An excellent Disney Christmas fantasy.
It has often been said that Disney films are just simple escapism that simply sugarcoats everything. While this may be true of the studio's worst films, many of their films do not fall into this category. One Magic Christmas is a perfect example. This movie may have some great moments of Christmas fantasy, but it also hardly overlooks the harsh realities of life. The darker moments of this film, never talk down to anyone, as they deal with such subjects as how hard Christmas can be when you are poor, living with a job you hate, Christmas becoming a chore (even though it is meant to be a joyous time) and even the death of a family member. These scenes hit you emotionally because they are so real. Yet this movie is not at all lacking in the department of Disney and Christmas magic. This is a movie after all that features Santa Claus (Jan Rubes) and a Christmas angel (Harry Dean Stanton). The way these actors play the characters are not the way most people would picture them being played. Both are played in a more subtle and subdued manner than you might excepts. Yet for a film like this that works perfectly. It makes this magically moments and the darker moments feel like they are from the same movie. Yet at the same time, these magically moments are not any less magical. You leave this movie believing in Christmas magic, because of how much these scenes work.
On the downside the special effects in this movie are very dated. They actually feel more dated than some of the special effects in Disney movies 2 decades earlier. There are also some really forced lines of dialogue and some awkward deliveries.
This is one of only five feature films directed by Phillip Borsos and his only one for Disney. This is also one of the only two of his movies he was a writer on (the other being Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)). The other writers were Thomas Meehan (Spaceballs (1985)) and Barry Healy. This is one of the only two feature films written by Barry Healey, the other being Hollywood North (2003). Healey directed one feature film, Big Deal (1985). He also was a co-producer for the movie The Grey Fox (1982) directed by Phillip Borsos.
This is an excellent Christmas time treat for any fans of Disney movies.
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