Rediscover Christmas Magic with "Noelle"
Noelle is the story of Santa’s daughter, Noelle Kringle, portrayed by the talented Anna Kendrick. It’s a story from North Pole while her brother named Nick is suppose to be the next Santa Claus, but he mysteriously disappeared leaving Noelle to on an adventurous journey to find him and save Christmas. Her earnest journey through seven different climates of crackling and exciting comedy and drama, starting with the North Pole and ending in the Arizona desert. A little more about the plot, do not worry, I will only say that this picture shows exactly the changes in Noelle and her discovery of her calling in life and of what the Christmas spirit is all about. The movie adorably deals with the importance of family and self-sacrifice while at the same time emphasizing that it’s the kindness and spirits that define a Santa. The humor is fantastic with heartfelt and fun times with a whimsy feel that runs throughout the show. It is hilarious yet has a tinge of seriousness embedded into the plot and therefore fits well to be a family movie especially during the holiday season.
Anna Kendrick plays Noelle; she perfectly embraces the character, which is full of life with so much humor. Bill Hader as her brother Nick is as opposite as one can imagine and completely hilarious as the reluctant heir to the Santa duties. In an added robust layer of aura, Shirley MacLaine plays for Polly charming no-nonsense elf, born with vastly experienced wit. The ensemble main cast is great, with Kingsley Ben-Adir, who adds depth to the story and plays an important role, which has a positive and warm feeling in delivering humor in the film.
Many of the characters are well casted, and add that extra layer of performances which helps create the overall warm and humorous comedic drama experience in the film Noelle. He is able to keep the narratives moving smoothly yet each character has depth and the audience can become attached to them. The cinematography and soundtrack are also noteworthy – Lawrence, who penned romantic comedies before, skillfully combines humor with emotional aspects.
Of course, the music of Noelle is also rather splendid – it plays jolly Christmas songs for the most part. The music also does a fair job by providing appropriate background to make the film a cheerful and enchanting holiday film and leave the audience in a merry mood.
Comparatively, cinematography in Noelle does a good job in capturing the serene snowy scenes of the North Pole and the hot sunny scenes of Arizona. The often overused bright, joyful colors and the selection of festive design for the movie provide the Christmas feel, while the storyboarding boosts the fairy tale aspect of the film.
The filming of the North Pole looks incredibly believable and detailed. The design of Noelle reflects the essence of Christmas: from the merry little elf factories to the great house of the main rival, the chief toymaker, everything may seem like it came out of Christmas fairy tales, which makes the film’s setting believable and extremely enjoyable for the viewers.
If one may discuss the use of special effects in movies, then Noelle would only boast of little and kind special effects enhancing the fairy It seems that the concept of sleighs and communicating reindeer are not unique but a nice touch of magic adds this feature to the film.
The fact that this picture has a good flow and a clear transition from one scene to another is testified by the film’s editing. The change from one scene to the next is smooth and the scenes are well cut to keep the audience hooked. Still, there are some scenes which could have been better edited to show greater comic timing.
One cannot complain about the pacing of Noelle which is appropriate for the adventurous character of the movie but builds pockets of introspection into the storyline immersed in humor. Sounding occasionally offstation, the film is, however, mostly well-timed, which might be jarring for some people.
The dialogue(s) in Noelle are crisp and amusing with a considerable amount of humor and romantic interplay. Every piece of dialogue that comes out of Anna Kendrick’s mouth is immensely amusing, even when the line isn’t supposed to be funny. There are some lacking characterizations, and some characters, even though competently performed, could have used more development; but the potential for the comical interaction between the characters could also be exploited more.
All in all, Noelle is a nice warm Christmas movie with its witty cast and wholesome message. It can thus not be said that Disney succeed in reinventing the holiday films genre with Frozen, but its emotional and comedic notes, together with its call for individualism, can meet the approval of a large audience. I believe everyone should watch this amazing movie because it is perfect for family watching and carries all the essence of Christmas in it but it is polished with the present day twist.
