David Farnor | On 23, Dec 2023

Director: Alberto Belli
Cast: Winslow Fegley, Camila Rodriguez, Derek Theler, Deric McCabe, Clara Stack, Anthony Joo, Ayden Elijah, Imogen Cohen, Madilyn Kellam, Danny Glover
Certificate: 6+

The Heist Before Christmas might be a title that’s already claimed by Sky Max, but it’d be a good fit for this playful family adventure that takes Ocean’s Eleven and wraps it up in tinsel.

Written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, the film introduces us to troublemaker Andy (Winslow Fegley) and his best friend, Dulce (Camila Rodriguez), as they give out confiscated toys back to their young owners – a nice Robin Hood moment, until you realise they’re charging the other kids money. Andy’s sister, Laurel (Madilyn Kellam), is a straight-laced good egg who doesn’t understand her brother’s naughty ways – but when Andy’s tech-savvy friend, Lewis (Anthony Joo), hacks into Santa’s actual naughty list and reveals that Andy’s definitely on there, Andy realises he needs to do something drastic. Not change his ways, but head to the North Pole, break in and steal the presents he thinks he deserves.

Lewis’ list throws up a ragtag bunch of comrades to recruit, from the animal-whispering Rose (Clara Stack) and the master-of-costumes Jon (Deric McCabe) to gymnast extraordinaire Bethany (Liyou Abere), who’s a snooty rival of Laurel, daredevil Ha-Yoon (Imogen Cohen) and Albert (Ayden Elijah), who’s cute face can melt the hardest of harts.

It’s a great balance of skills and personalities and the cast are uniformly endearing as they relish the chance to become heroes in their own story. What begins as a celebration of not doing the right thing, of course, gradually morphs into a tale of teamwork, being a good role model and caring about each other – the message is less about being naughty and more about the fact that every day is a fresh chance to determine what kind of person you’ll be.

Director Alberto Belli keeps things light and fast-paced, from an icy chasm that needs the skills of certain big sister to someone getting caught in a larger-than-life bauble. The result is a fun twist on the usual festive fare, and finds its strength in an ensemble that could well warrant further missions and adventures as a motley crew of kids behaving badly – perhaps The Naughty Nine is the best title after all.

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