Christmas in Wonderland (2007)

Three children and their father move from Los Angeles, California to Edmonton, Alberta. When they go shopping at West Edmonton Mall, they find counterfeit cash, inadvertently help catch crooks, and make a discovery about Santa.

Director:

James Orr

Writers:

Wanda Birdsong Shope, James Orr

Stars:

Matthew Knight, Chris Kattan, Cameron Bright

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Knight	...	Brian Saunders
Chris Kattan	...	Leo Cardoza
Cameron Bright	...	Danny Saunders
Preston Lacy	...	Sheldon Cardoza
Amy Schlagel	...	Mary Saunders
Zoe Schlagel	...	Mary Saunders
Carmen Electra	...	Ginger Peachum
Tim Curry	...	Gordon McLoosh
Patrick Swayze	...	Wayne Saunders
Matthew Walker	...	Santa / Mr. Nicholas / Mall Ghost / Kristopher Kringle / Old Man with Walker
MacKenzie Porter	...	Shane (as Mackenzie Porter)
Marty Antonini	...	Elliot Block
Rachel Hayward	...	Judy Saunders
Donovan Workun	...	Smith
Sean Tyson	...	Randolph

Storyline

It's turning out to be a pretty rotten Christmas for the Saunders family. Having just moved to Edmonton, Alb from Los Angeles, California, they have no friends, no money, and, with the exception of the bright-eyed Mary, no Christmas spirit. To make matters worse, their mother is stuck in Los Angeles, stranded by airline overbookings. So, the Christmas shopping duties fall on Dad and the gloomy kids. Things start looking a bit more like Christmas when twelve-year old Brian and six-year old Mary find a satchel of money at the local mall and they launch a Yuletide shopping spree, that is, until the crooks who counterfeited the money chase them through the mall packed with holiday shoppers.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas shopping | shopping mall | father | father christmas | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for rude language

Details

Official Sites:

official facebook

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 2007 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Le jackpot de Noël

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$689, 25 January 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$78,566, 27 January 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yari Film Group (YFG), Insight Film Studios, Alberta Film Development Program of the Alberta Government

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was filmed after Christmas was long over, to avoid the busy shopping season. The length of time the decorations in the mall were left prompted local residents to wonder why they were still there. A local news program even inquired into the reason the decorations remained. Not long afterwards, the filming of this movie was announced.

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Goofs

Leonard and Sheldon drive their motorcycle through the 2nd story window overlooking the tidal pool and land in the deep end. In reality, the window overlooks the shallow end of the pool where the water only comes up to your ankles. They would've landed on solid concrete.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Not So Zen
Written & Performed by Flipper Dalton
Courtesy of Twelvetrees Music Inc.

User Reviews

A family man drags his kids unwillingly to the mall, where they find adventure and learn a lesson or two about family.

I am fully aware of the mortifying reviews most viewers have given this movie. I'm here to tell you that I found it fabulous and endearing. The themes of family and Christmas and magic are abundant, and it's an enjoyable film the whole clan can enjoy. The acting... could have been better. Patrick Swayze has definitely given better performances before, but he's such a sweet father that I managed to overlook the extreme cheesiness. Cameron Bright was a bit dull, but in all fairness, he was cast as the stereotypical "big brother who misses his life back in LA and can't stand his siblings," and I believe he played the part correctly. I have my own older brother, and he sounds just like that: a bored teenager. What more do you people expect? I found the constant switching between the actresses playing Mary a bit nauseating. Can we PLEASE pick ONE twin for the part and leave it at that? They're not Mary-Kate and Ashley; they don't look completely identical. Chris Kattan was hilarious, as always, as was Tim Curry. All in all, it was a delightful, bright comedy that teaches an important lesson about family. (For the sake of this review I won't comment on the horrid CGI North Pole fiasco. Let's just put that out of our minds, shall we? :)