Vanellope & Friends: Christmas

Vanellope & Friends: Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Hill
Produced by	Audrey Wells Stephen Swofford David W. King David K. Lovegren
Screenplay by	Joe Ansolabehere
Story by	Tim Hill Joe Ansolabehere Jill E. Blotevogel Kevin Hopps
Starring	Sarah Silverman Mckenna Grace Martin Short Bill Murray Tom Hanks Ian McKellen Cameron Boyce Ginnifer Goodwin Ed O'Neill Michael J. Fox
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography	James Chressanthis
Edited by	Robert Fisher Jr.
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Dice Productions
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	December 8, 2017
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million
Box office	$711 million

Vanellope & Friends: Christmas is a 2017 American animated Christmas musical comedy film produced by Dice Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Tim Hill, the film serves as the sequel to Vanellope & Friends: 4th Of July and the third installment in the Vanellope & Friends film series. Returning actors Sarah Silverman, Tom Hanks, Cameron Boyce, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ed O'Neill, and Michael J. Fox are joined by Mckenna Grace, Martin Short, Bill Murray, and Ian McKellen. In the film, Santa Claus crashes in Anythingville on Christmas Eve, prompting Vanellope von Schweetz, his granddaughter Carol Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and four "Elfguins" to embark on an adventure to save Christmas by delivering the presents and gifts to the children of the world before Christmas morning.

Vanellope & Friends: Christmas was released theatrically in the United States on December 8, 2017. The film received acclaim from critics, who praised the writing, animation, humor, voice acting, use of Christmas carols, and Harry Gregson-Williams' musical score. It was also commercially successful, grossing $375 million in the opening weekend and $711 million worldwide against a $150 million budget and becoming the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. A sequel, Vanellope & Friends: Wild Wild West, was released on March 21, 2018.

Plot

Vanellope von Schweetz is hosting the Anythingville Christmas Party. She, Judy Hopps, Hank, Mr. Ziploc, Lawrence Broderick West, and Iggy expose Sheriff Woody to Vanellope's party. Santa Claus, his granddaughter Carol Claus, and her four Elfguin friends (a all-male penguin/elf-like creatures with big rounded noses), Dobson, Skewered, Knob, and Orlando, fly by, but crash-land in Anythingville, erasing Santa's memory and causing the others to worry that Christmas could be permanently canceled, except for Vanellope, who declares a plan she came up with to save Christmas, which calms down her family and the rest of the hysterical Anythingville. Before setting off with Carol and the Elfguins accompanying, Vanellope leaves Woody in charge of her party.

Vanellope, Carol and the Elfguins build a snowman and name him "Frosty". Frosty starts to get warmer. To avoid the fate of melting, Frosty joins Vanellope, Carol, and the Elfguins on their quest, in order to reach the North Pole to avoid melting. Vanellope, Carol, the Elfguins and Frosty witness Santa's reindeer (except Cupid) blaming Rudolph for causing Santa's crashing. Their leader, Donner, declares Rudolph to be on the Naughty List and says they only take orders from Santa. After the reindeer leave, Rudolph, sulking over being on the Naughty List, joins Vanellope, Carol, Frosty, and the Elfguins. They then climb aboard Santa's sleigh and take off into the sky to deliver every present.

Meanwhile, in Anythingville, as the children put presents under the party's Christmas tree, Santa rediscovers his ability to make toys, letting the children give presents to each other, but inadvertently angering Woody. A wooden airplane wreaks havoc in the kitchen and runs into Woody, causing him to get covered in caramel. Woody admonishes Santa for ruining Vanellope's party and declares that all everyone's presents are his from now on, much to everyone's disappointment. After several deliveries, Vanellope, Cindy, Rudolph, Frosty, and the Elfguins are about to finally deliver one last gift, but a snowstorm approaches, forcing Vanellope to reluctantly send them away to ensure their survival, despite their protests that they work together. She then falls in an icy underground cave.

Hours later, Santa convinces a Woody to give someone a present, lifting his mood and prompting him to share his realization with Anythingville. Through a inspiring speech, Woody convinces Vanellope's family and all the Anythingville citizens to work together in order to rebuild Vanellope's party and save Christmas. In the cave, Vanellope discovers that the gifts are for her, Carol, Rudolph, Frosty, and the Elfguins. Having a change of heart, she concludes she must find her friends, give them their gifts, and make amends. Vanellope prevents the presents from sliding down a hill and almost falls over the edge of a cliff, but Carol, Rudolph, Frosty, and the Elfguins help pull her back to safety. Vanellope apologizes to them for pushing them away, and they all open their presents. With only enough sparkles for one last trip, they fly back to Anythingville. Suddenly, the sparkle tank runs out, but Rudolph thinks happy thoughts and uses the last of the magic sparkles to get to Anythingville, where they bump into Santa, restoring his memory.

Shocked, Donner initially blames Rudolph for ruining Christmas, but Cupid, fed up with Donner's bossy ways, comes to his defense, confessing her love for him. Vanellope explains the true meaning of Christmas, prompting the reindeer to finally accept Rudolph as their friend and let him go back on the nice list. Carol tearfully hugs Vanellope goodbye. Santa, Carol, Frosty, the Elfguins, and the reindeer depart Anythingville, and Vanellope's Christmas party goes on as planned.

Cast

• Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz, a resident of Anythingville.
• Tom Hanks as Woody, a resident of Anythingville who often visits Vanellope's house.
• Mckenna Grace as Carol Claus, Santa's eight-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter who befriends Vanellope.
• Martin Short as Rudolph, a red-nosed reindeer.
• Bill Murray as Frosty, an anthropomorphic snowman whose silk hat brings him to life.
• Tim Hill as Dobson, Skewered, Knob, and Orlando, four Elfguins (penguin/elf-like creatures with big noses) who are good friends with Carol.
• Ian McKellen as Santa Claus, a Christmas legend.
• Cameron Boyce as Lawrence Broderick West, the mayor of Anythingville.
• Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, a resident of Anythingville and one of Vanellope's best friends.
• Ed O'Neill as Hank, Anythingville's greatest septopus and another one of Vanellope's best friends.
• Michael J, Fox as Mr. Ziploc, an anthropomorphic plastic bowl and the news messenger of Anythingville.
• Audrey Wells as Iggy, an iguana and Vanellope's pet.
• Annabelle Wallis as Cupid, one of Santa's reindeer who has a crush on Rudolph.
• John Kassir as Donner, the noble put pompous leader of Santa's reindeer who ridicules Rudolph.

Additionally, Dasher, Dancer, Pancer, Vixen, Comet and Blitzen appear, but do not have any dialogue.

Box office

In the United States, Vanellope & Friends: Christmas opened alongside Daddy's Home 2 and Murder on the Orient Express, and was projected to earn $105 million from theaters in its opening weekend. At the opening weekend, it grossed $397 million, including $16 million from Thursday night previews, among the highest for an animated film. It grossed $320 million in the United States and Canada, and $391 million in other territories. It ended its theatrical run on April 27, 2018, having to have grossed $711 million worldwide. Produced on a $150 million production budget, the film became a box office success.

Critical response

Vanellope & Friends: Christmas received positive reviews from critics, with a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 214 reviews. The consensus reads, "Full of holly jolly fun, great voice acting, and beautiful animation, Vanellope & Friends: Christmas manages to please moviegoers looking for a heartwarming Christmas movie". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, calculated a score of 90 out of 100 based on 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by the first and second films.