fiction.wikisort.org - Movie

Christmas Is Here Again is a 2007 American animated Christmas musical-comedy film distributed by Screen Media Films, also known as Who Stole Santa's Sack? [2] The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studio,[3] it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia. Narrated by Jay Leno, the film features the voices of Edward Asner, Kathy Bates, Madison Davenport, Colin Ford, Brad Garrett, Andy Griffith, Shirley Jones, Norm Macdonald, and Daniel Roebuck, and marked Asner's fourth role in a Christmas-themed film after the 1977 film The Gathering, 1999 film Olive, the Other Reindeer and 2003 film Elf, though unlike the latter two films, he does not play Santa.

Christmas Is Here Again
DVD Cover
Directed by	Robert Zappia
Written by	Robert Zappia Marco Zappia
Produced by	Robert Zappia Jim Praytor
Starring	Edward Asner Kathy Bates Madison Davenport Colin Ford Brad Garrett Shirley Jones Norm Macdonald Daniel Roebuck Andy Griffith
Narrated by	Jay Leno
Edited by	Michael D'Ambrosio
Music by	John Van Tongeren
Production companies	Easy to Dream Productions Renegade Animation
Distributed by	Screen Media Films
Release date	October 20, 2007 (2007-10-20) (Heartland Film Festival)[1]
Running time	74 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Synopsis

Sophiana, an orphan girl who carries a cane, sets out to find Santa's toy sack (which is a magical source of toys since it was made from the baby Jesus' swaddling clothes), which was stolen thirty years previously by Krad ("dark" spelled backwards) in revenge after Santa stopped handing out Krad's coal to naughty children. She is helped in her quest by Paul Rocco, one of Santa's elves, Dart, a reindeer calf, Buster the fox, and his friend, Charlee the polar bear.

Cast

• Madison Davenport as Sophiana, a girl from an orphanage who's been bullied by Miss Dowdy and the other children
• Daniel Roebuck as Paul Rocco/Jacque
• Colin Ford as Dart
• Norm Macdonald as Buster
• Brad Garrett as Charlee
• Ed Asner as Krad
• Michael Norris as the Selves
• Kathy Bates as Miss Dowdy, the woman who is the owner of the orphanage, she is seen more like a "antagonist" to Sophiana.
• Andy Griffith as Santa Claus
• Shirley Jones as Victoria Claus
• Jay Leno as the Narrator

Production

Renegade Animation, an animation company located in Glendale, California and known for the TV series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Mr. Men Show, teamed up with Easy to Dream Entertainment to create Christmas Is Here Again. A small crew spent nine months on the principal animation, which was completed in mid-2006.[3]

One of the songs in the film's soundtrack (as well as the film's working title) was "Who Stole Santa's Sack?"

Awards and release

Christmas Is Here Again premiered on October 20, 2007, as an official selection at the Heartland Film Festival.[1][4] The following year, it received an Annie Award nomination for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production (Madison Davenport as Sophiana).[5] Additionally, in 2009, Christmas is Here Again was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production. Colin Ford, the voice of Dart, was also nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2009 for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor.

The film was received its DVD debut in the U.S. on November 4, 2008. The disc contains a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast interviews and "Name the Reindeer", as extras.[6]

Originally, the reindeer on the DVD cover had a red nose akin to Rudolph's.[7] On the final version of the cover, it is black.

Reception

Richard Propes of The Independent Critic website gave it an A and 3.5 stars, calling it "an ideal choice for families, children and for Scrooges like myself who, somewhere deep inside, still want to believe".[4] However Common Sense Media gave the film a 2 out of 5 saying "Small children might like this holiday musical, but they may also lose patience at the 73-minute length".[8]

Stage version

The Pacific Conservatory Theatre presented the premiere of a stage adaptation of Christmas Is Here Again by Brad Carroll and Jeremy Mann in November and December 2014.[9]

See also

• List of animated feature-length films

References

External links

• Official website
• Christmas Is Here Again at IMDb
• Christmas Is Here Again at AllMovie
• Christmas Is Here Again at The Big Cartoon DataBase

---