This is my first film of the Christmas season that I have been asked to watch, so big cheers to Robyn for making me not have to think of an extra film to watch. The film recommended was ‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’ (2020). I wasn’t sure why it was recommended. Maybe she genuinely thought I would like it, maybe she just genuinely was curious as to what I would think of it, or maybe she thought I would hate it and wanted to enjoy the pain I would have to endure while sitting through it. Well, if it was the last one, I am sorry to disappoint because I found this film quite charming. The story is told as a bedtime story and tells the tale of Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker/Justin Cornwell) an incredible inventor who creates magical toys. However, when his assistant, Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key/Miles Barrow), steals his book of inventions and becomes rich and famous from it Jeronicus’s life takes a tumble and he becomes a recluse. However, he finds his mojo again when his granddaughter, Journey (Madalen Mills), comes to visit him.
So yeah, I actually thought this film was pretty good. I didn’t really know what I was expecting from the film, but I found it to be a charming and enjoyable kid’s film. I think it is important to point out that it is a kid’s film because it does make the expectations different. Not to say that adults can’t enjoy kid’s films, but it wasn’t made for an adult demographic. Fortunately, unlike a fair few kid’s films, the filmmakers do not cheap out and you can tell there I a lot of passion and heart put into the film. First of all, the film looks great. In technical terms, it is all good, but the true visual delights of the film come through the mise en scene and costumes. The film goes for a colourful, steampunk vibe and I am all in for it. I didn’t realise I enjoyed the steampunk aesthetic that much but the more I see it in film settings the more I really enjoy it, and this film capture it well without going all-in on it. The sets are all wonderfully crafted as well, with detail being put into each setting to give the film life and fill it out more. The majority of the performances throughout the film are also solid. Forest Whitaker is good, although I don’t think he is as good as he often is. But he still manages to capture the emotion of the film well and he has a weight to him as an actor. Keegan-Michael Key is fun as the villain of the piece. He plays more of a pathetic character than anyone particular intimidating and he captures that quality really well. There are two prominent child characters in the film and their performances are opposing in quality. Madalen Mills is great as Journey. She is charming throughout and she carries herself well. Unfortunately, Keiron L. Dyer is not so hood as Edison. He is okay if he is just asked to react to something that is happening or has been said, but his line delivery is weak throughout the whole film.
This film also happens to be a musical and so I would be remiss to not speak about the songs in the film. I was really nervous after the first song. Not because the song is bad in any way, but because it has real ‘The Greatest Showman’ (2017) vibes to it and, for anyone who doesn’t know my opinion on that film, I think it absolute shit. Fortunately, the film didn’t go that way, but what I would say is that the songs in ‘The Greatest Showman’ are catchier and more memorable than any of the songs in this film. And I don’t even think that the songs in this film are all that bad, but there are only two of them that I have any real memory of now that the film is finished. The first is ‘Magic Man G’ which is the sing sang by Keegan-Michael Key. He performs it well and it is a catchy tune which had me tapping my feet. The second is ‘Make It Work Again’ which is a different vibe entirely to ‘Magic Man G’ but has a strong beat and performances and stuck with me after the film had finished. All the other songs are well performed and are not bad in any particular way, but they are not songs that I could remember easily, and I don’t see myself ever listening to them outside of watching the film. To be honest, it is unlikely I will do that for the two songs I did like either, but I am much more likely to do so with those songs.
‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’ turned out to be a fun and charming film which I can see myself watching again. It is not a film I will be rushing back to watch, but I wouldn’t be opposed to sitting through it if it happened to be on in the house. Which it won’t. Because I live in a house share with no TV and spend all my time in my room choosing exactly what I want to watch (drunk me clearly has control right now). But I would recommend it. If you are looking for an enjoyable Christmas film you could do a lot worse than this film.
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