This is Part 2 of the episode transcript. Read Part 1 here.
The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special
Ron: Moving on to a very different kind of Christmas movie. The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special. So, we’ve never watched the Star Wars Holiday Special before. But we have heard of it.
Mon: Apparently, that's an experience that is to be missed.
Ron: This on the other hand was a very, very enjoyable film to watch. So, this film takes place during Life Day, just after The Rise of Skywalker. We see Rey training Finn in the ways of the Force, but she's just not happy with how things are going. Finn is getting a little bit frustrated because he's not catching up as quickly as he would have thought he would. So Rey decides to spend more time with the Jedi texts. Now, she knows them by heart. She's spent so much time studying them. But nothing seems to be happening. She finally decides to go to an ancient Jedi Temple, where she hopes to get answers.
Mon: And that's when the adventure begins.
Ron: So, while Finn, Rose, Chewie, and Poe are busy working on Life Day celebrations, Rey is traveling through time to find the answers she's looking for to be the Jedi Master she wants to be.
Mon: This film is quite short, it's only about 45 minutes long or so. And the entirety is basically recreations of iconic Star Wars film moments. But none of them play out quite as you remember them. This film does not take itself too seriously. It does not take the canon too seriously, either. And honestly, that's what you kind of need in a year like this. And the way Star Wars fandom has been? You just need to take the foot off the gas and sit back and enjoy yourself.
Ron: And this is a really fun ride. You get so much more personality from these characters, and you get to see a different side to them. We've always seen the Star Wars characters in the middle of battle. There's death on the horizon, things are going bad, there's a Death Star, there’s Starkiller Base. Something is going to happen. But here, it's just a whole bunch of people just hanging out, being friends. The worst thing that can happen is that the Tip-yip will get burnt!
Mon: And Rey’s ride through time gives a different perspective to these momentous occasions. Sometimes, she makes things worse. Sometimes, she makes things better. She ends up taking credit for a few actions. Well, she deserves it.
Like when Rey falls into Luke's lap, quite literally, as he's flying his X-Wing, Red Five, into the Death Star trench, there she is telling him, yes, that's Obi Wan Kenobi, listen to him, use the Force. And then she's like, yes, I'm the one who helped destroy the Death Star! Technically you did, you’re kinda right.
Ron: I also love binary sunset-watching-Luke, being dragged into this crazy battle and he's just, like what is going on.
Mon: And there’s this montage where she falls through so many different times and brings together so many different versions of our favorite characters. So, at one point there are two Hans. There are so many different stormtroopers and clone troopers. There's like three Obi-Wans.
Ron: All of whom go: ‘Hello there’.
Mon: I just love it. It's just so fun.
Ron: This movie just had us smiling throughout. It was so sweet and adorable. And, as you said, it's just light fare. It doesn't take itself too seriously. And you need that, honestly, after The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, there has been so much discord among Star Wars fans. Nobody can agree on anything. And the amount of discourse around this franchise makes you want to not engage with anything to do with it. But this film? Yeah, I really enjoyed it.
Mon: It's like a warm cup of Jawa-juice.
Ron: While there’s a lot we love about this film, there's a couple of things that I have to point out. First of all, was there any need for direct Christmas imagery in the film? Star Wars is universal. The whole point of being a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away is that we can all relate to it. Everyone across the planet can relate to it. I didn't mind the main cast decorating a tree in the Millennium Falcon. That was fine. I had a problem with a Christmas tree showing up with the Jedi texts. There was no need for that. Because the place that Rey goes to, the Jedi Temple, actually doesn’t have any Christmas imagery. So, why did we need that in the book?
Was the film leaning too much into nostalgia? This has been an argument against the new trilogy. It's leveraged nostalgia heavily. We have the same problem with The Mandalorian. Especially with the second season, which is drawing on characters from the animated shows. In this film, as well, would we have enjoyed it that much, would we have been drawn in that much, had Rey been on a different kind of quest?
Ron: I understand that criticism. But, unlike in The Mandalorian where this is a new character in the franchise, he is going on his own journey, and to keep relying on characters that are already established and storylines that are already established, and that may not have been seen by large numbers of fans, that becomes a problem. And recently, I have been reading that some fans who have been watching The Mandalorian have felt a little bit lost during the season because they haven't watched the animated shows. Diehard fans, like us, have seen whatever we can see because we love Star Wars. But some people just got into it because of the sequel trilogy. Some people got into it just because of Mandalorian.
I don't think that works with the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, because it is nostalgic. Life Day is about being with your family. A lot of Star Wars characters are now dead, and the only way you could be with them is through the past. So, I like the fact that Rey gets to hang out with Anakin, and Darth Vader, and Luke, and Obi Wan. It's fun.
Mon: I agree, it's definitely a lot of fun. I just worry that the new creators of Star Wars properties are bordering on being unimaginative when it comes to creating their own characters, or their own worlds.
Ron: Well, we'll have to see. Mandalorian has been renewed for season three. So, whether they'll take it in a different direction, we can only hope.
Mon: We can only hope.
Ron: As for the rest of the franchise, who knows? One of the things that made me a little bit sad while watching this film was that the main trio did not return to voice their characters.
Mon: I'm actually not surprised.
Ron: Yes, so the people who did come back were Kelly Marie Tran, who came back as Rose Tico, which is lovely. Anthony Daniels who plays C-3PO in every version. I don't know how that man does it. Billy Dee Williams, who had a very tiny role as Lando, but it was great to hear him again. And Matt Lanter returned from the Clone Wars as Anakin. So that was nice. But the main three are voiced by other people and they do a passable job. But you can't help but feel the absence of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac.
Mon: While Rey’s voice was quite similar in timbre and intonation, Finn was nothing like John Boyega. That voice is too distinctive. And it took me a while to figure out that that was Poe. Because his entire look is different. He's not even wearing his usual general outfit. He's wearing a Christmas sweater, an ugly Christmas sweater. I do like that he's really funny and kind of emotional. But it's not Poe.
Ron: This is a very different version of Poe than we’ve seen. Maybe even he's not fighting the First Order, he's quite chill and quite emotional about everything? But yeah, it's a bit sad that the three people who have been such an important part of the Star Wars universe and have been the reason why so many diverse people have now become Star Wars fans didn't feel like they were connected enough to this franchise anymore to come back for the Holiday Special, which was a warm and fuzzy film for viewers.
Mon: I agree with you. One thing I really loved about this film was how they connected the Jedi experience to some of the aesthetics that we’re used to seeing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. The Jedi Temple that Rey goes to really reminded me of the one that we saw on Lothal in Star Wars: Rebels. But unfortunately, the film itself didn't connect to the animated series at all.
Ron: That’s a good point. Despite the fact that Matt Lanter was voicing Anakin; that's the only connection with the animated universe.
Mon: You're right. While we see one shot of the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda. In the end, when Rey sees all the different Jedi and Padawans, she does not see Anakin and Ahsoka; she does not see Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger.
Ron: You're so right. I was actually looking for Ahsoka and I was like, did I miss her? She's really easy to see, so there's no way we could have missed her orange face. Oh yeah, you're right.
Mon: It's really little things like that that bug me, you know, it just makes the universe so much more expansive when you include those elements that people have become huge fans of. Ahsoka is such a favorite amongst people, and in 2020, you had better know that. All we needed was one little animation of that wonderful character, that's all we needed; don't even need to get a voice.
Ron: That was one of the reasons why The Rise of Skywalker’s denouement was so wonderful. Rey hearing all those voices that we've heard for years in the animated films, in the live action films, it just made that film, and Rey's journey, part of this massive universe.
And that's actually one of the reasons why we’ve been enjoying The Mandalorian Season Two. It's connected to all these other properties that went under the radar. We only caught up with the animated shows this year. But it's making it bigger, it's making it livelier, it's making it more lived-in. And yes, it would have been great to see that in this film, as well. But I'm thinking that maybe the reason why they didn't include the animated characters was because the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special was very tied into the sequel trilogy, or just the live-action films. So maybe that's the direction they went for it. And maybe the reason why Matt Lanter was playing Anakin Skywalker was because they couldn't get Hayden Christensen to come back for the character. But yes, especially since this is an animated film, it would have been nice.
Mon: The lack of a nod to the animated series aside, this was a romp. This was a cute little romp. And in the end, it's all about friendship and it's all about love. Which is exactly what Star Wars has always been about. It's about connecting with your found family. And that's how Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ended. And that's how this film ends, as well.
Ron: A very fun watch and honestly, I can't wait to watch it again.
Ron: And the last film in our Christmas special is Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. This is a Netflix film which I hadn't really seen advertised much. But then it kept popping up on my Twitter timeline. People were talking about how amazing it was. And I thought, well, I can't wait to watch it, especially because it's not got a regular white family in the centre of this story, We have a Black family! You don't get to see that usually. So yes, I was excited to watch this film.
This film stars, Madalen Mills as Journey, our protagonist. This is Madalen Mills’ very first firm. I am floored and excited with what this little girl is going to do in her career. We also have Forest Whitaker as Jeronicus Jangle. Keegan-Michael Key as Gustafson, and Ricky Martin, as Don Juan the Doll. So, what is this film about. Jeronicus Jangle is an inventor, and he's made a name for himself by making these extremely inventive toys.
Jeronicus has been working on this one toy for years, and he's been waiting for this one final ingredient. When it arrives, he knows that his life is going to be made. We don't know exactly what's in that ingredient, but we know what he uses it for: to bring Don Juan the doll to life. Now Don Juan is an absolutely amazing animatronic doll, who has quite the personality. And he's a little bit self-absorbed. When he hears that Jeronicus’ plan is to make a million other Don Juan dolls, he doesn't take that too well. He wants to preserve his individuality, and he does that by needling Gustafson, Jeronicus’ helpful aide, and an aspiring inventor on his own, to steal Jeronicus’ plans for his dolls and to take Don Juan with him. This pretty much ruins Jeronicus’ life and leads to him closing his beloved shop. Unfortunately, after that, his wife also passes away. And he just can't get over that heartbreak, which leaves his poor daughter, Jessica, on her own.
Some 30 years later, we see Jeronicus; he's an old man, his beautiful toy shop is now a pawn shop. And he is barely keeping it together. He’s got a young aid, but it's not the same as his relationship with Gustafson, who has now become a massive toy maker and 28-time Toy Maker of the Year-winner.
Into the mix, comes Journey, who is Jeronicus’ granddaughter. Not that he actually knows about her. Journey decides to turn up at his pawn shop and wheedles away into his life. And, everybody is the better for it.
Mon: This film is so unique. It starts off like any other fairytale movie. These two kids, on Christmas day, they want their grandmother to read a story to them. She opens the book, and this pop up book is basically the story of Jeronicus. But all the characters are characters of color. The main cast are mostly black actors. And it's just such a refreshing new look to how Christmas films have been, how children's films have been. For far too long, there's only been one demographic being catered to with Christmas films. And I'm glad that Netflix, of all people, is finally spreading its wings.
Ron: This is an absolutely gorgeous film. It is so colorful and the props are so detailed. You can't help but look in the background for everything that's been made because there's so much stuff here. And the sets are gorgeous.
Mon: And what I like is the aesthetic and the cinematography make this little town look quite artificial, beautiful but artificial. And there's a reason why: it's because it's a pop-up book. So, it's in the story, and that's how it looks to the kids, and that's how it looks to us. And that's why the segue between animation and live-action really works in this film.
Ron: I love the look of this film so much, I ended up doing some research into it. So, it turns out that director David E Talbert had actually envisioned this film to be a musical production for stage.
Mon: That explains the look. And the camera movements.
Ron: A lot of it is very theatrical. But it also explains why the songs are staged the way they are. Some of the criticism about the musical sequences was that they didn't really push the boundaries of cinema. I don't know where that's coming from.
Mon: Is this another case of holding marginalized communities at a higher standard than others?
Ron: It might be because I did one review where they said that the title of the film was too long. There are five words in it.
Mon: Wow. Okay. Let's move on.
Ron: Let's just ignore that ridiculous kind of criticism, we don't care about that. We thought the songs and the musical sequences were lots of fun to watch. They were very energetic, they were very beautiful, they popped off the screen and you felt like you were part of that scene. But during my research, I did find some other interesting facts. One of them being this really cool thing which makes me want to watch this film again and again. David E Talbert named all the stores in Cobbleton after African inventors. One of the things that he was saying during a set tour video, that is available online, please do check it out, was that we get to see a lot of inventors from Europe and America and Britain. And they're very well known. But inventors from other parts of the world tend not to get the same kind of recognition. So, when he wanted to make a world that's what he did, he gave them the recognition that they deserve.
And there's some more inspiration happening throughout the film. There are very specific African dances that are included in the dance sequences. You can actually notice it quite clearly in the snowball fight. We'll come back to the snowball fight, but a little segue into the costumes. Now these are very obviously Victorian-era costumes, because this film is set during the 19th century. But one of the things that you may notice if you look carefully, is that all the costumes have African prints on them. I love the way Talbert and his crew worked on this film. Their vision is amazing.
But coming back to that snowball fight. They could have used a very generic score or a popular Christmas song during this very fun little snowball fight, but they went in a different direction. They went with Bisa Kdei’s song ‘Asew’, I'm sorry if I'm not pronouncing any of that correctly. I love this song. It has been one of my favourites in 2020. It's in my Spotify list of top songs for 2020. It is really good; do check it out.
Mon: I love that snowball fight scene. It was so endearing. The characters are so larger than life. You have these extras who are having the time of their life. And when the song comes on and you can see Jeronicus and Journey really connecting and having so much fun. I just wanted to hop into my screen and give this entire movie a hug.
Ron: Literally everybody loves that snowball fight; there is nothing that you can dislike about it. But I was also reading that most of the extras in that scene, actually owned stores in that area where it was being shot, and they joined in.
Mon: Well, you can tell that everybody is having a great time because that scene has so much energy in it. And it really fits with the ethos of the film, which is quite tragic, but it's never melancholic. There's this underlying energy, a sort of hopeful feel to it throughout the film. And this snowball fight sort of is the epitome of that.
Ron: But it's also the moment when Jeronicus really lets go. Because he's been mourning and he hasn't been able to overcome the loss that he has felt, not just for his shop, but for his wife, and eventually for his daughter, who had to move away from him because he was not able to take care of her. And because of this silly little connection that he has with Journey just through this snowball fight, he becomes a different person altogether. He becomes more hopeful. We have not seen that from him since the beginning of the film.
Mon: Madalen Mills is such an adorable ball of energy in this film. She brings out the best in Forest Whitaker who she shares the most scenes with. You can just see that he can't help and melt when he's around his granddaughter, because she's just so cute. And Forest Whitaker. Listen, this guy is an Oscar-winner. Obviously, he has talents by the bucketloads. But even then, just watching him and seeing this character, who is so overcome by his grief, he's so believable. But what gets me the most is, I did not know he could sing.
Ron: I am floored! My god, can this man sing. What a beautiful voice!
Mon: And he has quite a few songs. I thought, maybe he'd have a few notes here and there, but oh no, he has a few songs. And he has to sing in harmony from time to time and he does a great job.
Ron: ‘Make it Work’. That song. It got me in my feels, but it also made me want to move. It had that same energy as Hamilton, where you could feel yourself marching to that beat, and you felt inspired. What an amazing song.
Mon: Forest Whitaker sings ‘Make it Work’ with Anika Noni Rose, who plays the older version of Jessica, his daughter. She has some voice on her. It is so powerful, and it just elevates that song to a whole new level. That's the kind of power anthem you don't expect in a family movie, but not only does it work, but you can't stop listening to it.
Ron: I have to say that the ladies in this film, their voices are something else. Oh my gosh.
Mon: Incredible. In fact, this entire movie kept making me wish that this was a miniseries, because I would love to see all these characters again. I want to see what happened in those 30 years. Who is Jessica now? Is she an inventor? She seems to suggest that she's not, but I feel like that's not something that's going to go away.
Ron: Oh, I definitely think Jessica is an inventor. She may not be making toys, but she's definitely doing something in her workshop.
The thing about Christmas movies is that I always thought that Santa Claus had to be a part of it somehow. But here we don't really have a Santa Claus. But despite that, Jingle Jangle still manages to capture the spirit of magic and Christmas. And it does that, through Jeronicus, because he kind of, by being an inventor and a toymaker, is the film's version of Santa. He's just the Santa who's lost his way.
Mon: And he has lots of very sweet little elves who are helping him, including Edison, who it took me some time to grow to care about, but he was a sweet kid by the end.
Ron: I love that entire tunnel scene. It's such an important moment, not just for Edison but also for Jeronicus, because that's when he rediscovers his magic. And when Edison successfully brings himself, and Journey and Buddy 3000 through that huge fan, you can just see how Jeronicus is so proud of all of them. And Edison is so relieved to hear that he is actually an inventor. It's a beautiful, sweet moment.
Mon: And there’s another little subversion, which I'm sure was something that was in the back of the minds of the creators. Edison is the pragmatic, realistic one, whereas Journey is the fantastical, science-magic kind of person. So, while Edison is like, no, we shouldn't be doing these things, Journey’s like, this is the only way, and we are going to do it and we are going to succeed.
Far too often, we see female characters, young or old, being the pragmatic ones, being the ones who are supposedly the naysayers, the party-poopers. But honestly, it's just because they don't have a choice, they have to be practical. But in this film, being an inventor, being a magician, that's what gets you ahead. And I really like that.
Ron: It just makes me happy. Over the last few years, we keep seeing films and TV shows where you get these young female protagonists who get to be fanciful, who get to be different, who get to take on the roles that have been almost always been ascribed to young boys. And it's great that little girls are getting to see films like Jingle Jangle because they get to see themselves as the mathematicians and magicians. We didn't have that when we were growing up.
Mon: What you watch and what you consume impacts how you think, it impacts how you foresee your future. Because for so long, girls have been pigeon-holed into certain kinds of characters that we consume in popular media, it really affects their confidence, their imagination, their ambition. Now, they get films like Jingle Jangle.
Ron: And I also love the magic in this film. It's all based around formulas and things like belief and surrealism, everything has a formula, and I just love that about it. Films like Jingle Jangle, and if you've read Witch Hat Atelier, they give you a completely different idea of how magic works. And it's so refreshing because magic has been represented in a very narrow ways for a very long time now. We need a new perspective. And these are giving it to us.
Mon: This film just made me so happy, even though it was quite sad at times, and really hit the emotional notes. But just knowing that there's a whole generation of kids who are going to call this film their Christmas movie, just makes me so, so happy.
Ron: Absolutely. I have to say that the last half hour had me in tears a few too many times. I was just like, I can't see my screen through my tears. Please wait.
Mon: It is beautiful. It is inspiring. And it is such a refreshing take on a genre of films that has become staid and that we have been avoiding for a while.
Ron: If this is the slate of Christmas films available, sign me up. I'm watching in December.
Mon: Bring it on.
Ron: What do you love about Christmas films? And what do you think about our choices? Let us know.
Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]
Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!
Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Pixabay.
[Snowflake by GeriArt by Pixabay plays]
Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.