Let me preface this by saying something that's likely a mortal sin against the Hallmark holiday gods: I am not a Christmas person. Presents are fine, I guess, but I'm just not that into the spectacle of the holidays. But what I do love, however, is a good holiday movie— gimme all the glee and cheese and familiar holiday hits and this Grinch turns to absolute mush. And Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story fits right in. It's incredibly cheesy and absurd, but it's such a damn delight that I watched it twice in one night the day it dropped on Netflix.
From the amazing cast to the beautiful visuals and music I would happily listen to all season-long, everything about Jingle Jangle makes it an instant classic. So travel back, back, back more...all the way back to 2020 and get to know Jeronicus, Journey, and a bunch of other J-named folks in David E. Talbert's steampunk-esque, flying robot infused, songapalooza Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.
From Humble Beginnings His Mind Never Stopped Spinning.
Jingle Jangle opens with revolutionary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker) losing everything when his impulsive, impatient apprentice, Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key), makes off with his precious book of inventions. Decades later, Jangle, now a shriveled, old, depressed pawnbroker withering away and facing foreclosure when his estranged granddaughter, Journey (Madalen Mills), shows up—full of STEM-cultivated genius—eager to join forces with her once-extraordinary grandfather.
The journey that follows is one of heart, hope, and allll the cheesy Christmas goodness as we worry if poor Jangle can invent something amazing in time to save his shop from the evil banker (Hugh Bonneville). Or stop Will Gustafson and the living doll, Don Juan Diego (voiced by Ricky Martin), from stealing his last, best good idea. Or reconnect with his daughter, played by Princess Tiana sherself, THE Anika Noni Rose.
Being Different Sure is Tough.
It’s a well known, familiar trope when it comes to the Christmas film story line, but here, it works—both in 2020 and now. Plus, elements of the movie are surprising, particularly the quality of the singing and the sheer beauty of the costuming. Everyone dresses like they're in a brightly-colored candy shop.
It’s a well-done musical with nods to Afrobeats, R&B, black barbershop quartets and gospel. And while watching, I couldn't help but find my head bopping and myself singing along to hopeful, uplifting songs, imagining my younger self in a world of smart little kids—with natural hair coiffed to perfection—beaming with joy.
Also Jingle Jangle’s pseudo-Victorian world depicts a thriving community in which all the entrepreneurs, the storytellers, and all the heroes are Black. (And all the shops are also named after black inventors 🙌🏾.) While you’ve no doubt seen holiday films with messages of self-belief and dance numbers in the snow before, you haven't seen a tender intergenerational portrait celebrating black ingenuity. And that's what makes Jingle Jangle so indispensable. (My baby, Bill-Nye-the-Science-Guy-obsessed self would've died!)
4/5 ⭐: Slow to start, but definitely worth the watch.
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