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First Viewing Plot: It is time for Santa Claus to retire and leave the job to his successor. He selects an orphan named Nicholas, who is pure of heart but lacks the self-confidence to become the next Santa.

A French-Australian co-production, there's nothing necessarily special about the premise of Santa's Apprentice, which is about Santa finding an apprentice to take over his job, and the script hits pretty much all the expected story beats along the way. I mean, Santa's chosen apprentice doesn't have much self-confidence, there are training montages, the ending is unsurprising, and there's a villain of sorts to create some conflict in the third act. Nevertheless, it delivers ample charm as the narrative unfolds, and this isn't some cheap animated distraction. Indeed, though the animation isn't exactly lavish or expensive, there's genuine style and panache to the visuals, and I'm glad I managed to stream it in high definition as opposed to settling for the DVD. (Although I have now found out that there's a longer Australian version, which isn't available in HD at the time of writing.) It's funny at times and there's enough creativity on display when dealing with the Santa Claus mythology, which is pretty tired after so many films have explored it in the past. The movie is also agreeably short, with the credits starting before the 70-minute mark, making it an easygoing and agreeable distraction. An instant classic? Not exactly. But I'd watch it again, and kids could do a lot worse than this.

First Viewing Plot: Upon hearing that the magic of Christmas was ruined for Peter as a young boy, Drax and Mantis head to Earth to find him the perfect Christmas present: Kevin Bacon.

Over five-and-a-half years have elapsed since we last saw a Guardians of the Galaxy movie written and directed by James Gunn, and it has been one hell of a wait. The Guardians have appeared in other Marvel movies, some better than others, but having them back as the central focus of a production is as comforting as a warm Christmas hug. Especially given that the forthcoming Vol. 3 will be the last ride for many of the Guardians, and for James Gunn, I'm so glad that we got this bonus 40-minute Holiday Special. It's frequently funny, it's got a lot of heart, we get another selection of great songs (including original songs) that will be added to my Guardians playlist, and it's a genius move to bring Kevin Bacon into the MCU playing himself. Another bonus is getting a bit more of Michael Rooker as Yondu in animated segments. It's cheesy at times, sometimes shamelessly so, but the special still holds together really, really well, and includes a new reveal which makes this an important part of the Guardians film series. Plus, happily, the production values are top-notch; the special looks wholly cinematic, and not like a TV movie. This one will likely become part of my annual line-up.