and family. It's nice to watch cheerful kids with crooked milkshakes, actresses with gospel abilities and a stupid antagonist who is a life failure. After all, the atmosphere of Christmas is felt by every viewer, and we do not get another story about a wealthy white family living in a 400-meter house.
It is fair to admit that Mr. Jangle and the Christmas Journey is a textbook example of the excess of form over content. It may be difficult to create something that has a holiday moral different from all the others. Certainly, however, with such a budget, you can smuggle something more than the usual obvious. Adult audiences won't find anything interesting in this title, and for younger audiences, it's better to play Charlie or the Polar Express, not Mr. Jagna and his Christmas trip.
