‘Tis the season for another Christmas movie binge! Between Hallmark, Netflix and the classics, this December is already packed with tons of new holiday movies to cozy up to. And, for those who’ve gifted themselves Disney+, the streaming service released a new comedy of this kind, Noelle. Anna Kendrick, who stars as Santa Claus’ cheery daughter in the movie, jumped at the opportunity. In her words:
I love Christmas movies, and I think this script is really funny and fun, and there are lots of fun set pieces in it. And that made me want to do it, you know? I don’t usually dive all that deep into character in terms of the decision-making. It’s just like ‘this looks like a fun movie and I would want to see this’ so, I was into it.
Sounds like it was a no-brainer! Anna Kendrick is known for playing jolly characters such as Cinderella in Disney’s adaptation of Into the Woods and voicing Princess Poppy in Trolls, but Noelle allowed the actress to really dig into a world of her own. It’s sugary-sweet that it was one wrapped in Christmas lore, too! Kendrick’s Noelle lives in the North Pole, where she skates around town and goes to a hot cocoa cafe.
Noelle follows Noelle as her brother Nick (played by Bill Hader) struggles to take over the Santa title from their late father. He’s not really getting the hang of the new role, so Kendrick’s character gives him the advice to take a couple of days off. But, Nick decides to run with her offer and plans to getaway for good. So, Noelle and Elf Polly (Shirley MacLaine) take Santa’s sleigh to Arizona to find him.
Anna Kendrick gets to play around with the mythology that goes along with the Christmas holiday in her Noelle role as her character becomes a fish-out-of-water on her adventure to find her brother. The actress re-learned how to ice skate for the movie (with some hazard) and looks like she had some creative control about her character, per her words to Oh My Disney.
Noelle was one of the few movies to be released on Disney+ on the first day of the streaming service’s debut last month. The holiday release and a live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp, along with a ton of movies and television shows from Disney’s collection were ready to watch on day one. The streaming service already has another new movie on the way later this month, too! Togo: an adventure between a man and his dog in the Alaskan wilderness, starring Willem Dafoe.
Disney+ is also adding some more favorites to its streaming collection in December such as Thor: Ragnarok, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Glory Road. After you watch Noelle again, you can check out the full list of new December titles to enjoy this holiday season.
