“Hope Is the Greatest Gift”
| None | Light | Moderate | Heavy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | ||||
| Violence | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Nudity |
Watch:
What You Need To Know:
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS is a creative, fantastical origin story for Father Christmas. It puts an emphasis on hope, trust, family, and sacrifice. Despite how people treat him, Nikolas, shows compassion to everyone. However, an evil elf is shown using Harry Potter-like magic to imprison elves who want to celebrate Christmas. There’s also some brief pagan mythology. A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS also contains no references to Jesus and scenes of peril. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.
Content:
Strong, mixed pagan worldview, the origin of Christmas is talked about without mentioning Jesus, God or the Bible, mixed with some moral elements stressing the importance of truth, family, hope, trust, and compassion, with some redemptive elements of sacrifice, but there is also some use of magic for both good and bad purposes
No foul language
Action and peril throughout, with a scene where a father and son are chased by a bear but escape, a reindeer has an arrow in its side, but Nikolas helps it, an elf boy is kidnapped by humans, a pixie who loves explosives explodes a troll off screen, magic is used to capture people by levitation, there is mention of a children’s mother dying, and a father sacrifices his life for his son
No sex
No nudity
No alcohol use
No smoking or drugs; and,
Deals with heavier themes like grief, but this is met with belief in humanity as opposed to God.
More Detail:
The movie opens as a young family gets a visit from their Aunt Ruth. For the three children, this is their first Christmas without their mother, and they decided not to decorate their house for the holidays. That night, Aunt Ruth tells them a bedtime story about a young boy named Nikolas.
Nikolas, whose mother died when he was younger, lives with his father in a ramshackle cabin in the woods. Despite their humble lifestyle, Nikolas is content to live with his father and the stories of Elfhelm left behind by her mother. However, Nikolas knows his father doesn’t believe as strongly in Elfhelm as he does, and he determines that he will find it one day.
It is winter in the land, and the king invites all the people to his castle to address their poverty. The king promises an award to anyone who can bring him something that will give him, and the villagers, hope.
Nikolas’ father sets out to the north toward Elfhelm, while Nikolas is forced to stay behind with his cruel Aunt. With only the company of a mouse named Miika, he escapes his aunt in search of his father and of Elfhelm.
Nikolas teaches Miika to talk, and the duo stumbles upon an injured reindeer. Nikolas is able to help the reindeer and gains another travel companion for this long journey. Through belief, Nikolas, Miika and the reindeer find Elfhelm, but it isn’t the joyous, celebratory city of his mother’s stories.
An evil elf has taken control of the city and throws Nikolas into prison. While there, he meets a truth pixie who agrees to restore hope to Elfhelm and save his father. Led by hope, truth and his love for his family, Nikolas must face tremendous odds and restore both his home and the kingdom.
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS is a creative, fantastical origin story for Father Christmas. It puts an emphasis on hope, trust and family. Also, characters are willing to sacrifice, at great cost, for the betterment of others. However, an evil elf is shown using Harry Potter-like magic to imprison elves who want to celebrate Christmas. There’s also some brief pagan mythology. In addition, A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS has no references to Jesus and scenes of peril. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.
– Content: -1Share:
– Content: -1