Eva Oschmann, Freshman
The new holiday movie “Jingle Jangle”, released on Netflix on November 13th, has sparked interest already, as it is described as “heart-warming” and “delightful”. This movie is jam-packed with musical numbers, dance choreography, and a fantasy steampunk aesthetic.
The main actors of this hit film are Forest Whitaker, who plays the famous inventor, Jeronicus Jangle, and Madalen Mills, who plays the young girl protagonist, Journey Jangle. Whitaker, who is already a well-known American actor and director, has starred in many movies, including “The Last King of Scotland” (2006) and “The Butler'' (2013). As for 11 year-old Madalen Mills, this is her first big hit movie, starting her career off strong. However, she did act in “The Tiger Rising '', which is based off the New York Times bestselling children's book by Kate DiCamillo. That movie did not get as much attention or recognition as “Jingle Jangle” though, so this is some people’s first time seeing Mills on the big screen.
The movie itself starts off by introducing two young children and their grandmother. The grandmother tells them a story from a large, old book about a toy maker named Jeronicus Jangle (played by Justin Cornwell as a young man). Jeronicus has a wife, a daughter, and a book where he wrote down all of his ideas for inventions and toys. He also has an apprentice and employee named Gustafson, who feels unappreciated by his boss, as Jeronicus works hard on his life project, which he finally got the last part for. This final ingredient brings his mechanical bull fighter to life, and also gifts him a large ego. But, when Jeronicus, his wife, and his daughter go downstairs to celebrate, the bullfighter convinces Gustafson to steal Jeronicus’s book of inventions and invent them under his name.
After a well-designed scene where the characters are displayed as small wooden toys, the audience learns that Gustafson builds and releases all of Jeronicus’s work and invention ideas, leaving Jeronicus and his small business in the dark. Eventually, Jeronicus loses all hope in inventing and closes down that part of his shop. Years later, the toy shop becomes a pawn shop and the once happy inventor becomes a sort of hermit. But when the inspiring Journey Jangle comes to stay with Jeronicus just before Christmas, she finds a way to bring hope back for Mr. Jangle’s shop and uses her natural gift of inventing to help him restart.
It is clear that this movie is well-made and has a creative story line. This movie is a great holiday tale for the younger audience, and it is nice to see a new holiday movie, in comparison to remakes of movies we have seen before. It currently holds a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is still new, and we will see if it holds that title for much longer. Overall, this movie is great for the younger generation, and I personally look forward to seeing how it holds up against the critics.
Works Cited
“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020).” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jingle_jangle_a_christmas_journey.
Minow, Nell. “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Movie Review (2020): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review (2020) | Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/jingle-jangle-a-christmas-journey-movie-review-2020.
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