Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Jingle all the play
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS STORY Cert PG ★★★★
On Netflix now
Abig-eyed robot, a singing Forest Whitaker, and Ricky Martin’s 3in matador compete for our attention in this fun but frenetic festive musical.
Narrator Phylicia Rashad (Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show) takes us to a fantasy version of Victorian England to meet the good people of Cobblestone, a diverse city with a surprisingly large contingent of American expats.
It’s Christmas time and all-singing, all-dancing inventor and toy-making sensation Jeronicus Jangle ( Justin Cornwell) is full of the joys of the season.
But his fortunes change when he invents sentient matador doll Don Juan (Martin). The cocky prototype wants to be a one-off so he convinces Jangle’s jealous apprentice Gustafson (Miles Barrow) to destroy the blueprints, nick Jangle’s book of inventions and set up a rival toy factory.
When we jump forward 30 years, Jangle (now played by Forest Whitaker) is a depressed pawnbroker with a dead wife, an estranged daughter and a Christmas deadline from Hugh Bonneville’s banker.
Luckily, he gets some help from his big-hearted, big-brained granddaughter (Madalen Mills) who shows up uninvited, touting optimism, show tunes and mathematical magic – she can write formulae in the air. Will they come up with a hit toy in time for Christmas? Will Gustafson (now Keegan-michael Key) strike again? Will Whitaker bust any moves?
On the way to the happy ending, we get memorable tunes (the John Legend-penned Make It Work is a belter), Indiana Jones-style action scenes and a steampunk robot that’s literally powered by belief.
At times, it feels like this overstuffed stocking is in danger of coming apart at the seams, but children of all ages should enjoy unpacking its many delights.
We get show tunes, Indiana Jones-style action and a robot powered by belief