‘Jingle Jangle’ is a wonderfully-produced holiday musical

Posted on November 27, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

It would seem that making an enjoyable holiday film — during a season in which people are already inclined to have warm and fuzzy feelings — should be a relatively easy endeavor. However, despite the scores of holiday flicks presented to us each year, very few are actually memorable.

As such, I went into the new Neftlix film “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” with moderate hopes and relatively low expectations. Fortunately, this holiday musical exceeded both my hopes and expectations, delivering an entertaining two hours, although it probably could have used a bit of extra trimming in the editing room.

Written and directed by David E. Talbert (“Almost Christmas,” “First Sunday”), “Jingle Jangle” tells the story of eccentric toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Justin Corwell, “Training Day”) who is betrayed by his trusted assistant Gustafson (Miles Barrow, “Scoop”) when he steals all of his designs and passes them off as his own.

Years later, Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele”) is a world-famous inventor, while Jeronicus (Forest Whitaker, “Rogue One”) has lost the drive and inspiration to create new toys. Estranged from his daughter, he is visited by his granddaughter Journey (newcomer Madalen Mills), who has the same spark he once had when it comes to inventing things.

Subscribe to our e-Edition and read the rest of the story. Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.