I had great expectations for the movie Noelle on the brand new Disney+ portal. It was one of the movies that I looked forward to stream. But, was Noelle worth the waiting and my precious time? Can Anna Kendrick save this movie from total despair?
In my mind, I often compare Disney+ with HBO, instead of comparing it with Netflix. Why is that? Because Netflix is experts at creating lots of junk content, and then from time to time, some great series and movies. HBO, however, is often a symbol of quality, meaning that all the HBO productions can be recognized by a high budget and great quality. So, in my mind, when Disney gets something done, also for their new streaming portal, it should be all about quality. That is why I looked forward to Noelle with Anna Kendrick on Disney+.
What is Noelle all about?
The Kringle family is all about Christmas. The father Kringle is the Santa who delivers the presents, and the rest of the family is there to support and help him in his mission. But, once Santa dies, it is time for his son, Nick Kringle (played by Bill Hader) to continue the mission. The problem is, though, that Nick isn’t really up for the task. And so he needs to take a break from it all, an idea that comes to him based on a suggestion from his sister Noelle, played by Anna Kendrick. As the little village discovers that Santa is gone, everyone goes crazy, and Noelle gets the blame for much of it.
What will happen with Christmas with Santa gone? Who will save Christmas? Is Noelle up for the task?
Once again, I really looked forward to this movie, but I have got to be honest – after 40 minutes I was totally fed up with it. I hoped that it would be way better than the Netflix Christmas movies (which are all bad), but it wasn’t. I had a better time watching Holiday in the Wild on Netflix, and I guess I will have a better time watching The Knight before Christmas, and the other newcomers in the Christmas category on Netflix.
Anna Kendrick is an actor I like. I enjoyed her role in A Simple Favor (even though the movie itself was quite disappointing), and I really enjoyed her in Pitch Perfect and lots of other movies. But, she is not at all enough to make Noelle a movie worth watching. This is simply a boring story, and it doesn’t manage to catch the attention of viewers at all.
Isn’t Disney+ all about quality after all?
I am sad to say this, but I wasn’t just disappointed by the movie as I watched Noelle on Disney+. This was also a disappointment in the streaming portal itself. I hoped this would be all about quality and great content (like The Mandalorian), but this is rather a movie they created simply because they were in need of content for their new platform. And since Disney+ was released just before Christmas, what better to add than a Christmas movie. Unfortunately, this was a poor Christmas movie, and that can also be seen based on the critics’ people have written elsewhere on the Internet.
At Rotten Tomatoes, Noelle has a terrible 50% critics score. The general audience is nicer and currently gives it a 66% score, but still, these are very low ratings based on the scores other shows and movies are given on the same platform. If I had to rate it, I guess I would end up around 40%.
Is the IMDb audience nicer to Noelle than the people at Rotten Tomatoes? Maybe they are, but not much. The movie currently has a 6,3/10 score at IMDb, so the audience is actually being even more harsh to the movie on IMDb, than the audience at Rotten Tomatoes.
Is Noelle a movie to watch before Christmas?
The jokes are poor, and the movie itself is easy to forget. But, if you want a family-friendly movie that might entertain your kids and bring some Christmas atmosphere into the home, this might work out. I didn’t enjoy it, but still, as a movie to watch about Christmas, you will for sure find much worse (just look for the Christmas movies available at Amazon Prime).
In other words, Noelle could have been much worse. However, it should have been much better.
Where to watch Noelle online?
This is a Disney+ movie, so the place to stream it is on the brand new Disney+ platform. If you want to know more about the platform, how to sign up and which VPN to use for Disney+, check the following article.
How did you like Noelle?
Have you seen the movie? Were you as bored as I was? I would love to hear your thoughts!
