Pun Salad

Netflix sent us this DVD about a month ago, and we patiently saved it up for Christmas… and then other things ran a bit too late for us to watch it on Christmas. Oops! We probably deprived a poor household with actual children from watching it. Somewhere in Farmington, harried parents probably put in a copy of Reservoir Dogs for the kiddos instead.

But we finally saw it the day after Christmas, and that's close enough.

It starts out describing how Santa does things these days: very high-tech, assisted with a horde of elves, and a superfast stealth craft that's more flying saucer than sleigh. The old sleigh and the reindeer have been relegated to a forgotten corner of Santa's North Pole base.

The organization up there is vaguely monarchical, with the title of Santa being passed down from generation to generation. The current Santa is tiring after 70 Christmases; his heir apparent is the no-nonsense Steve Christmas, who's driven the big technological makeover of the operation and runs it like a martinet. His younger brother, Arthur, is a bumbler, earnest believer in the Christmas spirit, and (like the sleigh and reindeer) has been shuffled off to a obscure office, answering kids' letters to Santa.

But this year, a bike destined for Gwen, a little English Girl, somehow got mislaid. Big-picture guy Steve notes this as unfortunate, but acceptable. Santa, tired, meekly agrees and settles in for a long winter's nap.

Arthur, however, views this as not at all acceptable; aided by 136-year-old (and slightly demented) GrandSanta, and wrapping elf Briony, they set off in the old sleigh with Gwen's bike. Hijinks ensue.

This is made by many of the same folks that did the wonderful The Pirates! Band of Misfits, although it's not quite as wonderful. Rated PG for "some mild rude humor", it's a good choice for family viewing.