“If it’s important you’ll find a way, if not you’ll find an excuse.”
That’s just one mantra families will know by heart after watching Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer. The animal filled animated film, directed by Jennifer Westcott (Locked in a Garage Band), is a sophisticated children’s movie written by Westcott and Mark Van de Ven (Mental Masters) that addresses matters of journalism, the importance of not giving up, and global warming as an “economic catastrophe from which the world will never recover,” all within the first 20 minutes.
The plot maintains its sophistication, and comedy, as it thickens. It begins on a small farm former baseball player Walter Whittick (Bob Tinker) inherited from his father. Amongst the farm animals are best friends Hazel (Samantha Bee), a supportive, confident, and extremely hungry goat, and Elliot (Josh Hutcherson), a miniature horse with hopes of being Santa’s first non-reindeer, reindeer who will pull the sled on Christmas.
After hearing about Blitzen’s retirement and Walter’s plan to sell the farm animals to a suspicious woman with a secret agenda, Elliot becomes more determined to win a competition that will decide on who will become Santa’s new reindeer. However, due to his size and the fact that he isn’t a reindeer, all the odds are against Elliot who is made the underdog by the other animals who are all rooting for the superstar reindeer, DJ (Christopher Jacot).
Short and sweet, the film takes audiences on a journey that acknowledges Christmas traditions and alters them based on real-life events and concepts including millennial phases and the massive technology takeover that’s responsible for replacing 90 percent of jobs according to Forbes. The witty dialogue, well thought out notions, and accent diversity are just some elements that make this film perfect for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Be sure to watch Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer this holiday season, and use the hashtag #TheLittlestReindeer and the Snapchat filter to support the film and spread the word.
The film will be playing in select theaters beginning November 30, 2018 and in special one day only screenings nationwide on December 1.
