The Christmas Movie

The Christmas Movie is a 2023 animated Christmas musical fantasy film loosely based on the 1823 poem by . It is written and directed by Brandon Greene in his directorial debut and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Bardel Entertainment, and Sergio Pablos Animation Studios. The film is narrated by Matthew West and stars J.K. Simmons, Justin Bieber, Becky G, Liev Schreiber, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jeremy Maguire, Abbi Jacobson, Olivia Holt, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Chris Pratt and George Lopez. It is the first installment in the The Christmas Movie film series.
The plot follows two brothers named Ben and Patrick Hopeful on a last-minute mission to find a present for their baby sister. When they come across none other than Santa Claus himself while shopping, he can see that the boys need his help (in more ways than one!). Ben’s teenage older brother no longer believes in Santa or the magic of Christmas … that is until they’re magically whisked off in a blizzard to the North Pole where the wonders of Santa‘s busy workshop surrounds them. But Krampus is after a girl who just moved to their town named Teddy Moore and the boys and wants to eat them and destroy Christmas. Now Ben, Patrick and Teddy have to find the best gift they can find, and join forces with Santa to save Christmas.
The Christmas Movie was released on November 23, 2023 on Netflix and received positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards and Annie Awards and won an Oscar for the song "Magic Is There" and an Annie award for Simmons' performance as Santa. The success of The Christmas Movie launched a multimedia franchise and a series of two sequels, two spin-offs and a stage musical starting with The Christmas Movie 2 (2025).
==Plot==
In the town of New York City, 10-year old Ben Hopeful wrote to Santa Claus about why older kids stop believing in him and if he really exist because his older brother, Patrick doesn't believe. The letter was later sent to the North Pole. The next morning, After school, Ben walks his dog, Nick to Patrick's school after a snowball fight against local bully Troy Burnes to meet him here. Patrick's class is having their Christmas-themed show-and-tell, and Cal brings a bag containing an old cheese cookie. He explains that he left out a plate of cheese cookies for Santa last Christmas Eve, and when he woke up the next morning, only one was left. However, Patrick completely doubts that, as due to all the logical improbabilities surrounding the character, he believes that Santa Claus does not really exist. Upon hearing Patrick say this, Cal is greatly upset, and Patrick gets chastised for hurting Cal's feelings, which he states was not his intention. At home Ben and Patrick asked their teenage sister, Lisa if there's a Santa Claus, but Lisa asked if their too old to still believe in Santa. Their parents, Clark and Liz said that they use to argue whether Santa is real or not, but were able to resolve their differences. They say that he does exist because he's real in there hearts.
Teddy Moore and her estranged mother, Katherine, moved to New York much to Teddy's dismay. Teddy has trouble making friends ever since her father passed away. She meets Patrick and he gives her the tour of the place. Patrick introduces Ben to Teddy (who was trying to get a Christmas present for her mom) and gives them her old creepy childhood Christmas toys which weirded her out. They meet the popular girl Bethany and her friends, Taylor and Skylar. Teddy catches Bethany's attention with the necklace that she got for Christmas last year and gives it to her in hopes of gaining popularity. Back at home, Lisa tells her brothers the story about Krampus, an ancient demonic spirit who punishes naughty children and take them to his lair every night on Christmas Eve, but was mysteriously never seen again. Patrick refuses to believe it.
Later, Patrick apologizes for hurting Cal's feelings earlier and explains to Ben, Cal and Gene why he stopped believing in Santa. Five years ago, Patrick had asked Santa to bring him a red RN-9-64 Sled, but when he did not receive it, Patrick became convinced that Santa was fake. Gene, however, believes that Patrick was just on Santa's naughty list that year. Clark and Liz are going to bring Uncle Hayes and Aunt June home for Christmas, leaving Lisa in charge to look after her brothers and baby sister, Shane. While watching old Christmas videos, Ben thought about getting a present for Shane and asked Patrick to help him. Patrick declines, but changes his mind when he wants to prove his theory that Santa is not real and he tells him that Time Square is the perfect place to get a gift. Just then, they discovered that Teddy's old toys were alive and start to attack them. The boys went to Lisa's room to warn her. She was oblivious about this at first but they manage to catch the living toys in a box and sealing them inside. Patrick's DNA tracker picks up a very strange signal from the toys and went to give Teddy her toys back.
Her mom announces to that she will be taking an extra shift at work, allowing Teddy to go to Bethany's Christmas party. Ben and Patrick went the party to tell Teddy about her toys. But Teddy doesn't believe them and finds out that Bethany didn't bring the necklace but comes up with a plan to swing by her house after the party. Ben and Patrick head back home and ask Lisa to cover for them and watch over Shane while they go off to . A mouse that Ben named "Turbo" sneaks into Ben's pocket. When Bethany decides they should take an embarrassing video of the boys (using a camera they found in one of the gift boxes they were peeking at) to get back at Patrick for hurting Cal's feelings earlier, Teddy unfriends the BTS and heads to Ben and Patrick's house only to find Lisa who tells her that her brothers are not home. She allows her to stay for a while and they seem to get along.
After putting toys in the mailbox to ship them to the North Pole, The boys head to the subway railroad station to Times Square and see Santa on a corner. Ben asks Santa for help finding a present for Shane, but Patrick claims that the old man isn't Santa. Santa tries to convince Patrick that he is the real thing by using his magic to create visions of sugar plums dancing, but Patrick is still not convinced thinking it's a magic trick. Then the boys and Santa magically fly off in a blizzard to the North Pole, where they meet Mrs. Claus and his elves. Upon their arrival, Santa tells Ben and Patrick to go find a gift in his warehouse. He says "When it's really the perfect present, you don't find the gift... the gift finds you." At home, Teddy finds her old toys (who have escaped from the box) alive and she faints and they tie her up and take her to Krampus' lair. Teddy meets Krampus and reveals that her toys are actually his minions who are sent to capture naughty children. Krampus locks Teddy in his dungeon and plans to eat her. The BTS went to Teddy's house to humiliate her, but notices that she's not here. While looking for something humiliating around Teddy's house, they end up finding a portal that leads to the North Pole.
Ben and Patrick look into the warehouse full of toys to find a gift. They split up to find a gift, which they manage to do. They enter a mysterious cave (which is actually Krampus' lair) and are captured by Krampus; much to Patrick's surprise of his existence, even if he still thinks it's not real. Krampus explains to Ben and Patrick that he knows Santa and they use to work together. However, Santa eventually decided to give naughty children coal instead, much to Krampus' anger, who swore vengeance. Ben sends Turbo to get Santa for help, which he does. Krampus reveals to the boys that he has a present that he will use to destroy Christmas forever and he will be the new holiday mascot. He also tells them that he has Teddy captive and that she will be eaten along with them. Locked in their cell, Ben and Patrick's only avenue of escape is the dreaded "perfume department." Surviving this ordeal, they manage to save Teddy and steal Krampus' dining sock, which they overheard that he cannot eat without. Krampus catches the three as they try to escape. However, he is unable to hurt them without damaging his sock. Therefore, Ben and Krampus begin fighting over the sock until the elastic threatens to give. Turbo shows up with Darwin and Mikey, along with a young elf Bob to rescue them. Teddy dumps all the coal in the sack onto Krampus and his minions, trapping them as the kids escaped with the gifts. However, Krampus manages to survive and he messes up Patrick's DNA tracker.
Free of Krampus' dungeon, Ben, Patrick and Teddy go riding on penguins. Shortly after arriving there, Ben and Patrick take Teddy to Santa's workshop and she meets Santa (much to her surprise) and she tells him what happened. Just then, Patrick's DNA tracker then overloads and shoots a beam that reflects all over the factory making a mess on the toys and gifts and messed up the sleigh. One of the elves, Lou, furiously tells Patrick that he now ruined Christmas because his "stupid scanner thing not only put the toy room is in disarray, but also broke the sleigh. The BTS (who also found Santa's workshop) suddenly show up, having recorded video of this, and Bethany humiliates Teddy and accuses Patrick of trying to ruin Christmas for everyone else. As Bethany chastises Teddy, Ben has one of the factory's toy rockets grab the BTS and return them to New York. The trio decide to help clean up the mess and fix the sleigh in record time in order to save Christmas. Afterward, Santa volunteers the kids to help deliver all of the presents along with Mikey, Darwin, Bob and the other elves (Wunorse Openslae, Shinny Upatree, Carl, Stuart, Nellie, Elfie and Trixie) and the kids agree to help him. Ben and Patrick put their gifts for Lisa and Teddy in Santa's bag and they take off. Krampus finds out his plan didn't work and decides to kidnap their friends.
Back in New York, Clark and Liz are at the airport and they asked Lisa about Ben, Patrick. She said that the boys are fine and that they're doing some "Christmas shopping". As Clark and Liz return home with Hayes, June, and their kids, they see a news report on TV saying that Christmas has been cancelled by Ben and Patrick (as shown in the footage Bethany provided). Upset that the two brothers will now be reviled by everyone because of this, Hayes decides to invent a new holiday for people to celebrate, themed entirely around pies and called "Pule". However, Haye's attempt to give out pies to everyone in New York ends in failure. Clark and Liz come home and discovered the TV news and concerned, but Lisa says they'll be home and everything will turn out fine. Luckily, the elves are able to spread the word that Christmas isn't cancelled and that Santa will come.
Meanwhile, Santa is able to deliver almost all of the presents and their next destination to deliver presents is New York. Ben went down the chimney to Cal's house and meets him. Ben told him that he, Patrick and Teddy met Santa at the North Pole and that there helping him deliver presents, but Cal is saddened by the apparent fact that Patrick has proven his point. But Ben said that Patrick is starting to believe in not only Santa, but in the magic of Christmas. After Ben leaves, Krampus shows up kidnaps Cal, as well as Gene and Bethany. Back at home, when the Hopeful family were sleeping, Clark is disturbed by noises on the lawn outside. Looking out the window, he sees Santa in his sleigh. After landing his sleigh on the roof, Santa enters the house down the chimney, carrying a sack of toys (including Lisa's present). Clark watches him fill the stockings hanging by the fireplace, and laughs to himself. They share a conspiratorial moment before Santa bounds up the chimney again and flies away.
Learning that their friends were captured by Krampus, the kids used Santa's magical hoverboards to rescue them. As they're being cooked, Cal is delighted at this, since Krampus is real, this means that Santa is real too. They found them and Patrick frees them. Ben finds Krampus' box that destroys Christmas and decides destroy it, but Krampus (who got there by taking the stairs) steps out from the smoke and grabs Bethany and attempts to eat her. Before he can eat Bethany, Santa shows up in his flying sleigh and saves her. Angry, Krampus throws a grenade at them, and the kids are separated from the box. Krampus takes it, and wishes that Christmas will be destroyed forever. A red button appears in the box, which would explode the whole Earth and everything that has Christmas in it. Patrick charges and tackles Krampus, both getting sent into the lava. Ben quickly follows them in. While they are falling into it, Ben, Patrick and Krampus are fighting to get the box back. Ben is able to get the box and the two brothers use their belief in magic to fly and escape the lava. Krampus gets hold of the button, but he falls into the lava before he could push it, along with the present box.
With the morning almost here, Santa then uses one of his warp modules to speed up his sleigh and delivers all the presents meant for New York saving Christmas (though he gives lumps of coal to the BTS as punishment for trying to discredit Ben, Patrick, and Teddy) and also drops the kids and Turbo off at their homes. Before Santa departs, Santa thanks Ben and Patrick for saving Christmas and reveals the real reason why he volunteered the kids to help him deliver toys is because it would truly help Patrick learn that it's more better to give than receive. As he flies away with the elves, he wishes a "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." Teddy tells Patrick that she likes it here and that she's lucky to have friends like him and Ben. Patrick gives her the gift that he found in Santa's workshop and Teddy says goodbye to Ben and Patrick as she sees her mother return home.
When Ben and Patrick went inside their house, they meet their family. Ben explained where were they, but Clark said that he knew and that he saw Santa last night, which surprises both his sons. When the kids open their gifts from Santa on Christmas morning, Ben gets a snow globe of New York, while Patrick gets the red sled that he wanted five years ago (it needed time to be fully complete), Lisa gets a snowboard and Ben gives Shane her gift (which is a big teddy bear). When she finds her mom, Teddy assures her that she wants to stay in New York and gives her a gift. When opening her presents, Teddy gets a magic ornament. When Teddy hangs it on the tree, she sees her dad magically appear in her reflection, and they both express pride in each other. Now able to put his past to rest, Patrick admits that he does believe in Santa Claus and Ben places a dwarf star on top of the tree and then the two brothers sing with their family. Back at the North Pole, Santa is updating his book of True Believers, adding Patrick's name to it, when Mrs. Claus returns with firewood to tell him about hearing about his adventures. When she asks for a movie to watch, he takes out the tape of his adventure that night and winks at the audience.
In a mid-credits scene, an adult Ben now lives together with his childhood best friend, Holly and tells the story to his two daughters. As the family were off to bed, Ben sees Santa outside his window flying in the night sky saying "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
==Voice cast==
*J.K. Simmons as Santa Claus, a magical figure who brings presents for people at Christmas night, when they are asleep.
*Jeremy Maguire as Benjamin "Ben" Hopeful, a enthusiastic and cheerful 10-year-old boy who is Patrick and Lisa’s younger brother, Shane’s older brother and Clark and Liz’s second born son. Ben has faith in Santa and aspires to be like him.
**Matthew West as Adult Ben, the narrator
*Justin Bieber as Patrick Hopeful, a 14-year-old boy who is Ben and Shane’s older brother, Lisa’s younger brother, Clark and Liz’s first born son and Teddy’s love interest and later boyfriend. Patrick doesn’t believe in Santa until they’re whisked off to the North Pole.
**Ocean Maturo as Young Patrick
*Becky G as Theodora "Teddy" Moore, a 13-year old girl who moved with her mother to New York. She is Katherine and Robert’s daughter, Ben and Patrick’s new friend and Patrick’s love interest and later girlfriend.
**Maya Le Clark as Young Teddy
*Liev Schreiber as Krampus, a goat-demon folklore who kidnaps and punishes misbehaved children. He is the main antagonist of the film.
*Will Arnett as Clark Hopeful, Ben, Patrick, Lisa and Shane’s father and Liz’s husband.
*Amy Poehler as Elizabeth "Liz" Hopeful, Ben, Patrick, Lisa and Shane’s mother and Clark’s wife.
*Abbi Jacobson as Lisa Hopeful, Ben, Patrick, and Shane’s older sister and Clark and Liz’s first born daughter.
**Maddy McGraw as Young Lisa
*Olivia Holt as Bethany, the most popular girl at Patrick and Teddy's new school.
*Maya Rudolph as Mrs. Claus, the wife of Santa Claus.
*Jason Schwartzman as Darwin, one of Santa's scout elves and Mikey’s best friend.
*Chris Pratt as Mikey, one of Santa's scout elves and Darwin’s best friend.
*George Lopez as Pepper Minstix, one of Santa elves and the guardian of the Village's secret location.
*Tara Strong as Katherine Moore, Teddy's widowed mother.
*Blake Shelton as Earl, the head elf who runs Santa's workshop as he's in charge with his elves.
*Hugh Laurie as Alabaster Snowball, the administrator of Santa's Naughty or Nice List.
*David Koechner as Wunorse Openslae, the creator of Santa's magical flying sleigh.
*Bill Nighy Shinny Upatree, Santa's oldest friend and Village co-founder.
*Patrick Stump as Stuart, a cool and smooth elf.
*James Corden as Carl, a dim-witted elf.
*Jeff Dunham as Bushy Evergreen, the inventor of the amazing Magnetic Kinetic Toy Hulla-Ballu toy making machine.
*Ariel Winter as Nellie, one of Santa's prepper elves.
*Olivia Colman as Elfie, one of Santa's prepper elves.
*Gina Rodriguez as Trixie, one of Santa's prepper elves.
*Billy Stamos as Bob, a young elf and Darwin and Mikey's student and friend.
*Rob Paulsen as Cal, one of Patrick's friends and classmates who believes in Santa Claus.
**Paulsen also voices additional elves.
*Jeff Garcia as Gene, one of Patrick's friends and classmates.
*Quinn Copeland as Holly Coleman, Ben's best friend and classmate.
**Emily West as Adult Holly, Ben's wife.
*Gaten Matarazzo as Troy Burnes, a school bully who picks on Ben and his classmates.
*Madison De La Garza as Taylor and Skylar, the twin best friends of Bethany.
*Billy West as Lou, one of Santa's elves.
*Jack McBrayer as Hermey, a dentist elf.
*Wanda Sykes as Sugarplum Mary, the chief assistant to Mrs. Claus in the Kitchen.
*Pierce Gagnon as Dougie, Ben's friend and classmate.
*Logan Moreau as Dennis, Ben's friend and classmate.
*Andrea Martin as Miss Ford, Patrick's school teacher.
*Mark DeCarlo as Hayes Nelson, June's husband and Ben, Patrick, Lisa, and Shane's uncle.
*Megan Cavanagh as June Nelson, Hayes' wife, Liz's sister and Ben, Patrick, Lisa, and Shane's aunt.
*Tom Kenny as Robert Moore, Teddy’s deceased father and Katherine's deceased husband.
* Ryan Todd as Steve, Darwin and Mikey's annoying neighbor.
*Eric Bauza as Tim, one of Santa's prepper elves.
*Dee Bradley Baker as Mark, one of Santa's elves.
*Candi Milo as Hope, one of Santa's elves.
*Corey Burton as Additional elves
* as Clara and Lexi, two girls from Patrick's school.
*Taylore Rayne as Jess, Katherine's friend on the phone.
*Sergio Pablos as:
**Klaue, a teddy bear and one of Krampus' terror toys.
**Clumpy, Lumpy and Dumpy, three small brown gingerbread men and one of Krampus' terror toys.
*Brandon Greene as:
**Tik Tok, a fierce-looking wind-up robot and one of Krampus' terror toys.
**Jerry, one of Santa's elves
**Phil, one of Santa's scout elves
**Store shopper
*Troy Baker as Der Klown, a demonic evil Jack-in-the-Box toy and one of Krampus' terror toys.
*Brecken Merrill as Johnny Nelson, Hayes and June's son, Ben, Patrick, Lisa, and Shane's older cousin, Suzy's older brother, and Clark and Liz's nephew.
*Grey Griffin as:
**Suzy Nelson, Ben, Patrick, Lisa, and Shane's cousin, June and Hayes' daughter, Joel's little sister, and Clark and Liz's niece.
**Perchta, a crazy, gross and demonic puppet-like creature and one of Krampus' terror toys.
**Sarah, one of Santa's elves
* Fred Tatasciore as Mall Santa
*Thea Eddey as Charlotte, one the elflings
*Fox Messitt as Mason, one the elflings
*Kath Soucie as Olivia, one the elflings
*Delaney Ruth West as Ben's daughter
* Lulu West as Ben's youngest daughter
==Music==
===Soundtrack===
Music from and Inspired by The Christmas Movie, the soundtrack of the film, it will be released on November 30, 2023. The score for the soundtrack is composed by Christopher Lennertz. Becky G and Justin Bieber contributed a cover song of "".
No. Title.......................................................................Music
#"Come on, Christmas"....................................Matthew West
#""....................................Becky G, Justin Bieber
# ""....................................
#""....................................
#"Basking in the Warmth of Christmas"....................................Justin Bieber, , Andrea Martin
# ""....................................Mariah Carey
#"Christmas C'mon" (featuring Becky G)"...................................., Becky G
#""....................................
#""....................................
#""....................................
#""....................................Michael Bublé
# ""....................................
#""....................................Bing Crosby, Ken Darby Singers, John Scott Trotter & his orchestra
#"Magic is There"....................................J.K. Simmons, Maya Rudolph, The Elves
#"Don't Mess with Krampus"....................................Liev Schreiber
#""....................................
#""....................................
#""....................................Elvis Presley
#"Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy"....................................Bing Crosby & David Bowie
#""....................................
#""....................................
#""....................................
#"Happy Little Pule"....................................Mark DeCarlo, Megan Cavanagh
#""....................................Matthew West
#""....................................
#"Magic is There (Reprise)"....................................Justin Bieber, Becky G
#"Basking in the Warmth of Christmas (Reprise)"....................................Justin Bieber, Jeremy Maguire, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Abbi Jacobson
#"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"....................................Justin Bieber
#""....................................
#"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"....................................Justin Bieber
#"We Need Christmas"....................................Matthew West
==Production==
In December 2022, it was reported that Brandon Greene would make a film adaptation of 's "". It was originally going to be a theatrical film but was moved to Netflix. Originally, was going to be the main character and Santa's younger brother. He was going to help Ben and Patrick find a gift for their sister. But as production went on, Fred was written out of the film and put the focus on the brothers more. The two brothers, "Ben and Patrick" are the characters from . Greene inspired their personalities on Kate and Teddy from Netflix's other Christmas film .
The film and it's animation drew inspiration from the specials and other Christmas films and specials growing up such as and . The elves were inspired by the Minions from , the Oompa-Loompas from and the Trolls from the Dreamworks film.
Patrick Stewart was originally going to voice Santa Claus with Julie Andrews as Mrs. Claus, but he declined. J.K. Simmons was given the part and Maya Rudolph ended up as Mrs. Claus. Principal photography began in January 2023 in Toronto, Ontario. The film was set in and Times Square. The musical score is composed by Christopher Lennertz joined by Matthew West who is also the film's narrator.
==Marketing==
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Netflix partnered the film with licensing and promotional partners valued at $75 million for the marketing campaign. Additional marketing partners for the film included , , and .
==Release==
The film was released on November 23, 2023.
Netflix reported the film was streamed by 20 million households over its first week of release.
The film was released a year later on November 28, 2024 on Freeform during 25 Days of Christmas.
==Reception==
===Critical Response===
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 5.97/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Viewers seeking a fresh holiday viewing option -- or those simply in the mood for Santa J.K. Simmons and the elves -- should find The Christmas Movie well worth a yuletide stream." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Melanie McFarland of Salon said: "The film’s no great shakes, but Simmon’s star power in “The Christmas Movie” is a gift anyone should be happy to claim." Charles Bramesco of The A.V. Club wrote: "The film doesn't know how to get out of its own way and foreground what's working, namely the dynamo of screen presence placed more prominently in the advertising than the feature itself." Writing for Vox Magazine, Jenna Allen said: "Above all, it’s clear that Netflix has subverted the holiday movie blueprint — Hallmark, I’m looking at you — by giving us novelty, thrill and humor." Derek Smith of Slant Magazine wrote: "In the end, the film succumbs to the tropes and emotional contrivances of the family melodrama at its core, ending up as a serviceable yet mostly forgettable addition to the already overstuffed genre of holiday-themed films."
===Accolades===
The Christmas Movie was nominated for various awards and won a number of them, including several for Best Animated Feature. The song "Magic is There" was particularly praised. The film was nominated for two Golden Globes at the 71st Golden Globe Awards and won for Best Animated Feature, becoming the first Netflix film to win in this category. It also won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Magic is There"), the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), five Annie Awards (including Best Animated Feature), and two Critics' Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Song ("Come on Christmas"). It received other similar nominations at the Satellite Awards, and various critics' groups and circles. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, The Christmas Movie soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media and was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media; the song "Come on, Christmas" won the award for Best Song Written For Visual Media, with credits going to Becky G and Justin Bieber as songwriters and Matthew West as performer.
==Sequels and Spin-offs==
===Sequels===
Main articles: The Christmas Movie 2 and The Christmas Movie 3: Home for the Holidays
On January 15, 2025, a sequel titled The Christmas Chronicles 2 was announced. It will be produced by the same team that was behind the first film along with director and writer Brandon Greene. Stars J.K. Simmons, Jeremy Maguire, Justin Bieber, Becky G, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman and Chris Pratt were all confirmed to reprise their roles, while Paul Rudd, Glenn Close, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Fallon, Patrick Stewart, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Hart and Kelly Clarkson were cast to appear in the sequel. The Christmas Movie 2 was released on Netflix on July 4, 2025.
Another sequel, titled The Christmas Movie 3: Home for the Holidays, was released on November 14, 2036 in the United States. Like its predecessors, Simmons, Maguire, Bieber and G reprised their roles for the third film, with Alessia Cara as Ben and Patrick's little sister Shane, Eddie Izzard as Belsnickel, Selena Gomez as Frostina, Sterling K. Brown as King Blizzer, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as Ken and Donny, David Cross as Clarence and narrated by Rachel McAdams.
A fourth film in the franchise is already in development.
===Spin-offs===
Main articles: Elves (2033 film) and Elves World Tour
In May, 2024, a spin-off film about the Elves was in development. The film was released in November 23, 2033 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Christmas Movie and received mixed reviews. While Jason Schwartzman and Chris Pratt reprised their role of Darwin and Mikey (who were the centre of the film's storyline) along with Kelly Clarkson as Roxy, other cast members included James Marsden as Kris Kringle (Young Santa Claus), Rashida Jones as Miss Jessica (Young Mrs. Claus), Nick Jonas as Quillgin, Martin Short as Burgermeister Meisterburger, Janelle Monáe as Maddie, Pitbull as José, Bebe Rexha as Tinsel, Charli XCX as Kat, Lizzo as Lilia and Matt Berry as Winter Warlock.
In January 2034, a sequel was in development. With Schwartzman and Pratt reprising their roles, new cast members include Matthew McConaughey, Rachel Bloom, Tony Hale, Alice Cooper, Reba McEntire, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, and Sam Rockwell. In October 2035, it was confirmed that Gwen Stefani had joined the cast, and will perform an original song. It was released on November 2, 2040.
==Stage Adaptation==
Main article: The Christmas Musical
The Christmas Musical is a musical based on the first film of the franchise. After a try out in New York, at the , it began performances on Broadway from October 4, 2033, before opening on November 23rd (the same year Elves was released on Netflix) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Christmas Movie. Despite mixed reviews, the musical received eight Tony Award nominations including Best Musical.
==Gallery==
Main article: The Christmas Movie/Gallery
==Trivia==
* This is Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's first animated film to be released on Netflix.
*Clark and Liz's names are a reference to the author of the poem the film is based on, and his wife, Catharine Elizabeth Taylor.
*The Hopefuls' family dog, Nick was named after Matthew West's dog.
*The animation looks similar to the 2019 Netflix film , since some of animators woked on this film as well.
* West said that Ben is based on himself as a kid.
*The elf uniforms come from the Speical . Coincidentally, Mikey's uniform is very similar to Buddy's costume from the 2003 film .
*The film is known for playing around with Christmas clichés such as using the Christmas tropes and quoting and making references from other Christmas films.
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