Nick is training to be Santa, but is failing miserably. When Nick is about to crumble like a gingerbread cookie from all the pressure, Noelle suggests he take a break and get away to clear his head...but then he doesn't return.
Alongside the remake of Lady and the Tramp, the streaming service Disney+ has released the original fantasy adventure film, Noelle. This Christmas comedy is directed written by Marc Lawrence (who is better known for directing Hugh Grant films, The Rewrite, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, Music and Lyrics, and Two Weeks Notice), and stars Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine.
This is a great time to release a Christmas film, but it is interesting to note that the film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release, but a month after filming wrapped, it was instead withdrawn for release exclusively for the streaming service. Upon viewing, it is quite clear why that is. Noelle is Disney's attempt to tap into the Hallmark made-for-TV movie genre.
The story is incredibly predictable. As in, there are two lines of dialogue within the first 5 minutes that reveals how the 100-minute-long film will end. A predictable story is not a bad thing in itself, so long as the journey towards its logical conclusion manages to keep the audience intrigued and engaged. As this is a Christmas film, there are rather limited ways in which the story can go while remaining within the bounds of the lore that has traditionally been set.
The journey of the story is also very predictable. Every single stop along the way is known well ahead of time, so the entire enjoyment of the film relies on the comedy succeeding and the charismatic performances of the cast. The comedy is very basic and takes advantage of a lot of pop culture references, which already makes the film feel dated. It isn't all bad though, with some of the recurring gags being quite creative, and Anna Kendrick's comedic timing really keeping things moving.
Anna Kendrick is the best thing in this film, and it's safe to say that the film would not have a single foot to stand on if it were another actress in her stead. Kendrick manages to bring a joyful naivety and innocence to all of her roles, and Noelle is no different. She manages to bring some very touching emotional moments to the film, in particular, a scene involving a deaf girl. Despite the cheesy dialogue, the lack of subtlety in the comedic elements, and the predictability of everything, she manages to have such a strong emotional hold on the audience that you can't help but feel choked up on a couple of occasions.
The cinematography is pretty well executed, with some great tracking shots to keep things moving, and nice perspective shifts that work well with the comedic elements. The soundtrack is also quite fun, with some modern Christmas-themed songs to keep that work well with the fish-out-of-water aspect.
There are aspects of the story that have been turned on their head to appeal more to the female audiences, pushing back against the traditional gender stereotypes, but the film doesn't make a big deal of it, to its credit, and while many of the usual Christmas tropes are present, most are used to a more unique manner to try and poke fun at the tropes themselves. In fact, whilst this is a female-led Christmas film, the story avoids throwing in a romantic love interest, which is quite refreshing.
The CGI is very obvious and stands out. It isn't inherently bad, but the textures and rendering make the elements the polar opposite of seamless. It is clear that this is a direct consequence of the film's switch from theatrical release to streaming, with a much lower budget available, but Disney does need to exercise caution, as the high definition of streaming and the ever-increasing size of monitors and flatscreen TVs means that low-quality CGI is ever-more obvious to the audience.
There is nothing special about Noelle apart from some nice wholesome messages about how women are fully capable of doing the jobs that have traditionally been done by men, but thanks to an adorable performance from Anna Kendrick, it is still quite an enjoyable flick for the whole family to enjoy these summer holidays.