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, Alberta from Los Angeles, California, they have no friends, no money, and, with the exception of the bright-eyed Mary (Amy and Zoe Schlagel), no Christmas spirit. To make matters worse, their mother, Judy (Rachel Hayward), is stuck in Los Angeles, stranded by airline overbookings. So, the Christmas shopping duties fall on dad, Wayne (Patrick Swayze), and the gloomy kids. Things start looking a bit more like Christmas when twelve-year-old Brian (Matthew Knight) 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for rude language

Did You Know?

Trivia

By coincidence, the two bad guys names are Leonard and Sheldon. Much like the two lead characters on The Big Bang Theory (2007). This movie and that television series premiered the same year.

---

Goofs

Edmonton is under the jurisdiction of the Edmonton Police Service, not the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

---

Connections

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

---

Soundtracks

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
Traditional tune, lyrics by Nahum Tate (uncredited)
[Incorrectly credited as Traditional]
Arranged by Simon Russell
Published by Air-Edel Associates Ltd
Licensed courtesy of Air-Edel Associates Ltd

User Reviews

Worst Movie Ever

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie in Edmonton. Sadly while its good for a movie to be made in Edmonton, this is the worst movie i have ever seen. Worse than Police Academy Mission in Moscow. Worse than a Sylvestor Stalone or Hulk Hogan comedy. And those are bad movies. Im sure most direct to DVD movies are better than this. And this is sad as i do enjoy GOOD Christmas movies.

The script is terrible and doesn't give the actors much to work with, but only a few actors seemed as though they are not just reading lines. The movie is full of product placement. Initially at their house with apple products and a PSP in center screen, then at the mall with the kids going on a shopping spree. The West Edmonton Mall had a terrible CGI makeover from the outside to make it seem 'magical' as it was painted in blue gold and pink. The first 5 minutes of mall footage was like a promo video for the mall. (Although it is a great mall and you should all visit it, this is meant to be a movie not an infomercial.)

The love story in the movie is unbelievable. The older boy misses his girlfriend from LA. But luckily he finds an attractive girl with the same obscure name as his old girlfriend, who also just moved from LA, and who has the exact same catch phrase as the boy does. He says one line to her, and they are instantly dating. It must have been love at first sight.

There were a couple of bright spots though. Tim Curry Played a Scottish Canadian Mountie. He forgot peoples names and i did laugh when he called one of his helpers 'Rico' when that was neither of their names. But this gag was used several times and grew tiresome by the end of the movie. Santa also made many appearances, making the whole family believe in him again.

One part i cant get over though is the image of the north pole. One of the boys opens a door supposedly to the north pole. The next scene is very poor cgi animation. I think the whole audience was shocked by its lack of quality. They must have hired a computer graphics student who hadn't finished the course yet. As it was beginners level stuff.

To conclude, while I got a free pass to this movie i still felt somewhat short changed by it all. I would have hated to have paid money to see it. Terrible.

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, 27 January 2008

Gross USA:

$689

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$694,509

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

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1