J'ai rencontré le Père Noël (1984) User Reviews

Christmas hell

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 25 December 2018]

Simon isn't going to have a good Christmas. He's bullied by his fellow classmates and the janitor, who throws spackle at his face. Oh yeah - his parents have also been kidnapped in Africa and the French government isn't going to negotiate with the people who did the deed. Yep, it's enough to make you take your friend Élodie and sneak onto a flight to Rovaniemi, where of course Santa Claus lives in Lapland. If you're ready to drink in all that you've read above, you are ready for the kind of Christmas film that caused my wife to say, "Well, it looks like you've finally found your movie to post on Christmas day."

The kids find Santa the only way they know how: deliriously wandering through the snow until they pass out. Then, they meet the fairy that works with Santa, who looks a lot like the teacher who forgot them at the airport and never acknowledged that they were missing. Basically, as soon as they are safe, Élodie takes Santa's puppy and goes to see a child eating ogre. It's kind of like Adam and Eve by way of Adam and Eve vs. the Cannibals.

When the kids finally escape thanks to Santa and go to Christmas Mass, no one even realizes they were missing. Oh yeah - Santa was also in Africa trying to free Simon's parents. Seriously. Also, this might be a French movie, but everything is shot with English words in the classrooms and in the songs.

This whole movie feels like a vehicle for Karen Cheryl, who plays both the schoolteacher and fairy. Her songs sound like a maniacal melange of 1980's pop, kind of like "99 Luftballoons" played at Chipmunk speed. Ironically, the first edition of this film's soundtrack was quickly taken out of stores because Cheryl didn't ask for permission from her producer if she could appear in the film or sing on the soundtrack. Soon, the album was re-recorded with singer Tilda Rejwan.

This is probably the only Santa Claus movie I've ever seen where he's almost eaten by an alligator. So I guess it has that going for it. It's also the kind of mind-altering movie that people say, "I was watching this movie that I couldn't deal with and didn't finish, but it felt like the kind of thing you'd put on and make me watch."

Christian Gion's masterpiece: a bad film!

[Fredericmignard · 4/10 · 6 May 2001]

That's C. Gion's best film and it is definitively not a good film! Gion is infamous for his bad comedies from the eighties to the beginning of the 90s. He shot "J'ai rencontré le père Noel" in 1984. This Christmas tale stands out in his filmography. It's a movie for children, a film deprived of rude words and saucy situations. There's a change! The problem is that the indigent screenplay doesn't work and Gion is as bad as usual. Nothing works and everything looks so naive, too childish and fake. Surprinsingly only karen Cheryl, at the time a famous anchorwoman and former singer, manages to catch our attention. She's not that bad at all.

Well...it's quite original.

[BrettErikJohnson · 2/10 · 2 September 2003]

As someone who lives in America, I saw the English dubbed version of this film released by Starmaker Video. I don't know if anything was lost in the translation or if this is just an odd film. My guess is the latter.

The plot revolves around a sweet little boy named Simon whose parents have somehow become political prisoners in Africa. Simon's class in school writes letters to Santa and he tells the jolly ol' man that he doesn't want toys for Christmas. He only wants his parents back.

Soon afterwards, the class takes a trip to the airport. Interestingly enough, Simon and a little girl named Elodie end up separated from their classmates and are placed on a plane. The plane supposedly takes them to the same part of the world where Santa lives (although it's not the South Pole). The two little kids wander around in the snow and into a forest in search of Santa.

This peculiar film includes more than just Santa Claus though. It also boasts an ogre, a fairy, a tribe of African rebels and several headache-inducing songs sung at the most inappropriate of times. I will probably remember "Here Comes Santa Claus" for quite some time. However, don't consider that a recommendation for you to go out and find a copy of this rare flick. 2/10

A movie with Good potential but fails with lazy writing.

[simodandrade · 4/10 · 22 November 2016]

I recently just re-watched this movie after (believe it or not) 20 years of the VHS collecting dust in my garage. I grew up with this movie as a child and used to love watching it with my cousins every year at my grandparents house, but on the other hand there were a few scenes that used to confuse me as a kid and in very few scenes scare the living hell out of me. This movie now to me as an adult almost answers all the questions I used to have as a kid and the answers are simple, its just the writers, producers, and Director were just plain Lazy!!! Seriously this movie is a film that has a good plot that makes sense the first five minutes of the movie even with some of the corny dialogue within in that time, but after that the story goes completely flat and just leaves you staring at your TV bored and confused. So the movie starts off with a young boy who is considered an outcast at his school and get harassed by a creepy looking janitor who gives him murderous threats about eating him for dinner which is pretty stupid.

However in the movie we learn that the little boy Simon (fun fact: which is my name by the way)is orphaned and lives with his grandmother and learn that his parents are known to be prisoners in Africa. When he is asked what he wants for Christmas he makes it clear that he wants Santa to have his parents return home. See where I am going with this? This is a good introduction then as I said before the movie then starts adding multiple subplots that are never resolved or explained. Some good examples are (spoliers) the boy and his little girlfriend go on a school field trip to an airport and see a flight that leads to the north pole and decide to go to the plane to ask Santa for his parents. They somehow manage to get on the flight and leave to the north pole, but the stupid part is no one takes notice of their disappearance almost the whole entire movie not even there teacher. Next is the teacher and janitor play two different characters. The teacher plays a fairy an assistant for Santa and the janitor an evil ogre that kidnaps the children and the children never even once point out that there are the same people in the movie. There are also scenes in the movie that are just so pointless and come off as far fetched and just pointless to the plot that can be flat out stupid like the kids walking through the forest looking for Santa and somehow find him on his slay which is so far fetched cause come on anyone can get lost in those woods. The Africa scenes are completely pointless scenes where the dang fairy starts talking to a bunch of damn monkeys, where Santa does a stupid thing and gets into a river full of crocodiles because he said its too hot, the escape scene where Santa finds Simon's parents which don't explain how they even know its the parents, but yea and the African soldiers just let them escape with out notice. The final scene that used to freaking traumatize me as a kid and even to this day as an adult it the scene where the ogre grabs a puppy dog that the children have with them through out the movie and he puts it between the pieces of bread and is looks like he is about to eat it but children cry and beg him not to and he gives the puppy a sad look and slowly lays it down then the scene cuts out and when they return to the ogres house we don't see the puppy again so as a kid I used to always ask did he end up eating the poor innocent puppy didn't look like it in the last scene. The movie does have a good ending and a good musical score but the writing is just so poorly written I watch the movie and almost feel like I could have written the movie better hell the to me kid would of just had a dream and would have ripped off the wizard of oz waking up scene just to make the movie make sense. I mean come on you had two adorable children who are our main characters, a sexy teacher/fairy, a good plot, and a good score. This movie could have been an iconic Christmas movie like elf or its a wonderful life but just didn't live up to its potential and i don't want to hear well its a French film or a film made for children it doesn't matter it still applies to any other movie just look at Disney movies.

The French equivalent of The Wizard of Oz...

[kyyankee · 2/10 · 21 December 2020]

If The Wizard of Oz had terrible songs, a nonsensical plot, a trip to Africa, crocodiles and a puppy eating ogre. I have to admit if my elementary school teacher resembled Karen Cheryl I would have enjoyed those years much more. This would be a perfect kid's film if it wasn't for the cruelty to children and animals and depiction of Africans as either violent mercenaries or ignorant peasants.

Rifftrax makes this steamy pile at least partially bearable.

This was one of my childhood favorites

[iluvmylilsnickys · 3/10 · 15 December 2020]

I remember watching this all the time as I kid. All I remembered was kids sneaking on a plane and seeing Santa. Took me years on the internet to find out what is was. Just stumbled on it tot day on Amazon Prime. Totally took me back and now I realize all those bits and pieces about his parents I forgot about(the entire plot) lol

Because all good Xmas stories should have a parents kidnapped by an African warlord plot...

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 10 November 2020]

This film was just totally insane suffice to say as the plot was not on point and the only thing that could have made this movie make any sense was not used. The film does get points for being different, but it is so way out there that you cannot even see it! Along with being different it also features a very attractive lady as the Xmas fairy/schoolteacher; however, aside from that there is little to enjoy about this film other than the fact it is sheer madness that this film exists in the first place!

The story, a kid is a bit of a sad child and the other kids tease him and blame him for breaking a window, so the custodian tosses him into a shed. Turns out this boy's parents have been kidnapped by an African warlord so the boy asks Santa to bring them back. At this point, you are probably wondering if I am making this up, but nope. The boy along with a girl somehow board a plane and head to a place where there is snow and they find Santa! Also, just outside the borders of the town lurks an ogre that eats children and Santa has apparently not bothered to do anything about this. Santa and Xmas fairy go to rescue the boy's parents and the kids get caught by the ogre because the girl wants to see it, because all girls like to look at bloodthirsty ogres...

The only road this film had to make its plot make sense is the tired "it was all a dream" cliche. I mean, why else would the ogre and the custodian be the same person? Why else would the teacher and fairy be the same person, it had to be a dream! Nope, they play it off like it all happened so puppies were eaten, Santa was almost killed by an African warlord and then Santa left the parents to their fate. Seriously, they could have easily been recaptured after Santa teleported back home.

So this film was complete madness! Which is a bit of why I give this one a three rather than a one or two. That and the very attractive fairy when she switched to her red riding hood costume! The story though also makes no sense and the fact that they played it off as really happening and not a dream seems crazy. Still, while it was a bit insane, it was also quite different so it had that going for it.

It's so bad, it's GREAT

[mainsman · 10/10 · 5 December 2015]

I remember this movie from my childhood. Having been born in the early 80s, for some reason I remember watching TV during the holidays circa 1988 when this movie came on. I remembered two kids in the woods and an Ogre. That's it. However, it left some sort of impression on me...for the life of me I don't know why. It took me 23 years to track this movie down (based on extensive internet research...i.e. googling) and the payoff was huge. I bought the DVD in 2011 and it's become an instant hit with my friends and I. We watch it every Christmas season, each year getting more people to view it. And here's why it's such a hit...it's so deliciously bad in every way imaginable. The script is bad, the actors/actresses are bad, the "visual effects" are bad...everything is bad. It's so awful that is great. Honestly speaking, if you have a sense of humor and 90 minutes to kill, please buy this movie and watch it once a year during the holiday season. The songs will get stuck in your head for days. Certain scenes will stick with you indefinitely. The plot is so incredibly absurd...a young french lad has 2 parents that have been taken hostage in Africa (where in Africa, you ask? Just Africa, of course), so he asks Santa for them back in time for Christmas. Being bullied by his fellow classmates, and being abused by the school janitor (unbeknownst to his negligent school teacher), he gets on a plane with a female classmate (no questions asked due to pre 911 air travel) to visit Santa in person so that his wish might come true. Hilarity ensues. Fairies, elves, reindeer, an Ogre, crocodiles, monkeys, African warlords all make an appearance. Fantastic. My 10/10 rating is not sarcasm. It's genuine. Please, take the time to watch this film. If you go into it in the correct frame of mind, it will leave your sides hurting from laughter. Combine with eggnog or other "Christmas cheer." And lastly, "Stop all your crying business."

Simon, Elodie, Santa Claus, Mary Ellen and Gramma = PARTAY!

[paleseptember · 7/10 · 10 July 2006]

This movie is beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt, the most ridiculous movie ever made. HOWEVER, it is entirely impossible to watch this movie and NOT be entertained. My brother and I have watched this movie every Christmas since we were 3 and 4. We laugh, we cry, we sing along... Not really. Actually, we DO laugh.. a lot. When the fairy takes the children to the "workshop" and the elves sing a little song, listen to the words... you'll understand why. Also, classic scenes like Santa arguing with a monkey.. and Santa swimming with a crocodile are spellbinding. Watch for the scene where Santa literally throws the dog across the room in order to wake the children... When the maintenance man throws putty at Simon's face, the look in the child's eyes is priceless! When you watch this movie, make sure you "Stop All Your Crying Business", what for, you say? You'll find out!! ;)

Horrible Film, That's Why It's So Funny!

[verbusen · 10/10 · 20 November 2017]

I am specifically reviewing this version of the film done under the "Rifftrax" treatment, which means they make sly jokes and observations of the film while it's running (they talk over the film in parts). What can I say other then it's one of the worst "Christmas" films ever made! I write that statement watching other really horrible Christmas films, like the Magic Christmas Tree, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and the Mexican film Santa Claus, 3 really bad Christmas films that are so bad they are really funny! OK, I just watched a film much worse then even this one, Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny, oh my. Luckily, Rifftrax made that one hilarious also. I would never play this film to a kid, unless it's being made fun of, because the kid will grow up wondering if you are warped. That puppy sandwich takes the cake! 10 of 10 for stuff Rifftrax has done, 2 of 10 as a film by itself.

A young boy's only wish for Christmas is his parents.

[srmccarthy · 7/10 · 6 July 2000]

A young boy tells his teacher that all he wants for christmas is his mother and father, who are political prisoners in Africa.... (can't tell the story).. Gets the opportunity to confront Santa, and ask him to free his parents. This film is french (dubbed English), that has a great story, nice soundtrack, and an ending that will bring tears to your eyes (If you are a compassionate person.) Some Parts are funny! Great musical soundtrack! (speaking for the dubbed version).

Great Movie

[FroggieFroger88 · 10/10 · 28 November 2007]

This is my favorite Christmas movie. I guess that when it showed on TV in the US, my parents taped it. Now we have a copy and I can't go a Christmas without watching it. Yes, it was made in the 80's but a lot of great films were! The story line is so cute and it will surely touch your heart. Though it might scare you that it is in French, they made an English version as well! Trust me, you will love this movie. It is good for children too. It is clean and fun for your whole family. My dad even took on the job of being the family ogre after watching it!! I hope you enjoy this movie as much as my family has. I have been watching this movie every Christmas for almsot 19 years.