Enchanting Christmas

2024

Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance

6
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 456 456

Plot summary

A father's ice sculpture of a princess magically comes to life, causing unexpected disruptions in the lives of those she meets.

Director

Brian Brough Photo
Brian Brough

Top cast

Ava Jarque Photo
Ava Jarque as Annie Jacobs
Emily Sweet Photo
Emily Sweet as Jade Frost
Bus Riley Photo
Bus Riley as Janitor / Santa
Alireza Mirmontazeri Photo
Alireza Mirmontazeri as Restaurant Patron
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
843.46 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 4
1.69 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by adamjohns-42575 6 / 10

Was Ice Sculpting his only income?

Enchanting Christmas (2024) -My first impression of this film was that leading man Brando White was a bit too "Hollywood" to be the suggested rugged, outdoorsy, handy with a chainsaw, wilderness type Ben. I mean I didn't mind too much because a handsome lead has always made it easier for me to enjoy these films. Who wants to see us ugly people get it on right? But it did seem that he had been chosen just for his looks, because although he wasn't the worst I've seen, his acting was unfortunately not the best either. He was also a bit like an athlete turned actor or some such thing, like he was trying to break away from the NFL or being a Calvin Klein model. And he needs to leave his eyebrows alone.As the story developed I felt that it had hints of Raymond Briggs' 'The Snowman' (1982) and 'Snowmance' (2017) as well as 'Disney's Enchanted' (2007) of course. This particular take on the ideas saw a wish from Ben's Daughter Annie come true and an ice sculpture of a winter princess come to life. The usual complications arose and the "Princess" spent the next several days getting to know Ben and hiding her origins from him whilst all 3 had fun times participating in Christmas celebrations around town.So nothing really that different from the others, although I do have to say that I prefer the magical storylines because they spice up the Boy meets Girl trope and add that Christmas sparkle and joy. It also adds a different idea of what could go wrong between the two leads as it obviously would and always does in these films. What might they fall out about or keep them apart?Surprisingly Ava Jacobs in the role of Annie was not the awful, sickly saccharin that most of these films seem to find in their younger actors. She was quite endearing and her belief in magic and romance was not over the top. I probably stuck with it for her the most because I wanted her to have her Christmas Wish come true.When Emily Sweet did arrive as her character of Jade Frost I found her to be in contrast to Brando because she wasn't the traditionally gorgeous that he was and her image just didn't say Princess to me. She was a bit like Anna Faris and I kept expecting her to goof around like Anna's character in 'Scary Movie' (2000) because she just had that quirkiness to her. She wasn't that good as an actor either, better at some times than others I supposed. She also seemed like she was struggling to see without glasses.The supporting artists - Anna's Teacher, the Santas, Linda, etc did not put their best feet forward with their acting either.The "Bad Guy" Martin's (John Donovan Wilson) grudge seemed a tad overblown too. The writers/producers could have easily made it something more believable just by having him be inappropriate towards Jade or something similar. His incident in the restaurant was just stupid instead.And honestly, as good as the ice sculpture that Ben created for the big town festival was, I thought that it needed to be something bigger and better for the purpose or perhaps just not hyped so much. It could have been Martin's attempt to impress his Father at a works party instead of the town event.Also Ben's epiphany moment was a tad twee and forced without actually being that believable.In a way though it was charming and as a generic "Made For TV" Christmas film it did its job but there was just too much that needed polishing. Santa needed to be more conventional. Ben needed to be rougher, maybe even with a belly and a scruffy beard that he could trim to look more handsome later and Jade needed to be far more Royal and I know it sounds bad but partied a bit Barbie like. It seems like I'm being really biased based on their looks but it was off putting that they'd got it so wrong because these films have that formula and unless there's a specific reason to divert from it there has to be an explanation. Tell me that Ben had moved from L. A. after appearing in a bad series of 'The Bachelor' (2002-) and wanted to escape the typical girls and I'll buy it. Have Annie wish for someone 'Pretty But Not Too Pretty' because she doesn't want Jade to be whisked away by another man and I'll buy that too. Or get the casting, hair and makeup right.In general the story should have been sweet and with a few tweaks it could have been a very lovely piece, but it was clear that they'd skimped a bit on the budget.It wasn't so bad that I turned it off without finishing it though.5.82/10.
Reviewed by jcorn-84474 8 / 10

Cute Christmas Show

We really enjoyed this show. The acting was very natural. I liked how Jade, (the princess) even though just come to life was bright and innocent with great interactions. It was nicer that having her look inept and not very bright. I also liked the addition of Santa helping out.The interactions between Ben and his daughter Annie was very life-like and natural. It made it seem like he was a real father who cared about his daughter.I also liked that there wasn't all of the angst and drama that is usual in the standard Christmas romance shows. All in all an enjoyable show to spend time watching.Great job Silver Peak Productions!
Reviewed by Boristhemoggy 5 / 10

I wished for this to be great, but sadly...

Ben (Brando White) lives alone with his daughter Annie (Ava Jarque) since the death of his wife. They have a strong bond and are happy but Annie wishes her dad could find a love, and Ben wishes he could make more money from his business making ice sculptures. Close to christmas, one of his ice sculptures, a princess (Emily Sweet), magically comes to life, causing unexpected disruptions in the lives of those she meets.I sooooo wanted this story to be great as I love all things christmas and magic. Add in a princess and I am ecstatic. Sadly, the acting was wooden, and for most of the film the 'princess' had very little to say. Her communication was weird, childish grins and forlorn looks and direct questions to her were met with a downward glance and an odd grin. The script and direction were appalling, and add to that the lack of very basic skills of the actress, and you have a recipe for disaster. Ava Jarque and 'Santa' (William 'Bus' Riley) carry the entire film, which is a crying shame as the premise of the story is great. The sets were nice and it did have a bit of a feel of christmas, but sadly the uninspiring script and flat acting dropped the whole film a peg or two, but also there was zero chemistry between White and Sweet so I didn't feel at any time any romance. It is a great story to imagine though, so I'm grateful for that as I can make a better story in my head.I gave it a 5 and that was mostly for Jarque and Riley as they did a great job.
Read more IMDb reviews

3 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment