A Boy Called Christmas

Product Information

The children's father comes back, to find to their surprise that the living room is filled with Christmas ornaments and presents. Joel leaves Nikolas under the care of Aunt Carlotta, a selfish woman who makes Nikolas' life miserable. But it's an uneasy, half-baked mix of trauma, silliness, and gross-out humor that may traumatize more than delight some young readers expecting a nice Santa story. A hunter shoots a reindeer character with an arrow and later jokes about it when against all odds, the reindeer lives and re-enters the hunter's life. Nikolas and his father are poor – Nikolas has only ever had two presents, and one of them was a turnip – but he still understands that happiness is more important than money.

Amid the death, violence, bathroom humor, and the like, there are oft-repeated messages about kindness, the joy of giving, spreading that joy around, and showing goodwill to all. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish). Stumbling across the land of the elves, he's soon imprisoned with a troll who plans to eat him and a pixie whose idea of fun is watching heads explode.However, there he learns that humans are hugely unpopular and he’s thrown into a dungeon with a hungry troll and a truth pixie, who can’t tell lies.

Coming to cinemas, Sky Cinema as part of Christmas TV scheduling in the UK, plus launching on Netflix in select countries such as the US, the film tells the story of the origins of Santa Claus/Father Christmas through the exploits of Nikolas, a young boy from Finland who ends up setting off on a magical quest. While this book is definitely different from what I expected, it did lead to a lot great conversations between me and my 9 year old. Red and green were never side by side, none of the elves had striped socks and there weren’t any bells at the ends of hats!The clever story is powdered with puckish illustrations and reminds humans and elves alike that goodness and kindness are a kind of magic. Nikolas' only toy and friend is a turnip carved to look like a doll, a last present from his dead mom -- so his mean aunt makes it into a soup and doesn't tell him till he's eaten it. She sees the locket he carries with him showing the portrait of her mother, revealing that the girl who reached Elfhelm in the legend is none other than Nikolas's mother. It was her Christmas spirit that gave Santa the extra boost of magic he needed to make his first trip around the world. The Girl Who Saved Christmas: Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present.

I have to confess that I’ve never been a great fan of Christmas, or as it’s known in our house, The Monster That Ate the Last Third of the Year. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives.Dutch actor Michiel Huisman ( Angela Black), who plays Joel, says: "I loved the script – it made me laugh and it made me cry, and that’s all I need from a script. Joining him are his loyal pet mouse Miika (voiced by Stephen Merchant) and a headstrong reindeer Blitzen. He’s a very sad king, with a sad kingdom, so he challenges people to find happiness and bring it back," says Jim, 72, delighted that the role gave him his first flight on a reindeer.

Eventually Nikolas can stand her mistreatment no more and embarks on his own quest to find his father. Still, above all this is A Christmas Movie, made for audiences from four to 94, little ones watching with nan on Boxing Day in front of the telly, everyone a bit drowsy on Quality Street.

Much of the story deals with rebuilding the trust between humans and elves after the humans committed a terrible betrayal. His first novel for young readers, Shadow Forest, won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award and the Gold Smarties Award. I particularly liked Father Vodol, the grumpy elf who institutes a rigorous anti-fun agenda when he is elected mayor – he is “Tough on goodwill, tough on the causes of goodwill. Unfortunately, once located, the elves do not offer a warm welcome but instead lock Nikolas in the tower.