David E. Talbert’s holiday fantasy has a few gears loose, but there’s magic in this machine
Like a gorgeously decorated tree with a few too many presents stuffed under it, “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” is excessive but never unwelcome. An ambitious original musical packed to the gills with visual delights, it’s the kind of Christmas movie that can charm adults into looking past its flaws while turning delighted children into lifelong fans. On the heels of his charming ensemble comedy “Almost Christmas,” writer-director David E. Talbert fearlessly marries whimsy and steampunk, sentimentality and science fiction, with big musical numbers composed by Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan and Michael Diskint, plus one from John Legend (who executive produced the film). That this big, bright Netflix extravaganza features a principally Black cast is not insignificant in the history of cinema, particularly in the history of large-scale family musicals and of Christmas movies. We open with a grandmother played by Phylicia Rashad, reading a Christmas story to her grandchildren from an extraordinary book, filled with cogs and gears that come to life with pop-up, three-dimensional figures. (This gorgeous CG animation will turn up throughout the film to illustrate the passage of the years.) Also Read: Netflix Picks Up Holiday Musical ‘Jingle Jangle’ From David E. Talbert Once upon a time, a brilliant inventor and toymaker named Jeronicus Jangle had a great discovery, bringing a tin toy — a matador named Don Juan Diego (voiced by Ricky Martin) — to walking, talking life. Jeronicus plans to mass-produce the toy, but the vain Don Juan, refusing to be anything but unique, instead talks Jeronicus’ impatient apprentice Gustafson into running away with him and stealing Jeronicus’ book of inventions.
