A Kindi Kids Christmas

* Poster
* Logo

***A Kindi Kids Christmas*** (working title, ***Kindi Kids: A Very Kindi Christmas!***) is a live-action made-for-TV Christmas film based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series. It premired on TV and on Paramount+ on November 26, 2021.

## Plot Summary

It's the holiday season in Aberdale, and everyone is getting themselves ready for the festivities ("Kindi Christmas"). At Rainbow Kindi, Beary Chill explains to the viewers that she just bought a special gift for her entire family. As she heads to the door to retrieve it, she encounters her family getting in the mood for the holiday, like Rainbow Kate with her 12 pranks of Christmas, Summer Peaches getting ready for a football game, Donatina collecting dead timbers from the tree, Peppa-Mint working on a snow-based experiment, Kitty Scanner getting a song ready, Bunny Cart making a sparkly dress, Jessicake dressing Hops as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Marsha Mello getting ready for a pageant, Apple Blossom expressing desire to light up the Aberdale tree, The Friendship Chair making figgy pudding, and Mrs. R. Bow setting up decorations outside the school. Exiting the school, a delivery truck arrives, and the driver, Bill, gives Beary Chill her package.

After heading back in, The Friendship Chair calls for her family that breakfast is ready, and as everyone starts eating, Mrs. R. Bow gets a video call from Cindy Pops. Answering the call, Cindy Pops tells her family that this year, she's skipping out on coming over to visit, as she feels it's too much of a hassle to go visit and come back when she has many things to do at college. The family accepts her decision to stay, but Beary Chill protests, saying that without her, Christmas won't feel the same. Suddenly, Kitty Scanner and Rainbow Kate, inspired by Cindy Pops announcing her plans, reveal that they too have made plans for the holiday; Kitty Scanner is going skiing with Kitty Cash Register, and Rainbow Kate will be hosting a comedy gig at Sunset Canyon. As the family continues to support their decisions, Beary Chill gets upset, and her moment of tantrum causes her to accidentally launch Mrs. R. Bow's phone into a jug of orange juice, prompting Mrs. R. Bow to hold a family meeting.

With the family in the living room, Mrs. R. Bow and The Friendship Chair tell their kids that with Cindy Pops, Kitty Scanner and Rainbow Kate out of the picture for the holiday, they make a change in plan. After some thinking, Mrs. R. Bow and The Friendship Chair suggest that they take a trip to Miami, Florida, to which the kids agree with. Beary Chill once again protests this decision, saying that they have traditions to fulfill this year, and tries to support her claim that Apple Blossom gets to light up the tree. Although understanding where she's coming from, The Friendship Chair tells her fridge that in their current situation, they need to try and make the most of what they can. In a last-ditch effort to appeal to her family, she reveals that the package she got earlier was a 13-person toboggan so they can slide down the hill at Tall Timbers Park together. However, when she opens up the package, the toboggan revealed to be broken. Because of that, along with the fact that there's no snow, the family tells her that they can fulfill those plans next year, and make it official that they're going to Miami this Christmas.

Meanwhile, at the Aberdale Mall, the McBrides are standing in line to meet Santa. As Pickup Pup gets his wishlist ready, he gets a call from Beary Chill over his walkie-talkie, and excuses himself to talk to her. Upon answering, Beary Chill reveals that her Christmas plans are ruined because Cindy Pops isn't coming home, Kitty Scanner is going skiing with Kitty Cash Register, Rainbow Kate is going to be telling jokes at Sunset Canyon, while she and the remaining family are going to Miami. Shocked about this, she agrees to help with Beary Chill's plan on sabotaging their plans so that they can spend the holiday together.

At Rainbow Kindi, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup get to work on trying to get Cindy Pops, Kitty Scanner and Rainbow Kate to stay with their family. First, Beary Chill tells Pickup Pup that they need to make Cindy Pops homesick so that she will force herself to come home, and they proceed to do that having a box of The Friendship Chair's figgy pudding delivered to her dorm overnight. Second, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup use audio from Orange Juice's autobiography to doctor an announcement on Kitty Scanner's phone that she'll be performing in Aberdale, and Kitty Scanner, not wanting to miss this opportunity, tells Kitty Cash Register that she's changing her mind on going skiing with her and will go on another day, much to the latter's dismay. The next day, Beary Chill is informed that her delivery has just arrived to Cindy Pops. At Fairway University, Cindy Pops receives the delivery, and opens it up to see her father's figgy pudding, where it reminds her too much of home and realizes she's making a mistake by not being with them for the holidays. Calling up Zoom the Ambulance Unicorn, Cindy Pops asks him to drop her off in Aberdale, but Zoom says that the mercado van isn't working, but realize that he can still drop her off with the mercado's moped.

At Pickup Pup's house, Beary Chill gets a phone call from Cindy Pops telling her that she'll be coming home. After hanging up, Beary Chill explains that all that's left to do in their plan is to stop Rainbow Kate from doing her comedy fest, and try to convince the Kindi Kids not to go to Miami. Using props in the McBrides' theater workshop, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup need on making a creature so scary, that her family will be convinced that it's not safe to be on land or sea. Using the head of a shark and the back half of a crocodile, they settle on the creature being a "sharkodile". When it comes to a victim needing to be "attacked", they settle on a mannequin Bunny Cart likes to converse with at Reiningers called Tanya. After getting Tanya from Bunny Cart, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup first have to stop Rainbow Kate from performing at Sunset Canyon. They disguise themselves as elderly people and proceed to secretly pull pranks on the elders like Shelly sitting on a whoopee cushion, a squirt flower spraying water onto Kitty Basket, and having the pudding machine malfunction on Sprinkle Shaker, all while they tell them that those pranks were set up by Rainbow Kate. Angered over getting pranked, the elders suggest firing Rainbow Kate from performing, but Shelly argues back that she wouldn't stoop to that low, since she's her grandfather, but after getting a pie to the face (courtesy of Beary Chill), Shelly immediately changes her mind and says that Rainbow Kate must be fired from performing. Meanwhile, Cindy Pops and Zoom, riding the mercado's moped, are on their way to Aberdale.

With Rainbow Kate taken care of, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup get to work on their video with the sharkodile. After filming the scenes they need, Pickup Pup, after altering the footage to make the scenes look more convincing, sends the footage to Jam and broadcasts it on the news, to which the Kindi Kids watch. Because of the "creature's" presence, Jam introduces Yolka, who suggests that the sharkodile is not to be reckoned with, and while she demonstrates on how to fight the creature, Jam tells the viewers to not go to Miami for their safety, much to the dismay of the kids, who were so eager to go, but Mrs. R. Bow and The Friendship Chair state that they can still make things work by attending the tree lighting ceremony, to which they begrudgingly agree with. After Beary Chill excuses herself to get dressed, she calls up Pickup Pup to tell him that the plan succeeded. Back at Cindy Pops and Zoom, who are traveling down a freezing cold road, Zoom realizes that the moped has ran out of gas, and the two come to a complete stop.

At Rainbow Kindi, Beary Chill has gotten herself dressed up for the tree-lighting ceremony. After exiting her room, she discovers that each of her kids are completely down in spirits: Bunny Cart is suffering from creative block after she has been fired from Reiningers for losing Tanya, Kitty Scanner is depressed because Kitty Cash Register broke up with her for choosing Orange Juice over her, Rainbow Kate is considering giving up on comedy and refusing to speak to Shelly after she fired her from performing, the other kids are upset over not being able to go to Miami, and Mrs. R. Bow and The Friendship Chair fear that they won't be able to make a trip out of state until they retire. Suddenly, Peppa-Mint enters and reveals that she has created a sharkodile repellant. However, when everyone tries to grab it so they can examine it or see if it's safe, Beary Chill accidentally sprays some of the stuff onto her father's face. Because of the effects of the repellant, The Friendship Chair goes completely loopy; her vision goes blurry, her speech becomes unintelligible, and is incapable of staying still. As the kids try to stop her from hurting herself, Mrs. R. Bow gets a call from Cindy Pops and Zoom the Ambulance Unicorn, saying that they were heading home and their mode of transportation ran out of gas, leaving them stranded on an empty road. This prompts Mrs. R. Bow to immediatelty leave the school so she can pick them up. After leaving, Pickup Pup calls up Beary Chill to tell her to turn on the news. She does so and, with the kids joining in, learn that footage of the "sharkodile" has been captured (it is revealed two hours earlier, that Beary Chill and Pickup Pup were pedalling the fake monster into the woods to hide it, and Sprinkle Shaker, who happened to be just there, spotted the creature and captured footage of it). Because of the "monster's" sighting, Yolka and Jam order the citizens of Aberdale to stay in their homes for their own safety, and announce that the tree-lighting ceremony is cancelled as a result. This proves the final blow to Beary Chill, as she was looking forward to Apple Blossom lighting the tree. Calling up Pickup Pup, Beary Chill suggests that they confess to Jam that the Sharkodile isn't real, but Pickup Pup fears that it will result in Beary Chill becoming a pariah. Undeterred, Beary Chill calls up Jam to confess that the sharkodile is a hoax she created, but Jam ignores her, believing her to be a prank caller.

Going into the woods, Beary Chill and Pickup Pup come across their sharkodile prop and intend to show it to Jam at the mall. However, Yolka, hiding nearby, sees the "sharkodile" lurching through the woods and proceeds to chase after it, much to the two boys' horror. Beary Chill and Pickup Pup try to take a shortcut through Franklin Avenue, inadvertently snagging and taking down the decorations from Rainbow Kindi. When the kids see the "sharkodile" passing through their yard, Peppa-Mint begins to chase after it, wanting to capture the creature and study it for science. The other kids, fearing for Peppa-Mint's safety, rush out after her. The Friendship Chair, having gotten over the effects of the sharkodile repellant, proceeds to give chase as well.

Beary Chill and Pickup Pup bring the "sharkodile" to the parking lot of the Aberdale Mall, but can't stop with Yolka still chasing after them. They end up driving the prop all the way inside the mall and cause a lot of property damage in the process, during which Beary Chill stops to let Pickup Pup get out and read his wish list to Santa. Eventually, after Beary Chill crashes the "sharkodile" into Santa's meet-and-greet area, the other members of the Kindi Kids, Yolka, Jam and the McBrides arrive just in time to see Beary Chill climbing out of the prop. Beary Chill finally confesses to his family that he created the sharkodile hoax and sabotaged her kids' Christmas plans, admitting that she was afraid they were all growing apart. Knowing that her intentions weren't malicious, Beary Chill's family forgives her, and Jam declares that the tree-lighting ceremony is back on. After Apple Blossom lights the tree, Kitty Scanner performs her new song.

The next morning, the Kindi Kids are opening their presents. As everyone opens their gifts, Beary Chill explains to the viewers that she has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service due to the property damage she caused; but on the upside, Kitty Scanner and Kitty Cash Register have gotten back together and are going to go on their ski trip after all, Bunny Cart has been rehired at Reininger's and gotten her creative spark back, Rainbow Kate has reconciled with Shelly and has been re-booked for her Sunset Canyon gig, and the family's going to go to Miami after all. Beary Chill's parents and kids then surprise her by revealing that they fixed up the giant toboggan (now christened with the name "Sledzilla") and, thanks to some cloud-seeding, Peppa-Mint manages to make it snow above their school. Because of this, the Kindi Kids proceed to run outside and have a snowball fight, and after finishing their fight, proceed to take Sledzilla to Tall Timbers Park and sled down the hill.

## Cast

* Wolfgang Schaeffer as Beary Chill
* Jahzir Bruno as Pickup Pup
* Lexi DiBenedetto as Cindy Pops
* Dora Dolphin as Bunny Cart
* Sophia Woodward as Kitty Scanner
* Catherine Ashmore Bradley as Rainbow Kate
* Morgan McGill as Summer Peaches
* Aubin Bradley as Donatina
* Mia Allan as Jessicake
* Ella Allan as Marsha Mello
* Lexi Janicek as Peppa-Mint
* Charlotte Ann Tucker and Lainey Jane Knowles as Apple Blossom
* Muretta Moss as Mrs. R. Bow
* Debi Derryberry as The Friendship Chair
* Matt Van Smith as Zoom the Ambulance Unicorn
* Zoë DuVall as Kitty Cash Register
* Justin Michael Stevenson as Lettuce
* Marcus Folmar as Buncho Bananas
* Bill Southworth as Shelly
* Jill Jane Clements as Sprinkle Shaker
* Gail Everett-Smith as Kitty Basket
* Ciara Bravo as Jam
* Mariel Sheets as Orange Juice (*voice*)
* Brian Patrick Wade as Yolka
* John Mullins as Mall Santa
* Kathleen Shugrue as Audrey Hoffman
* Garrett Hammond as Bill
* Sharon Frank as Sunset Canyon Resident
* Joy A. Kennelly as Shopper
* Courtney Mason as Fairway University Coach

## Production

* According to *The Hollywood Reporter*, the special is currently in the process of finding its cast.

* When this special was announced, it was also confirmed that a second season of *Shopkins* has been greenlit.

* Production for the special began in April 2021, where it was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia and aimed for a November release.
* Finding a shooting location was a challenge, as they wanted to film the production outside but couldn't find a place "with suitable flat land". They ended up filming on 2030 Flat Shoals Road in Atlanta, Georgia where they had previously shot *Shopkins*. Due to problems with a previous television show shooting at the location, the shooting was protested by the locals, although they calmed down after being assured that "it was a low-key children's film and no one would be aware of the filming". After the film took off, though, its popularity caused the land to be demolished by the press. According to Judge, the press was particularly interested in getting photos of the actors in their Kindi Kid costumes without their heads on. Eventually, the team took measures to secure their privacy, including blindfolding visitors coming to the set and creating a tent for the actors to change in secret.
	+ Demolition of Rainbow Kindi itself started in February 2022 and halted on March 25, 2022 due to the live-action series announcement, where it was rebuilt with new details on the building itself.
* For production of this special, large scale models of Beary Chill, Pickup Pup, Bunny Cart, The Friendship Chair, Zoom the Ambulance Unicorn, Kitty Scanner, Kitty Cash Register and Kitty Basket were built.
* The production team created realistic versions of Apple Blossom, Sprinkle Shaker, Mrs. R. Bow, Shelly, Yolka, Jam, Lettuce and Buncho Bananas using computer animation. They used Ted, the living teddy bear from the Ted films, as a reference to insert CGI characters into a real-world setting. Executive producer Jonathan Judge said: "It would be weird and it would feel like they were running around nude if they were some sort of otter-like thing. It was always, for us, skin, and we never considered anything different. It's part of what integrates them into the real world and makes them real creatures."
	+ This method would later return in the upcoming live-action series.
* A scissor hinge mechanism and a pneumatic steering biasing were constructed to help Pickup Pup maneuver around tight corners as a regular pivot would not work due to the model's large size.
* Beary Chill's model in the special was too big to go around the curves, so the model just moves in and out of her spot. It is not a complete prop, lacking a firebox, cab (aside from the front) and rear driving wheels, and the boiler has been shortened to give the illusion of depth.
* The models can blink and change their facial expressions through six buttons inside the cab. Other switches inside the cab can control the steering of the models, smoke volume and eye movements.
* For the special, the models were altered a bit for some of the plotline elements. A wire was added onto the top of Beary Chill's roof above her ears to hang the presents on top of her roof. A steel beam was added underneath Bunny Cart's wheels to help her knock down the groceries which had an extra plank.
* They cut square holes on the front of Beary Chill's smokebox saddle (underneath her face) and on the front of her tanks behind her wheel splashers to give her body shell air to cool down the electrical.
* The models have a brake and accelerator peddle inside the cab (like a car).
* The servo motors used for the face movements is the Tonegawa Seiko PS-050 - 1:4 Industrial Servo.
* The electric motors used to propel the models is the NPC-4200 motor from NPC Robotics.
* Sometime around late 2021 Beary Chill and Bunny Cart's cab footsteps were changed to have a proper step on the bottom.

## Songs

*Main article: A Kindi Kids Christmas (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''*
* "Kindi Christmas"
* "Dangerous"
* "Holiday Energy"
* "Christmas Together"
* "It's Christmas Time"

## Trivia

### Background information

* Debi Derryberry (as The Friendship Chair) and Ciara Bravo (as Jam) are the only voice actors to reprise their roles.
	+ Jahzir Bruno, who portrays Pickup Pup in this film, would later replace Mark Jacobson as the voice of Pickup Pup in Series 5.
* Four of the actresses playing the kids are sisters in real-life. Jessicake and Marsha Mello are played by twin sisters Mia and Ella Allan, and Rainbow Kate and Donatina are played by sisters Catherine Ashmore and Aubin Bradley.
* This movie makes *Kindi Kids* the third Nicktoon to be adapted in live-action, after *Avatar: The Last Airbender* and *The Fairly OddParents*.
	+ Coincidentally, like the live-action *The Fairly OddParents* films, the main character's father is played in live-action by their voice actor (Daran Norris as Mr. Turner in *The Fairly OddParents*, and Debi Derryberry as The Friendship Chair here).
* Due to state laws on how long child actors can work each day, Apple Blossom ended up having to be played by two actresses: Charlotte Ann Tucker and Lainey Jane Knowles.
* After this film premiered on TV, a new episode of *Kindi Kids* premiered afterwards called "The Kindly Bones".
* Wolfgang Schaeffer loved Beary Chill's sneakers so much, he was allowed to keep them after filming wrapped.
* Since Mia and Ella Allan aren't missing their two front teeth like the kids they play, they had to create the illusion of them being missing by applying black makeup on them.

### General trivia

* This is the first piece of *Kindi Kids* media to be in live-action.
* In "Secret Surprise", Rainbow Kate had a tradition of making 12 Christmas related puns. In the film, she upgrades to 12 Christmas related *pranks*.
* The film mentions the events of "The Whole Picture" by bringing up Pickup Pup and his fathers' hobby of recreating films for the theatre.
* The clips of the animated versions of the characters used in the closing credits come from the following episodes:

	+ Beary Chill: "Imagination Safari"
	+ Pickup Pup: "Secret Surprise"
	+ Cindy Pops: "New Year, New Games!"
	+ Bunny Cart: "Secret Surprise"
	+ Kitty Scanner: "Feast of Fancy"
	+ Rainbow Kate: "Kindi Campers"
	+ Summer Peaches: "Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some!"
	+ Donatina: "Special Day"
	+ Jessicake: "Feast of Fancy"
	+ Marsha Mello: "Kindi Campers"
	+ Peppa-Mint: "Charades"
	+ Apple Blossom: "First Day"
	+ Jam: "Chillax Already!"
	+ Mrs. R. Bow: "Imagination Safari"
	+ The Friendship Chair: "Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some!"

* This movie takes place in 2021, as it begins on December 23 and Beary Chill mentions at the start that it is Thursday.
* Pickup Pup seems to be aware that Mr. Coconuts is secretly sentient (as has been implied in a few episodes of the show, such as "Stage Plight", "A Pimple Plan", and "Feast or Family"), as he expressed concern for the dummy's ability to breathe inside Beary Chill's duffel bag.
* **Irony:** When Cindy Pops decides to head home after getting her father's figgy pudding, she claims she is strong and independent, and doesn't need anyone's help, only for her to immediately call up Zoom the Ambulance Unicorn to drive her home.
* **Foreshadowing:** The package that holds Beary Chill's sled has a "fragile" sticker on it. The sled takes lots of hits before Beary Chill opens the package, and once she finally opens it, the sled is broken to pieces.

### Production trivia

* The Pickup Pup model earned a Guinness World Record in 2022 as the largest electric model scooter.
* Beary Chill's model was used for the Queen's Party at Buckingham Palace on 25th June 2022 with Ella Allan playing Marsha Mello.
* A few of the models were put up for sale on eBay; the faces on most of the characters were taken off and were worn out and the models themselves were not in the best of shape. As of March 2022, due to the announcement of a live-action series, the models were rebuilt and new controls were added.
* Most of the models used in the special were stored at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant between November 27, 2021-March 23, 2022.
* Beary Chill, Bunny Cart and Pickup Pup's back buffers are shorter in length than their front buffers.

## References

* ***A Christmas Carol*** - Beary Chill's codename, "Christmas Humbug", references Ebenezer Scrooge's catchphrase, "Bah humbug!"
* ***Miami Dolphins*** - Summer Peaches expresses desire to see this NFL team play during her family's trip to Miami.
* Each of the McBride's theater props are from musical productions of some iconic movies. These include:
	+ a shark head from *Jaws*
		- Beary Chill line, "We're gonna need a bigger bike," references the film's famous line, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
	+ the back half of a crocodile from *Lake Placid*
	+ Although not having a prop, Pickup Pup mentions that Jam once auditioned for his dads' musical reimagining of *Wonder Woman*
* ***Mark Ronson*** - The song "Dangerous" sounds similar to the song "Uptown Funk."
* ***Paul McCartney*** - The song "Reindeer Pickup Pup Saves Christmas" contains samples of the song "Wonderful Christmastime."
* ***Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town*** - The title of the score "Sharkodile Is Comin' To Town" parodies this Christmas song.

### Product Placement

* ***Apple Inc.*** - Numerous characters are shown using iPhones and Beary Chill uses an iPad.
* ***Microsoft*** - Beary Chill's laptop runs on the Windows 10 operating system.
	+ ***Alphabet Inc.*** - The Google Chrome web browser can be seen on the laptop's taskbar.
	+ ***Discord*** - This social networking service can also be seen on the laptop's taskbar.
* ***IKEA*** - When a disoriented Friendship Chair falls onto a table, several bottles of MÅLA-labeled paint are shown.

## Errors

* Cupcake can be seen on the poster for the film, even though she never appears.
* It is never mentioned why Cindy Pops does not use her own car to travel to Aberdale.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/spongebob-prequel-live-action-loud-house-movie-set-at-nickelodeon-1279863
2. ↑ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005952/en/Nickelodeon-to-Begin-Production-on-The-Loud-House-A-Very-Loud-Christmas%21-in-April