Christmas in Wonderland (2007)

Director:

James Orr

Writers (WGA):

Wanda Birdsong Shope (written by) and
James Orr (written by) ...

Release Date:

27 December 2007 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Two kids, a mall, a million in cash, ...what could go wrong?

Plot:

Three kids and their Dad move from L.A to Edmonton. When they go shopping at West Edmonton Mall they find counterfeit cash. They inadvertently help catch the crooks, and later make a discovery about Santa.

Plot Keywords:

Mall | Holiday In Title | Bag Of Money | Found Money | Place Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Patrick Swayze	...	Wayne Saunders
Matthew Knight	...	Brian Saunders
Amy Schlagel	...	Mary Saunders
Zoe Schlagel	...	Mary Saunders
Tim Curry	...	McLoosh
Carmen Electra	...	Ginger Peachum
Chris Kattan	...	Leonard Cardoza
Preston Lacy	...	Sheldon Cardoza
Cameron Bright	...	Danny Saunders
Matthew Walker	...	Santa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marty Antonini	...	Elliot Block
Rick Ash	...	Bartender
Suzanna Bastien	...	Clerk
Suzanne Bastien	...	Zellers Employee
Matt Bellefleur	...	Walter Crump
Morgan Brayton	...	2nd Cashier
Courtney Brin	...	Ticket Counter Agent
Rachel Hayward	...	Judy Saunders
Mark Holik	...	Husband
Karen Johnson-Diamond	...	2nd Cashier
Maureen Jones	...	Lingerie girl
Michelle Molineux	...	Spa Attendant
Duncan Ollerenshaw	...	Guy in Lingerie Store
MacKenzie Porter	...	Shane
Paul Punyi	...	Priest
Sean Tyson	...	Randolph
Donovan Workun	...	Smith
Melanie Yeats	...	Luane

MPAA:

Rated PG for rude language.

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | Finland:K-7

Filming Locations:

West Edmonton Mall - 8882 170 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Insight Film Studios

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After visiting Santa, Brian wants to find the hockey rink in the mall. Brian and Mary would have already passed the rink on the way from the pirate ship to see Santa, because the rink is inbetween the ship and Santa, and there is no way to get around it without seeing it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Christmas in Wonderland' (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Christmas In Wonderland

To say this movie is awful is too kind...

As an Edmontonian, having a movie filmed in our city is always exciting as that is a very rare occurrence. To have the movie actually set in Edmonton is even better. "Christmas in Wonderland", however, is an embarrassment for Edmonton. It is that bad.

Firstly, the writing is awful. It sounds like it was written by an elementary school student. The 'funny' lines are cringe-worthy. The story itself is ridiculous. Aside from the main storyline, the 'love' story involving the oldest brother and some girl he meets in the mall is absurd. She just happens to be the same age and also just moved from California to Edmonton. The police are also misrepresented. Why is it that the RCMP is the only law enforcement organization in Canada? Edmonton does have its own police force, which were even featured in the movie, yet were called the RCMP. Another ridiculous element of this movie is the fact that there is no snow on Christmas Eve. In fact the grass is nearly green. Anyone who has lived in Edmonton for a few years knows that such an occurrence is EXTREMELY rare. Edmonton winters are long, extremely cold, and usually very snowy.

The acting is atrocious. I have never seen such bad acting, especially from Cameron Bright, Carmen Electra, and Chris Kattan. Cameron Bright is by far the worst, as he sounds, literally, like he is a teacher with no emotion reading a book out loud to his class. Carmen Electra - destroyer of film quality - is not much better. Luckily she does not have much screen time.

Perhaps the worst moment of the film comes when the 'North Pole' is seen in the bowels of WEM. The CGI animation of the 'elves' is perhaps 1980s worthy. The animation is shockingly bad, leaving one to consider if it would of just been better not to include it.

The only redeeming quality is Tim Curry as a memory-challenged Scottish RCMP officer. He does this character rather well considering the awfulness of the overall film.

"Christmas in Wonderland" doesn't deserve the $689 it made in theatres.