A young reindeer, hoping to join Santa’s flying forces, embarks on an unexpected adventure in the playful children’s animation The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh

The second Christmas film of the 2024 season that involves saving Christmas. To be fair this is a very different beast from Red One. In this film, we find out that the reindeer who pull Santa’s sleigh are part of an elite group called the Flying Force. This is a group that the protagonist, Nico, has always wanted to be a part of, and in this film, he finally gets his chance. 

As he prepares to join the crew a young female reindeer, Stellar, rocks up and demands a chance to compete for a spot on the team. After the first two events, they have the night off. Nico (voiced by Matthew Whelan) shows Stellar Santa’s sleigh as she’s never seen it before. In the morning the sleight has been taken and Stellar is gone, and that’s where the story really kicks in. 

This is a really nice little film aimed squarely at a young audience. The animation is, at times, really quite beautiful while also having moments of simplicity that almost take away from the overall quality. The characterisations are okay, but not spectacularly fleshed out. There is family drama between Nico and his dad, who is one of the Flying Force, and other family moments with Nico’s Mum and siblings. 

Overall, I had fun watching this but it is very much a film aimed at children. It is a film that will, I think, be enjoyed a lot by its intended audience and those parents who go along with them. The animation is mostly decent, and the story is simple enough to follow without overtly convoluted twists.  It’s getting a 3.5/5 from me.

The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh will be in UK Cinemas from 22nd November and available on Digital Download from 24th February 2025 courtesy of Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

A Fun Christmas Movie for the Kids

Movie title: The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh (2024)

Movie description: Join Niko on a brand new adventure across the frozen arctic, teaming up with friends old and new, as he races to find Santa's missing sleigh in time for Christmas!

Date published: November 17, 2024

Country: UK

Duration: 1h 26m

Director(s): Kari Juusonen, Jørgen Lerdam

Actor(s): Matthew Whelan, Emma Jenkins, Dermot Magennis

Genre: Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy

3.5

Summary

The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh (2024) is a nice little film aimed squarely at a young audience.

Simon Henderson

Simon Henderson began his journey with his podcast, Inspire Indie Radio, set up to promote independent, and unsigned, artists and help get their music out to other audiences. This is a big passion of his and something he is very proud to do.

One of his other big passions is movies and he followed up the podcast with movie reviews “from the mind of an average guy” on Tumblr. After a while he wanted to bring everything together under one name and so he chose Average Guy Entertainments because, as he is oft quoted as saying, “I’m just an Average Guy.”