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Finding Santa

So, here's an odd thing. A week or so ago, I got an email from a film distribution/production company in California asking if I was keen to review a film they are rolling out. I figured I'd give it a go. The film is a Danish animation called Den Magiske Juleaeske, or anglicised to Finding Santa. Now, right off the bat, I admit to not being a fan of Christmas, and therefore Christmas films in general. Clearly, this film wasn't made with my demographic in mind. The director, Jacob Ley, has form with this kind of children's animation in Denmark and I assume there's a market for it, especially at this time of year. But it's not for me.

The story follows an irritating orphan named Julius who loves Christmas but has to confront the possibility that Santa isn't real. He's bullied by other kids in the orphanage and is drawn into a magic realm where he's lumped with the task of rescuing Santa and Christmas. The antagonist in all this is a camp Krampus, a creature I hadn't heard of until recently. The voice performance of Krampus is one of the highlights - he seems to be in a different film, playing it like a stroppy goat diva. The elves in this section of the film are also kind of batty. I'd have been more on board if the whole film was played like this but, again, it's aimed at small humans. Incidentally, Krampus has been making some trouble in Austria, according to this report in The Guardian.

The dubbed English dialogue in Finding Santa is somewhat clunky and I assume it's the translation from Danish that's caused it. The whole film is an unusual diversion into a more naive, unironic style of animation, worlds away from the Pixar or Aardman type. The animation is a kind of stop-motion, drawn rendering and while it looks nice in the landscapes, it comes across as a bit jarring, even creepy, with the characters.

One more thing to note - I couldn't work out the significance of two speaking snow statues named Joan and Kurt. Some kind of Danish folklore?

Thanks to Tricoast Entertainment for the screener and the chance to watch something I'd never normally go for. Finding Santa is available on digital streaming platforms such as Amazon, iTunes, DirecTV, Vimeo on Demand and others.

See also:

If you like Christmas animation, have a peep at Arthur Christmas (2011), directed by Sarah Smith and Barry Cook (and co-written by Partridge alumnus, Peter Baynham) and, though I haven't seen it, Krampus (2015), directed by Michael Dougherty, could add some festive balance.

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