Director: Michael Dowse
Writer: Kevin Jakubowski (Screenplay)
Starring: Winslow Fegley, Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn, June Diane Raphael, Bellaluna Resnick, Sophie Reid-Gantzert, Che Tafari, Santino Barnard
Plot: In 1980s Chicago, a 10-year-old sets out on a quest to get the Christmas gift of his generation: the latest and greatest video-game system.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: 8-Bit Christmas starts as an adult Jake Doyle (Harris) is taking his own daughter Annie (Reid-Gantzert) home for a Christmas with his parents, while she is desperate to get her own phone. Jake decies to tell his daughter about the Christmas when he wanted a Ninetdo, back in the 1980s.
Jake (Fegley) has his own plan to trick his parents John (Zahn) and Kathy (Raphael) into getting him a Nintendo, without much success, leading him to need to find another way. Jake joins the rest of the boys in the neighbourhood in competition to win one, only causing a bigger problem between the friends in the neighbourhood.
Thoughts on 8-Bit Christmas
Thoughts – 8-Bit Christmas is a family Christmas comedy where a father is telling his daughter a story about how he had to earn a present he wanted for Christmas, because the bigger the price, the harder it is for a parent to afford. This will see the friends coming together to work together to get one, after competing against each other, showing the importance of friendship, over having a material good. The kids have great chemistry through the film, getting the laughs along the way, while Steve Zahn and June Diane Raphael fill the parent roles as most kids see, different to the rest. 8-Bit Christmas does have the heart and soul of what it means for Christmas bringing the feels by the end of the film, making you understand what it really means and gifts are just a bonus.
Final Thoughts – 8-Bit Christmas has all the heart and soul of a Christmas movie.