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Chilly Christmas

  • Video
  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
4.7/10
242
YOUR RATING
Chilly Christmas (2012)
ComedyDramaFamily

When he discovers his father is being transferred from Sunshine Beach to New York City, a boy has one week to turn his big crazy beach dog into a civilized indoor dog, while fending off dang... Read allWhen he discovers his father is being transferred from Sunshine Beach to New York City, a boy has one week to turn his big crazy beach dog into a civilized indoor dog, while fending off dangerous dog-nappers on Christmas eve.When he discovers his father is being transferred from Sunshine Beach to New York City, a boy has one week to turn his big crazy beach dog into a civilized indoor dog, while fending off dangerous dog-nappers on Christmas eve.

  • Director
    • Gregory Poppen
  • Writer
    • Gregory Poppen
  • Stars
    • Tom Arnold
    • C. Thomas Howell
    • Brooke Langton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    4.7/10
    242
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gregory Poppen
    • Writer
      • Gregory Poppen
    • Stars
      • Tom Arnold
      • C. Thomas Howell
      • Brooke Langton
    • 4User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos

    Chilly Christmas (2012)
    Casey Graf in Chilly Christmas (2012)
    Casey Graf and C. Thomas Howell on the set of Chilly Christmas
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    Top cast

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    Tom Arnold
    Tom Arnold
    • Quarterman
    C. Thomas Howell
    C. Thomas Howell
    • Patrick Cole
    Brooke Langton
    Brooke Langton
    • Lt. Mel Stone
    Casey Graf
    Casey Graf
    • Jasper Harris
    Karan Brar
    Karan Brar
    • Caps
    Bryson Sams
    Bryson Sams
    • Bobby
    Cassidy Mack
    • Kizzy
    Andy Pandini
    • Claussen
    Jonathan Kowalsky
    Jonathan Kowalsky
    • Hale
    • (as Jonathan Kowalski)
    Michelle Celeste Assil
    • Stacey
    • (as Michelle Celeste)
    Robert John Brewer
    Robert John Brewer
    • Bus Driver
    Patrick Burdick
    • Santa
    Connor Hawkins
    • Billy
    • (as Phillip Van Lear)
    Drake Kemper
    Drake Kemper
    • Shane
    Chris Lemones
    • Officer #1
    • (as Chris Rico)
    Kyle Matthew
    Kyle Matthew
    • Jake Mahoney
    Nikolette Noel
    Nikolette Noel
    • Girl on Beach
    Samuel Mason Paul
    Samuel Mason Paul
    • Sammy
    • Director
      • Gregory Poppen
    • Writer
      • Gregory Poppen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Crazy credits
      Outtakes during ending credits
    • Soundtracks
      Christmas Joy
      Performed by Mr. Bettie (Bettie Ross & Frank Blumer)

      Vocals by Bettie Ross and Frank Blumer

      Written by Benjamin Hanby (as Benjamin Hanby) (public domain)

      Arranged by Bettie Ross and Frank Blumer

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    Doesn't leave the tails wagging
    My Christmas film viewings over-time have been a very mixed bag. With some surprisingly good hits, where regardless of how predictable they are succeed in being full of charm, warmth and heart so succeeding in being light-hearted and undemanding fun. But also some quite big misses, where the characters are not likeable, everything is forced and shallow with implausibility too in some of the worst cases, the acting and writing being weak and basically with just nothing to them.

    'A Christmas Tail' is not one of the worst Christmas films recently seen, a long way from being that. It is also though nowhere near being one of the best, and is closer to being in the lesser category. Is 'A Christmas Tail' terrible? No, it didn't insult my intelligence, was well intended and it had its moments. At the same time, it is really not particularly good at all with many things wrong with it. Things that even when taking it for what it is and taking into account the target audience are very difficult to overlook.

    Shall start with the good. The dog Chilly is absolutely adorable and fun to watch, definitely the most likeable character. Am not a huge fan of C Thomas Howell, who has done a lot of bad films and performances but when he is in the right roles with good material (i.e. George Foyet on 'Criminal Minds') he is very good. He does a good, amiable job here and is easily the best actor here, being the one to give the only halfway decent performance in the film.

    The soundtrack has some nice nostalgic moments. Some of the story is cute.

    However, the rest of the cast don't work. Do agree that one of the worst aspects of 'A Christmas Tail' is the acting of the children, which is pretty much overdone mugging. Tom Arnold is also on autopilot in a cartoonish role and it was like he was doing somebody a favour and not at his own will, that may likely not be the case in real life but Arnold's acting here comes over that way. Very few of the characters are that interesting or have much that makes one endeared to them, other than Chilly and Howell's character they're all stale caricatures. There really was not that much of a script and all the dialogue sounds like bad corny improvisation, especially with the children.

    Low budget is evident in the visuals as there was a very rushed look throughout, especially in the flat and quite haphazard photography. The story is also thin as near melted ice and has no real charm or heart, moments of cuteness aside, just non-stop cheesiness, excessive schmaltz, convenient contrivances and an erratic pace. There could have been a chance to slightly overlook the predictability but the other story problems are far less easy to forgive. The odd pleasant moment aside, the music generally is forgettable at best.

    Overall, mediocre. 4/10.
    helpful•7
    0
    • TheLittleSongbird
    • Mar 22, 2022

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 5, 2012 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • A Christmas Tail
    • Filming locations
      • Ventura, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Crystal Sky Pictures
      • SP Chilly Christmas
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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