Film 107 (Goal: 300) of 2024

I went into The Ultimate Christmas Present not expecting much - though I do have this odd soft spot for Disney Channel 90s content, just as it was such a pivotal time in my life. It was a random find as I was looking for more Christmas content, and while we are 3 months removed from Christmas, I'm trying to eat into my watchlist as much as possible.

That aside, for the first 45 minutes of the film, I was really enjoying it, taking into account that it was a Disney Channel piece of content, and my expectations were already near to nothing. The idea is kind of out there, Santa is in L.A., two kids run into him in a shack in the forest, where he throws out a weather making device. They find the device, take it home and use it to ensure they get a Snow day so as to start their Christmas holidays early. That alone is understandably a headscratcher. There's a heck of a lot of ideas that feel thrown together, but the cast is surprisingly good. Allie (played by Hailee Hirsh) is very good at having just enough angst to make her believable without being unlikable. John B. Lowe is one of the better Santa's that I can recall seeing, not that he does a lot of chuckling. I also really enjoyed the mother, Hallie Todd.

However, after those 45 minutes, this really begins to overstay it's welcome. The pacing slows right down, characters become caricatures - I'm looking predominately at Peter Scolari's Edwin Hadley. I say the majority of the issues lie with the writing, as he becomes a villain overnight. It's a big leap, and the film is all downhill from there, with some goofy and crazy climax in a chocolate factory.

I think kids would still enjoy this 24 years on. As I've said, there's a lot of things that work here for a cheaply made Disney Channel Christmas film. But I think adults will start to tap out after a while.