“Once Upon a Christmas” was released in 2000. It stars Kathy Ireland, John Dye, Mary Donnelly Haskell, and Liz Torres.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
This movie is focused on Santa’s daughter Kristin. Santa is discouraged by a lack of Christmas spirit and wants to quit, but Kristin, begs for one more chance to prove to him that there is hope for the world. To do that, she must get the Morgan family off the naughty list. She shows up at their home, is mistaken as a replacement au pair from the company and moves in.
What’s special about this movie? It has a lot of fluff and it’s not super deep but it’s about hope and I always feel uplifted after watching it.
Kristin is truly good. Like perfection good. It’s almost a little too much but that’s okay because we have her sister Rudolfa, who is wicked, on the opposite end of the spectrum. Although, if I was named Rudolfa I’d probably have issues, too. Here’s one daughter who loves and adores everyone and everything about Christmas and another who loathes it all. One who is always honest and one who lies and cheats. You get the picture.
Rudolfa, played beautifully by Haskell, adds some wonderful comedy to the movie. While Kristin is down working with the Morgan family, Rudolfa, the oldest sister, is planning on what she will do when Kristin fails and she gets to take over Christmas. Her plan, a just kidding, April fool type of Christmas. The elves, who adore her, especially Dunder, also add some charm.
Now to the Morgan family. As is not atypical with Christmas movies we have the widower, Bill Morgan and his two children Kyle and Brittany. Brittany, while still very young, is trying to be the mom of the house. She even asked for pots and pans for Christmas. Kyle is the troublemaker. He spearheads their adventures for getting rid of au pairs. Something they’ve seemingly mastered. Kyle also hates Santa Claus. Where we get a little something unusual is Uncle Johnny. The loving man-child who lives with them.
Somehow, they managed to make Kyle and Brittany, while we see their flaws, as damaged but lovable. Basically, to the point that you want to see them be okay. You want to see the family be okay. They’re doing the best they can after losing the glue that held them together. Kristin manages to become a new glue while falling in love with Bill and adoring both the children.
The movie ends with Kristin giving up her immortality to save Kyle. This also means she will have no memory of who she is.
Like I said, it is kind of fluff but there’s enough comedy and drama and plenty of heart to keep me interested and watching repeatedly. A message of hope and to never give up. Something we all can use.
“Twice Upon a Christmas” was released in 2001. It has the same cast.
To read my review click here.
The movie also has the same feel as the first. A combination of humor, drama, and family that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
We pick up with the family being very happy together and it’s obvious Kristin is now an integral part of that. Bill proposes but Kristin doesn’t want to get married until she knows who she is. Remember, she has no memory of her past so she doesn’t even know her birthday.
The movie is a lot of them trying to figure out who Kristin is while trying to plan a wedding. Brittany figures out who Kristin is but no one believes her.
Rudolfa is, of course, up to no good again. She decides to sell off pieces of the North Pole and build a hotel and casino there. She gets the elves to help her record a commercial and broadcast it across the world. She convinces her father that things disappearing is what happens when they are replacing you as Santa. Considering how wicked she is you think her father, Santa, the man who knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, wouldn’t believe her. Alas, he does.
Kyle and Brittany order a few things from Rudolfa and give Kristin an early gift of one of them. It’s Kristin’s doll from when she was a girl. Holding it helps Kristin get her memories back. Not surprisingly, Kristin saves Christmas and Rudolfa’s plans are ruined.
It ends with the wedding and knowing the family will live happily together. While the first movie focuses on having hope, the second, while still including hope, send more of a message of togetherness. It’s about the family working together and being together. I always feel happy after watching these two movies.
If you haven’t seen them, I hope you give them a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movies. Happy Viewing!
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