Northpole

2014
6.3| 1h21m| G| en
Details

Northpole, the magical city where Santa and his elves live and work is in trouble. Families around the globe have gotten too busy to enjoy the season together, and Northpole depends on their holiday happiness to keep running. In the hopes of turning things around, a determined young elf befriends a little boy with a lot of spirit. His skeptical journalist mom doesn’t have room in her heart for anything but the facts, so it’s going to take a little nudge from his charming teacher to create an unbeatable Christmas team to turn around this town and share the importance of the season with the whole world.

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Reviews

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
adoptshelterpetstoday Wow! The preview scenes were spectacular! And the daily countdown to the movie's airing increased anticipation! OK, finally the movie is airing, and we all ready to enjoy this super fantastic, magical story! Right?Uh-oh! Instead, it immediately begins its continuous and permanent downward plunge!1st Awful: casting the long ago "has been" Robert Wagner...and then his talentless real-life wife, Jill St. John...to play Santa and Mrs. Santa. Additionally, the "has been" Santa was wearing totally black(??)...to cover his skinny body...in the Santa suit as well......and obviously he couldn't even fake a decent, believable "Santa voice" if he tried...so he didn't try. 2nd Awful: Bailee was too old / mature and too tall to play a believable elf with a sweet child-like nature. And she towered over the boy, which gave a clumsy, detracting appearance.3rd Awful: the Plot. I will only say it's was too far-fetched for a young boy to be SO concerned and SO depressed over the town's Christmas tree issue.4th Awful: the enticing preview scenes were unfortunately the majority of "Northpole" scenes..as well as magical effects.There are so many more "Awfuls," so I will say the ONLY good part was: it ended! Apparently, the movie's makers did not consider the possibility that this pathetic movie would be a flop. They never considered being embarrassed either. So they unfortunately went ahead to make a sequel...which I don't believe for a moment will be any better.
tforbes-2 "Northpole" is not a bad Christmas special. It's not totally memorable, but it is definitely better than the 1994 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" and "Frosty Returns."The story seems a little scattered, but as it progresses, we end up with a major plot twist which throws things for a loop. Fortunately, of course, things get straightened out.The music is decent, and the location shoots in both Quebec, Canada and Portland, Maine are good. The cast is excellent--but with one exception. I don't consider Robert Wagner's casting as Santa Claus as the best. His voice alone detracts; it's like having Jonathan Hart with long white hair and a white beard. Never mind his negative press over what happened with his late wife, Natalie Wood; he does not seem to project warmth for the role. He might have been better off playing the role of the mayor or the developer.And as for Jill St. John, it is her first acting role in 12 years, and she was there because of her husband. She pulls off her role much better than Mr. Wagner, since I could hear the age in her voice.As said earlier, the rest of the cast is great and they carry the special. Very typical of so much of the Hallmark specials out there, and definitely worth a watch.
boblipton Well, this has never happened before. NORTHPOLE's elaborate magical thesis involves happiness as a magical fuel, the Northern Lights, a huge company town called Northpole which looks like a shopping mall with Christmas decorations, eleven-year-old Max Charles, described as a "little boy" by his teacher, and his reporter mother Tiffani Thiesson investigating the big story of why their town's tree-lighting ceremony has been cancelled for the year. Plus she worries Max is delusional.I don't blame her. The story is a mess and it's only the fine, professional acting, Pierre Jodoin's cheery, brightly-lit camera-work, and Annie Ilkow's brisk editing that keep things moving along. James Gelfand's score is fine; I've been annoyed by the tweedly, manipulative score that a lot of these Hallmark movies sport. Mr. Gelfand's score supports the show, which it is supposed to do. I would never have noticed it if I hadn't been listening for it. Robert Wagner and Jill St. John show up in small roles as Mr. & Mrs. Claus for us old folks who like old stars. Candice Glover shows up to sing the last two bars of "Angels We Have Heard on High" and and "Silent Night".I'm sure this movie will please many of the people who watch the Hallmark Christmas movie festival. I think it tries for a whimsical tone, but fails because it is too elaborate.
Tommy Daly I have seen almost every big Christmas movie and the marginally noteworthy ones, Northpole is dead center between the two. In the opening scene on my 60" HDTV, I'd have bet money this was actually a big budget Hollywood blockbuster. The view of "Northpole" was as colorful and bright as any Christmas movie I've ever seen, and that's high praise for a Hallmark Channel production. Mind you, I am not a fan of most Hallmark Christmas movies. They almost always feature Hollywood has-been's, one-hit-wonders who's 15 minutes passed long ago or "never-was's". They're abysmally formulaic, unimaginative and they always look like they had a budget of $12. Here is the entire script of 90% of all Hallmark Christmas movies; There is a jaded woman who's lost her faith in love, a single mom who meets an unassuming man with a heart of gold (like this guy would be single). He rekindles her faith by restoring something in the town, some building or Christmas tradition, or he finds a way to reach the woman's son who has emotional baggage, a disease or he's in a wheelchair...how'd I do? Northpole doesn't break any new ground, and the storyline fits my stereotype more than not. It stars Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell) and Bailee Madison (Once Upon a Time)who is just charming in everything she does, and a host of actors you've never seen before. This movie won't become an annual classic, but you won't likely change the channel either. Take it for what it's worth, a better-than-average made for TV holiday flick and Merry Christmas.