Netflix Picks: Jingle Jangle

After enjoying Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, I decided to watch another movie musical that has the holiday theme. This time, I watched Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

The movie is about the inventor Jeronicus Jangle, who is a famous inventor and toymaker who has come up with his latest invention which he believes will set him and his family up for life. Unfortunately, this invention was stolen by his apprentice Gustafson, who also takes with him Jangle’s book of ideas.  

Gustafson becomes a rich and successful toymaker after stealing all of Jangle’s ideas. Jangle, on the other hand, loses money and has not been successful at inventing since. After his wife died, he and his only child, a daughter, become estranged and he is left alone in his house/shop, trying to make ends meet as a pawnbroker. 

Things start to change for the better when his granddaughter comes over for the holidays and helps him to believe in himself and in the magic of his inventions again. Gustafson, who has used up all the ideas in the book that he stole, tries to steal from Jangle again, but this time, he is unsuccessful and ends up in jail. 

This would not be a holiday movie if things did not end up happily ever after. Jangle is reunited with his daughter and his invention helps him start over. And of course, this happens just in time for Christmas. 

I enjoyed this movie. There was a lot of magic and a lot of love, it is perfect for the holiday season. I loved the way the story was presented as a bedtime story by a grandmother to her grandkids. The book that she used to tell the story was such a creative way to present it, it was perfect for the plot of the story!

I think that this movie would be a good one to watch with kids because it encourages children to hope, create, believe, and dream. It is such a positive movie, and it has so many fun elements that I am sure the kids would love. All the events in this movie happen with the characters singing and dancing throughout the course of the movie, which makes it even more entertaining.

There are many talented actors in this movie such as Forest Whitaker, Phylicia Rashad, Keegan Michael-Key, Anika Noni Rose, and Ricky Martin (was surprised to find out that it was him during the credits!). But the standout would have to be Madalen Mills, who plays Journey, Jeronicus Jangle’s granddaughter. She just lights up the scene whenever she is in it. You just want to smile when you see her smile, and her singing voice is such a joy to listen to.

I was already expecting that the storyteller would be related to Jeronicus, but I did not expect her to be Journey herself. To be honest, I thought it would either be his daughter or someone farther down the line. I thought that was a nice way to close up the story, by showing that this time around, she was sharing the magic with her grandchildren in the same way that she did for her grandfather. 

The music for this movie was really good, it reminded me of the music from The Greatest Showman at some point because of the energy that was brought into it. I read that apart from being one of the producers, John Legend is also one of the songwriters for this movie, so I guess I should not be surprised by the quality of the songs.

If you are looking for a movie to watch with your children that they would enjoy, look no further than Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. I am sure the kids would love it.