Movie Review: Snow
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie is fine for family
entertainment leading up the holidays, with cute kids and funny
reindeer to entertain the children and an appealing if
unbelievable romance to appeal to grown-ups. Big game hunting
is depicted as evil and there are myriad scenes of lax zoo
security in a thankfully imaginary zoo. Santa is depicted as
real, even human, but there are no elves at this North
Pole.
Families can talk about the story that Nick Snowden tells the children about Santa. Do you think that is how Santa came to be? Are there other ways Nick could have gotten Buddy out of the zoo? Was the movie's depiction of the North Pole the way that you imagine it?
Common Sense Media Review
In the 2007 made-for-TV movie SNOW, Santa (
Tom
Cavanagh) has a decidedly human air, and faces a plausible
dilemma. He's taken over Christmas from his father for the
first time and wishing for a Mrs. Claus to help him with all
the details of getting ready. But when one of his new reindeer
goes missing, Santa must track him down and get him back in
time for Christmas. Among the human helpers he meets while
disguised as Nick Snowden, Sandy the zoo keeper (Ashley
Williams) may be a candidate for Mrs. Claus -- if she can get
past the jumpy and strange behavior of her bumbling new
friend.
This movie, made for the ABC Family channel, attempts to reach both kids and parents with its message of Christmas magic wrapped in light romance. Set in modern-day southern California, Snow is filled with sight gags of surreptitious reindeer antics and narrow escapes from discovery by Nick to keep kids laughing. Sights of a house festooned by Christmas decorations in an effort to woo one of its occupants also underlines the sweet, if shallow, message of the movie.
We know Nick Snowden is nervous, out of his element, and under deadline, but Cavanagh makes the character so very uncomfortable and twitchy that it's almost hard to watch. As young Hector says, "Who knew Santa was a dweeb?" It's not until his secret is shared that he settles down and viewers can begin to understand why Sandy might be interested in her new housemate. Williams, a lovely actress with the advantage of being shaped like a normal-sized woman, begins to seem like the perfect Mrs. Claus as her friendship with Nick grows, and when a curveball is introduced into the romance viewers may actually wonder "What happens next?" Not an easy feat with a predictable holiday movie, but an indication that at least some thought went into developing the characters.
More family-friendly Christmas movies include The Santa Clause , Elf , and Miracle on 34th Street .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
