THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Name: THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Item: THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Author: Gaby Gaduh

"Heartfelt, Satisfying Ending Promotes the Spirit of Christmas"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL is an entertaining, heartfelt hour-long Christmas special on Disney Plus. Mantis and Drax learn that Peter, their beloved leader, may have had a Christmas ruined by his adoptive father, Yondu. So, they travel to Earth to bring back some Christmas spirit to cheer up Peter. They almost ruin things when they decide to kidnap Peter’s hero, movie star Kevin Bacon, as a Christmas gift. Meanwhile, Mantis has a secret that could change her relationship with Peter.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL opens with edgy material due to misunderstandings about Christmas from Peter’s alien friends. Eventually, it turns out to be a funny, heartwarming entry in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” with an uplifting, satisfying ending. However, the special has foul language, action violence, immoral behavior, a lewd comment, and only one reference to Jesus. One character has occult telepathic powers. So, caution for older children is advised for the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL. The special would have been better without the foul language and with more references to Jesus and His mission.

Content:

(BB, CC, FR, AB, Pa, O, L, VV, S, N, AA, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview celebrates Christmas, family, friendship, gift-giving, humility, and characters who earn that “giving from the heart” is more important than materialist acquisition, with one reference to the baby Jesus in a visual image of a Nativity display, the “spirit” of Christmas in the short television movie overcomes some antinomian immoral pagan behavior and includes a condemnation of human trafficking by the main hero, plus an alien character is a telepathic “empath,” who can manipulate people’s emotions and beliefs

Foul Language:

Six obscenities (including one “s” word) and no profanities

Violence:

Strong, heavy stylized action violence (with no blood and no onscreen casualties) of the Guardians causing havoc in space and on Earth, a blue alien knocks out a Christmas tree and accuses his adopted son of “giving out freebies,” two characters wrestle and punch various street actors to the ground on Earth, two characters break into a private actor’s residence and forcibly kidnap him, one of the characters uses her telepathy to convince the same actor into doing their bidding, two characters knock out various Earth police officers and topple one of their vehicles

Sex:

No sex scenes, but an alien thinks Santa Claus’ wife “works the pole”

Nudity:

One male character wears no shirt

Alcohol Use:

Two Guardians drink beer and wine at a Los Angeles sports bar and they also get “wasted,” dance drunkenly on the dance floor, and then lie wasted on the street curb

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drug;

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Strong miscellaneous immorality includes a friend shares another man’s previously private holiday trauma in his past, but he doesn’t know the positive ending to that story, a talking racoon heckles a telepathic talking alien dog, breaking and entering, kidnapping, some stealing, Guardians kidnap famous actor back to their spaceship, a Guardian steals money from a Hollywood con artist, a Guardian steals a candy cane prop from Earth, and Guardians wrap the human actor inside a box, but the leader of the Guardians frees the actor and orders the other Guardians to return him to Earth.

More Detail:

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL is an entertaining, heartfelt hour-long special on Disney+, in a story where Mantis and Drax bring back some Christmas decorations from Earth to cheer up Peter, but they almost ruin things when they also decide to kidnap Peter’s hero, movie star Kevin Bacon. The GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL is very funny and has an excellent, positive, morally uplifting ending, but the special has brief foul language, action violence, some miscellaneous immoral behavior, and only one reference to Jesus, the Real Reason for the Christmas Season.

Set after the events of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2, the Guardians set up Christmas decorations on an alien world. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), the swashbuckling human leader of the Guardians, rejects the celebration due to his previous holiday-related childhood trauma. Mantis and Drax, Quill’s alien friends, decide to lift Quill’s spirits with the perfect present from Earth. Moreover, Mantis holds a secret that could forever change her friend’s life. Can the Guardians save Christmas in time?

In an animated flashback, a teenage Peter Quill tries to celebrate Christmas with Yondu, his “tough love” alien mentor who’s become Peter’s adoptive father. Quill explains that Christmas was a vital tradition during his days on Earth. Quill and his human friend, Kraglin, try to exchange gifts, but Yondu abruptly ends the holiday because “we ain’t about no d*mn handouts.” Yondu believes that one must be “tough” and unsentimental in space, or risk being killed. Yondu apparently leaves the boy scarred for life.

Fast forward to the present, an adult-aged Kraglin (Sean Gunn) recounts Peter’s short-lived Christmas encounter with the other Guardians. It is Christmas Eve at Knowhere, a planet-sized space colony that the Guardians have bought and now manage. This special takes place after the events of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, but before the next GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY movie, VOLUME 3. Peter reels over the recent loss of Gamora, his no-nonsense but highly skilled alien partner. Peter refuses to discuss his trauma and scoffs at any mention of Christmas. Kraglin and his alien friends try to cheer Peter up via a corny holiday song, but Peter pushes them away.

Mantis and Drax, Peter’s non-human allies, are touched by Kraglin’s story and resolve to give Peter the Christmas he deserves. In previous movies, Peter rescued his friends from overwhelming threats across the galaxy. Mantis feels guilty for harboring an important secret from Peter, but Drax encourages her to be emotionally honest. Mantis and Drax then hatch a plan. They decide to travel to Earth, search for Peter’s childhood hero, Kevin Bacon, and bring the legend as a gift to Peter.

Mantis and Drax land in Hollywood, California, but are oblivious to Earth’s customs. Admittedly, these “fish out of water” segments are genuinely hilarious. It is a montage of Mantis and Drax interacting with tourists at Sunset Boulevard. These scenes were shot on location and provide ample slapstick. The two aliens ask around for directions, get drunk at a bar, steal a wallet, and eventually arrive at the correct house. They kidnap Kevin Bacon, a real life 80’s action hero who inspired Peter during his childhood. Bacon calls the LAPD, but the Guardians knock them unconscious. Mantis snaps Kevin into a trance and convinces him to happily go along. Before they leave Earth, they also break into a Christmas decoration store.

The question is, will Peter be pleased that his friends have kidnapped his idol, Kevin Bacon?

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL opens with some edgy material. Eventually, though, it turns out to be a funny, heartwarming entry in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Many of the jokes depend on the aliens’ misunderstanding of Christmas, and Mantis and Drax’s confusion about American customs. The special also features catchy music, an emphasis on familial bonding, and a positive outlook on celebrating Christmas. The ending turns out to be very positive. However, the HOLIDAY SPECIAL has brief foul language, a reference to a dead “celestial god,” a lewd innuendo about Santa Claus’ wife, and scenes where Mantis and Drax get drunk, steal things and fight some police officers who come to rescue Kevin Bacon. Also, although there’s a scene where Mantis and Drax briefly see a Nativity display with Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus, there are no other religious references to Christmas. So, although the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL imparts some positive, morally uplifting, pro-family Christmas values, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.

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Quality:

- Content: -1