All I Want for Christmas Is You (2017)

Directed by: Guy Vasilovich | 90 minutes | animation, family, comedy | Original voice cast: Mariah Carey, Breanna Yde, Henry Winkler, Phil Morris, Issac Ryan Brown, Bria D. Singleton, Connie Jackson, Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Bonilla, Ali Eagle, Rachel Eggleston, Maruti Garikiparthi, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Montse Hernandez, Julian Zane

With the certainty that pepernoten will be available in September, you can turn on the radio in December and hear Mariah Carey’s sweet-voiced voice. Her “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is both loved and hated by many – tied for first place with Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas” probably. The song – in which Mariah states that no gift makes her as happy as the ‘you’ from the title – was the inspiration for an animation film of the same name. Mariah Carey plays – as a child – the lead role (but the story is in no way based on her own life) and does the voice-over.

Mariah is a young girl who has been dreaming of owning a dog for years. She has been nagging her parents for a dog for as long as she can remember: on birthdays, at Christmas, but she never gets one. Gradually she gives up hope, but then she is invited by the two most popular girls in school to participate in the benefit fashion show. The only condition is that she brings her dog. Mariah promises to get one for Christmas. However, because her father is allergic to dogs and a clean house is the top priority for her mother, she sees her chances bleak. But grandma knows what to do: the pet store sells a dog that does not shed and is therefore ideal for allergic and tidy people. Mariah is instantly in love with the puppy and already has a name in mind: Princess… Now she has to convince her parents.

Then Mariah’s father comes up with an idea: If the girl shows that she can handle the responsibility of taking care of a dog before Christmas, by looking after Jack, her uncle’s dog, she will have Princess for Christmas. Mariah takes on this task in good spirits, but Jack proves more difficult to control than expected. What follows is a series of accidents, in which Jack puts Mariah in a difficult position, runs away, vomits everything (out of the picture fortunately!) and makes a real mess of it.

‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is obviously made for young children, roughly between the ages of 5 and 9. The story is way too boring for older children and adults. While the message isn’t wrong (there’s more to raising a dog than just cuddling and cuteness), the plot is too thin for a feature film. The added storyline about the grandfather who enters into a kind of unspoken competition with the neighbor across the street who has the best Christmas decorations adds little amusing and – for a children’s film – even has a bizarre effect (grandfather threatens to be electrocuted at some point). The songs are nice, but not particularly memorable, but visually, the film does score well. Not comparable to what the big animation studios are doing nowadays, but for a movie at home on the couch it’s certainly not bad. ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ – the film – will not follow the same path as the singer’s Christmas hit, but the target audience will enjoy this film for a while.