Changing the pace a little with the Christmas marathon, its time to jump into some shorter children movie features. Its a perfect pairing to do double features with so I’ve chosen Super Monsters and the Wish Star and A StoryBots Christmas. I’ve never actually seen any of the actual Netflix series so I’m unfamiliar with the characters here but I still decided to give it a chance. These are both individual Christmas specials.
Let’s check it out!
Super Monsters and the Wish Star (2018)
Director: Jacob Joice
Voice Cast: Elyse Maloway, Vincent Tong, Erin Mathews, Andrea Libman, Alessandro Juliani, Nicole Anthony, Diana Kaarina, Ian James Corlett, Britt McKillip, Kathleen Barr, Gigi Saul Guerrero
Christmas wishes come true for Lobo, whose favorite cousin arrives for a surprise visit, and for Glorb, who wishes he could be everywhere at once. – IMDB
Super Monsters at a first glance is a pretty cute series. Simply from the character designs itself, its very colorful and covers a cutesy version of different classic monsters from Count Dracula or werewolves to Frankenstein just for an example of a few. Its a little darker in the background of the characters they choose for the kids but somehow with the cute designs, it works. Plus, it adds this magical element to it. I’ve never been a huge fan of recent kid series mostly it is in how they talk but I think it has to do with the fact that I’m in my 30s now and while a lot of shows I watched when I was a kid still appeal to me like Arthur and Magic School Bus and such, a lot of the enjoyment is the nostalgia which I obviously don’t have for these new series.
Super Monsters and the Wish Star does work as a Christmas special. There are a lot of Christmas elements from the decorating to different Christmas traditions between the characters and sharing a little message about being decisive and making choices but also being helpful to others. Its also very musical which is a winning point for me. I thought the songs themselves were quite catchy. It doesn’t take a lot for me to enjoy something like this especially in a less than 30 minute dose. Plus, there is this transformation element of them changing to monster form at night and the transformation screen reminded me so much of Digimon, which is a show that I desperately want to rewatch. I’m not sure I’d go and sit through the Netflix series but this Christmas special was enjoyable that I did end up watching it once and putting in the background a second time afterwards as I was doing something else.
A StoryBots Christmas (2017)
Director: Jeff Gill & Evan Spiridellis
Voice Cast: Judy Greer, Erin Fitzgerald, Fred Tatsciore, Jeff Gill, Gregg Spiridellis, Evan Spiridellis, Edward Asner, Jim Meskimen
When Bo mistakenly thinks that her friends don’t like her gifts, she heads to the North Pole to ask Santa for help making better presents. She learns along the way that Christmas is about far more than just the toys. – IMDB
StoryBots is a mix of real characters like Santa Claus (Edward Asner)and New York City and then there’s this sort of puppet animation when we see the elf and then the rest of show is pretty much animation. It is very reminiscent of child shows and the idea behind it is pretty good. The StoryBots design is fairly colorful and appeal to watch however, there is this odd way that they talk and humor that I’m not sure I’m completely appealed to. However, the message behind this one is pretty good. Its a lot about the meaning behind gifts on Christmas and the spirit of giving and what makes the best present. There is some silly parts like polar bears struggling over opening a soda bottle. It has a nice message about friends and being with the ones you love during Christmas.
Its an okay Christmas special and its pretty short running at around 25 minutes or so. Its a quick and fun time and there are lots of Christmas elements here especially as they go to New York City which is very much decorated. There is this fun humor behind it in some moments especially in the city that works in bits. It has its moments for sure. I don’t really have much to say about this one. Its pretty enjoyable and for a quick Christmas special to occupy the kids, it could be fun enough. Especially with the ending Christmas song that wraps the story which is a fun little bit that really warmed my heart and had me tapping my feet.
Tranquil Dreams 