Yesterday, I really enjoyed the imagination and invention of Santa's Apprentice. In 2013 sequel The Magic Snowflake, Nicholas is back, agreeing to do Santa’s work for one year to see how it goes. However, the stress of the job starts to threaten his sense of joy and, by extension, Christmas itself as we know it. So, it’s more of the same, with cute hijinks and stunning animation, but with some lofty themes about mental health.
This time around Santa, alarmingly, seems to be slipping into dementia so, with a successful apprentice under his wing, decides it really is time to retire and go off on a cruise. Left in charge, Nick grapples with the pressures of the job and acts like an ogre, cracking up and shouting at everyone. It’s a story about growing up, accepting responsibility and doing your best to cope with it, without being a dick.
It's not a total drag though, but rather another fun adventure full of cool ideas and captivating visuals. This one further explores the ‘Council of Former Santas’ that was introduced in part one, where previous eclectic Clauses of times gone by can be magically summoned when the current toymaker needs assistance. So we get a kung-fu Santa, a Scottish Santa, even a humorous ‘Victorian’ Santa who just wants to give all the kids bricks and have them use their imagination.
Elsewhere, Nick contracts ‘Grown-up-itis,’ causing him to prematurely age, with his voice suddenly getting deeper, magic whiskers sprouting from his face and developing a predisposition for grumpiness. It's all a thinly veiled metaphor for puberty, but it’s a good laugh.
Nicholas sets off on a quest to put things right, with the help of a mystical advent calendar that appears to Santas in their time of need. Behind each numbered door is a clue to help him solve this crisis.
Again, it’s very inventive but a little dark, with Nicholas being given Scrooge-like visions of a future where his grumpy grown-up self runs Christmas like a tyrannical, Trump-like tycoon. But his adventure is mostly light-hearted, harkening back to a pre-internet age, referencing a time before distractions like phones and video games, with “more time to play.”
There are lots of memorable images, such as spooky eskimo spirits, bear-shaped mountains and a small boy with a full beard. Like the first one, this is a delight and great for children. They’ve certainly brightened up my dreary Covid-blighted February.
For some reason I have a really torrid sleep after this and wake up weary and crabby, as though I too have contracted the dreaded ‘Grown-up-itis.’ I know only one cure – more child-friendly yuletide movie mirth!
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