Disney In The House: Christmas is a 2017 American live-action/animated Christmas comedy film produced by Walt Disney Wonder Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to Disney In The House: 4th Of July and the third installment in the classic Disney In The House franchise, the film was directed and co-written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Sarah Silverman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ed O'Neill, Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Owen Laramore, and Frank Welker reprise their roles from the first two films alongside new additions to the cast including Mckenna Grace, Jason Marsden, Bill Murray, Jerry Stiller, Martin Short, and Natalie Portman. In the film, Vanellope von Schweetz (joined by a six-year-old named Cindy Miller who is searching for the spirit of Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman) sets out to save Christmas after Santa Claus accidentally crashes in Disneyville and along the way learns what Christmas is really all about.
| Disney In The House: Christmas | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Phil Lord Christopher Miller |
| Produced by | Phil Lord Christopher Miller Gary Marsh Gary Krisel |
| Screenplay by | Joe Ansolabehere Jill E. Blotevogel Kevin Hopps Phil Lord Christopher Gary Marsh Gary Krisel |
| Story by | Phil Lord Christopher Miller Gary Marsh Gary Krisel Bob Iger Derek Stephen Prince |
| Starring | Sarah Silverman Mckenna Grace Jason Marsden Bill Murray Jerry Stiller Martin Short Natalie Portman Ginnifer Goodwin Ed O'Neill Tom Hanks |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | Matthias Koenigswieser Naveet Verma |
| Edited by | Robert Fisher, Jr. |
| Production company | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Wonder Studios Reel FX Lord Miller Productions |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Release date | December 26, 2017 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $133 million |
| Box office | $160 million |
Released theatrically in the United States on December 26, 2017, the film was considered Walt Disney Wonder Studios' first box office dissapointment (having grossed $160 million worldwide against a budget of $133 million), and received mixed reviews, with criticism for its lack of originality and facial emotion on the reindeer while the production design, performances, humor, and Harry Gregson-Williams' musical score were favorably praised.
It was followed by five sequels: Disney In The House: Wild Wild West, Disney In The House: Off To Adventure Camp, Disney In The House: Time Travel, Disney In The House: Return To Adventure Camp, and Disney In The House: World Animals on December 25, 2018, March 3, 2019, June 13, 2019, September 13, 2019, and December 23, 2019.
Plot
Vanellope von Schweetz is hosting the Disneyville Christmas Party to honor the recent death of her next-door neighbor, Marka. On December 1, Woody tumbles down a hill (dragging Vanellope, Judy Hopps, Hank, Mr. Ziploc, Lawrence Pierce, and Iggy with him) and crashes into a snowbank. With his deliveries scattered across Disneyville, Woody reluctantly tells Vanellope that she is not qualified to celebrate Christmas. Feeling abandoned, Vanellope heads home, isolating herself from her friends. That night, Santa Claus flies by, but crash-lands in Disneyville, erasing his memory. As a result, the others worry that Christmas could be permanently canceled, but Vanellope volunteers to deliver the presents and leaves Woody in charge of her party.
Vanellope builds a snowman and names him "Frosty". Frosty starts to get warmer. To avoid the fate of melting, Frosty joins Vanellope on her quest. Vanellope and Frosty witness the other reindeer bullying Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for his lack of patience. Their leader, Donner, shoves Rudolph into a puddle as a punishment, but Vanellope convinces the reindeer that it is the season of giving. Since they only take orders from Santa, they leave. Overcome by Donner's hostile behavior against him, Rudolph joins Vanellope and Rudolph. As they prepare to get going, a six-year-old girl named Cindy Miller (who is searching for the true spirit of Christmas) befriends Vanellope. Vanellope, Frosty, and Rudolph agree to take Cindy with them.
Back in Disneyville, Lawrence leaves Woody, Judy, Hank, Iggy, and Mr. Ziploc to keep an eye on the party. Just then, an army of 100 tiny snowmen trash the party and subdue Judy, triggering a chaotic play that causes her to end up in Cindy's house and meet her parents, Dan Miller and Cass Miller. After delivering all the presents, Vanellope, Cindy, Frosty, and Rudolph decide to tell the elves the news, but they are inevitably chased by a giant ice monster who breaks Cindy's Christmas tree necklace and flings they away before falling into the gorge. Distraught at the loss of her necklace, Cindy, Rudolph, and Frosty abandon Vanellope.
Alone, Vanellope heads to the North Pole and tells the elves about what happened to Santa. The elves listen, but Vanellope sees the sleigh falling off the edge of a cliff. Cindy, Rudolph, and Frosty help push the sleigh back to safety and reconcile with Vanellope. They fly back to Disneyville, but the sparkle tank runs out. Rudolph thinks happy thoughts and uses every ounce of his strength to get to Disneyville Suburb, where they bump into Santa, restoring his memory. Vanellope explains the true meaning of Christmas, prompting the reindeer to finally accept Rudolph as their friend. Santa, Frosty, and the reindeer depart, and Vanellope, Cindy, Judy, Hank, Woody, Mr. Ziploc, Lawrence, Iggy, Dan, and Cass celebrate Vanellope's Christmas party.
Cast
- Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz, a resident of Disneyville. She is the film's protagonist.
- Mckenna Grace as Cindy Miller, a six-year-old resident of Disneyville who befriends Vanellope. She is the film's deuteragonist.
- Jason Marsden as Rudolph, a red-nosed reindeer who is ridiculed by the other reindeer. He is the film's tritagonist.
- Bill Murray as Frosty, an anthropomorphic snowman whose silk hat brings him to life. He is the film's tetartagonist.
- Jerry Stiller as Santa Claus, a Christmas legend.
- Martin Short as Dan Miller, a resident of Disneyville who is Cindy's father and Cass' husband.
- Natalie Portman as Cass Miller, a resident of Disneyville who is Cindy's mother and Dan's wife.
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, a resident of Disneyville and one of Vanellope's best friends.
- Ed O'Neill as Hank, Disneyville's greatest septopus and another one of Vanellope's best friends.
- Tom Hanks as Woody, a resident of Disneyville who often visits Vanellope's house.
- Michael J, Fox as Mr. Ziploc, an anthropomorphic plastic bowl and the news messenger of Disneyville.
- Owen Laramore as Lawrence Pierce, the mayor of Disneyville.
- Frank Welker as Iggy, an iguana and Vanellope's pet.
- Mel B, Bobby Moynihan, Luke Wilson, Laura Silverman, Alan Tudyk, Annabelle Wallis, Andy Dick, and Tom Hardy as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, Santa's reindeer who ridicule Rudolph.
- David Ogden Stiers as Ice Monster
- Gary Marsh, Gary Krisel, Bob Iger, and Derek Stephen Prince as Elves
Box office
Disney In The House: Christmas opened theatrically on December 26, 2017, and grossed $60 million in the United States and Canada, and $100 million in other territories. It ended its theatrical run on February 5, 2018, having to have grossed $159 million overseas. Produced on a $139 million production budget, it became a box office disappoinment and Walt Disney Wonder Studios' lowest-grossing film to date, because the scene where the reindeer bully Rudolph drew some mixed reaction to the trailers, leading audiences to assume the third installment unnecessary and insulting to its predecessors.
Critical response
Disney In The House: Christmas received mixed reviews from critics, with 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 130 reviews. The consensus reads, "Despite the hilarious antics of Vanellope and its fun family entertainment, Disney In The House: Christmas is a disappointing holiday rip-off". It is also the worst-reviewed Walt Disney Wonder Studios film on the site, and the only Walt Disney Wonder Studios film to earn a "rotten" certification. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, signed the film to a score of 49 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film two stars, saying, "As directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Disney In The House: Christmas has reindeer who bully someone, which is a betrayal of everything Gary Marsh and Gary Krisel have ever stood for. Introduction was greeted with universal acclaim. 4th Of July proved okay. Christmas generated Walt Disney Wonder Studios' first negative response". Critics considered it to be derivative of Happy Feet, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and Ice Age. Not only did Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor dislike the photorealistic look on Santa's reindeer, but he was also uncomfortable with the use of Brian Setzer's Jingle Bells because he deemed it inferior. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film "One Thumb Up and One Thumb Down".
Relatively, some critics on the negative side also raised concerns over the PG rating, with Bilge Ebiri of Vulture saying it should have instead been rated PG-13 in relation to its medium amount of adult content.
On the positive side, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly praised the performance of Mckenna Grace as Cindy Miller. She wrote, "Mckenna Grace must be gaining further notice for playing her first live-action child character in Disney history". Joe Williams of St. Louis Post Dispatch said, "This could be quite the perfect Disney holiday film for kids who celebrate Christmas. Happy New Year, 2018".