By Michaela Gordoni
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER is a holiday movie that everyone can enjoy.
“It’s for families and it’s to celebrate the Christmas experience,” producer Kebin Downes told Movieguide® ahead of the movie’s release last year. “To see the nativity story in a way we’ve never witnessed it before, with all the laughs and the feel-good vibes but also the emotional moments, which I think are probably going to surprise people because, as you know, it’s hard to have laughter and tears and emotion all crammed together in one movie, but Dallas [Jenkins] did a great job and kind of bringing those story elements in a way there.”
Jenkins first read the book “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” around 20 years ago. He read it to his wife and kids, and everyone loved it.
“We were laughing but then also crying,” Jenkins said. “The thing that was so unique about the story and that I knew I had to bring to the screen was that.”
Related: Dallas Jenkins Can’t Wait for You to See THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER
Downes said of Ted Baehr, Movieguide®’s founder, “What I’m most proud of is… Ted — I can’t wait for him to tell me, ‘You did it! You made a movie for everybody!’ Because that is what THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT is. Whether you’re 4, 5, 6, or 40, 50, 60, 70, whatever, this movie is absolutely for everybody.”
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER won multiple Movieguide® Awards, including Best Movie for Families and The Grace Award for Beatrice Schneider.
The movie depicts a group of outcast children in a town that is obsessed with its annual Christmas Pageant. But when the new director chooses the outcast children to star in the pageant, everyone has their doubts—but they just might be surprised.
“[It] might be the first Christmas pageant in history where Joseph and the wise men get in a fight and Mary hightails it with the baby,” BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT actress Judy Greer joked. “The whole movie is inspiring, like a bigger picture story about welcoming the other.”
Part of Movieguide®’s review reads, “… Bring your tissues or handkerchief. THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER has a strong Christian, moral worldview. It extols Jesus, who transforms your life, love thy neighbor, and the true meaning of Christmas.”
Jenkins had been trying to get the movie made for over a decade before it finally happened.
“I’ve been hoping to make this announcement for 15 years. There have been so many painful moments and near misses in that time. But now I finally get to make the movie Amanda [Jenkins] and I have sought and envisioned and cried over,” Jenkins said when he announced the movie would be made.
Read Next: Dallas Jenkins On Why The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Is Already A CLASSIC
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