42 Fun Facts About The Christmas Chronicles

Who plays Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles?

Kurt Russell plays Santa as a leather-jacketed, rock-and-rolling charmer who insists he is not fat; he reprised the role in the sequel.

How do Kate and Teddy set out to catch Santa on Christmas Eve in The Christmas Chronicles?

A tripwire and a hidden camera are the plan, and Teddy only agrees to help in exchange for the video Kate shot of him earlier that day.

Which filmmaker produced The Christmas Chronicles and then directed its sequel himself?

Chris Columbus, who directed Home Alone, produced the first film through his company 1492 Pictures, then took the director's chair for the sequel when Clay Kaytis stepped aside.

The Christmas Chronicles premiered on Netflix on which 2018 holiday?

Thanksgiving Day, November 22, put it in front of families at the start of the holiday season, and Netflix said it was streamed 20 million times in its first week.

Who plays Teddy Pierce in The Christmas Chronicles?

Judah Lewis plays Teddy, who is pushed into the stakeout by his sister and ends the night at the reins of Santa's sleigh for the final deliveries.

In The Christmas Chronicles, which title do Santa's elves give Kate's family before agreeing to help her?

True believers: the elves agree once they learn Kate comes from a long line of them, then follow her back to free Teddy from the thieves holding him.

Which actress plays Kate Pierce in The Christmas Chronicles?

Darby Camp's Kate records the whole night on her dad's old camcorder, only for Santa to keep the tape, which he screens for Mrs. Claus in the closing scene.

Who plays Claire Pierce, the children's widowed mother, in The Christmas Chronicles?

Kimberly Williams-Paisley, the bride in Father of the Bride, plays Claire, a nurse whose call to the hospital on Christmas Eve is what leaves the kids home alone to stake out Santa.

In The Christmas Chronicles, what was the job of Doug Pierce, the children's late father?

Firefighter Doug Pierce died on duty, and this is the family's first Christmas without him: home videos of his holidays open the film, and his absence is why Teddy has soured on it all.

Which actor plays Doug Pierce in The Christmas Chronicles?

Oliver Hudson is seen in the family's old Christmas videos, and one of them starts the plot: Kate spots a mystery arm at the fireplace and decides it is Santa's.

Who makes a cameo as Mrs. Claus at the end of The Christmas Chronicles?

Goldie Hawn, the real-life partner of the film's Santa, appears in the closing scene as Mrs. Claus and returned with a full role in the sequel.

Which New Girl actor plays Officer Jameson in The Christmas Chronicles?

Lamorne Morris, New Girl's Winston, plays one of the two patrol officers whose car chase through the city ends with Santa under arrest.

Where does the Pierce family live in The Christmas Chronicles?

Lowell, Massachusetts is the Pierces' hometown, shown in years of home videos that open the film; the sleigh crash later strands Santa and the kids hundreds of miles away.

In The Christmas Chronicles, what does Kate catch Teddy doing on video?

Stealing a car with his friends is what Kate's camcorder catches, and she uses the footage to blackmail Teddy into helping her stake out Santa on Christmas Eve.

In which city does Santa's sleigh crash in The Christmas Chronicles?

Chicago is where the sleigh comes down after Santa, startled by the stowaways, loses control mid-teleport; the rest of the night unfolds across the city.

In The Christmas Chronicles, which three things does Santa need to find after the crash?

Reindeer, hat and presents all scatter across the city. Santa says he cannot work without the hat, yet at the end he hands it to Teddy, showing he never really needed it.

Which part of his legend does Santa call "fake news" in The Christmas Chronicles?

His ho ho ho is 'fake news', this Santa says, and he is just as touchy about his image, grumbling at the billboards and cola adverts that draw him fat.

Which Elvis song does Santa perform from his jail cell in The Christmas Chronicles?

Santa Claus Is Back in Town opened Elvis's 1957 Christmas album, and the film's star sings the lead himself, turning a holding cell of inmates into his backing band.

Which E Street Band member's group backs Santa's jail-cell song in The Christmas Chronicles?

Little Steven, the E Street Band guitarist, brings his Disciples of Soul to play the cell-block band, with the group's members appearing as fellow prisoners.

The elves' language in The Christmas Chronicles was built by the linguist behind which other screen language?

Dothraki's creator, David J. Peterson of Game of Thrones fame, built the elves a working language, Yulish, and by the end of the film Kate has picked it up too.

In The Christmas Chronicles, what does Santa warn will happen if the presents go undelivered?

Christmas spirit will decline, Santa warns, and the night bears him out: as it drains, the officers at the station notice more arrests than any Christmas Eve should bring.

In The Christmas Chronicles, where does Kate end up after climbing into Santa's bag of presents?

The North Pole is where the bag drops her, among Santa's elves, and she returns with them in time to rescue Teddy from the thieves who grabbed him and the bag.

What gift does Teddy find under the tree at the end of The Christmas Chronicles?

A magic ornament is Santa's answer to Teddy's wish to speak to his dad once more: when he hangs it on the tree his father appears in it, and each tells the other he is proud.

Reviewers compared Santa's elves in The Christmas Chronicles to the creatures of which film?

Gremlins came to critics' minds for good reason: the furry, squeaky elves look cuddly, then swarm the thieves holding Teddy with kicks, punches and even a chainsaw.

Where was The Christmas Chronicles filmed?

Toronto, Ontario doubled for both the Pierces' New England hometown and the big city where the sleigh comes down, so every snowy American street in the film is Canadian.

In The Christmas Chronicles 2, the star on top of the tree in Santa's Village holds the light of what?

The Star of Bethlehem's light powers the whole village, so when Belsnickel steals the star and it shatters in the struggle, everything goes dark.

Where is Kate unhappily spending Christmas at the start of The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Cancun, Mexico is where Claire has taken the kids for Christmas with her new boyfriend and his son; Kate, a cynical teen by now, wants snow and her old traditions, so she plots to run away.

Who plays Belsnickel, the villain of The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Julian Dennison, of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Deadpool 2, plays Belsnickel, who means to wreck Christmas and then take Santa's place himself.

Why is Belsnickel human, not an elf, in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

He was cursed for becoming unruly: adopted by the Clauses, he felt neglected as they grew busier and acted out until he turned human, and that grudge drives his whole scheme.

In The Christmas Chronicles 2, who is the boy who frees Kate from airport security in 1990?

Her late father, Doug, is one of the children in the holding room; he springs the lock with a pocket knife, and only afterwards does Kate realise who he was.

Which folklore creature does Belsnickel loose on the reindeer in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

The Yule cat, called Jola in the film, is borrowed from Icelandic legend; Belsnickel sets it on the reindeer pen, where it badly injures Dasher.

What does Belsnickel do to Santa's elves in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Drives them mad with a potion: the gentle helpers run riot until Jack, sent into the forest alone, brings back the root that cures them.

Which Fast & Furious actor plays Bob, Claire's new boyfriend, in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Tyrese Gibson, Roman Pearce in the Fast & Furious films, plays Bob, whom Kate resents at first; by the end of the adventure she has come round to him and his son Jack.

Belsnickel, the villain of The Christmas Chronicles 2, comes from the Christmas folklore of which country?

Germany's Rhineland is his home: the folk Belsnickel is a gruff visitor in furs with a switch for naughty children and treats for good ones, and emigrants carried him to Pennsylvania.

Which singer plays Grace, the airport worker Kate meets in 1990, in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Darlene Love, voice of the 1963 classic 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)', plays Grace, and her duet with Santa cheers the stranded travellers enough to get his sleigh flying again.

According to The Christmas Chronicles 2, in which country was Santa born?

Turkey, as the region is now known, because the film makes its Santa the Saint Nicholas of tradition, the bishop of Myra famed for giving to the poor, and sends him back there to seek the forest elves' help.

What happens to Belsnickel at the end of The Christmas Chronicles 2?

He becomes an elf again the moment he makes peace with Santa and Mrs. Claus, who had adopted him and raised him like a son.

In The Christmas Chronicles 2, which treat does Mrs. Claus bake to explode when thrown?

Gingerbread cookies are her grenades: she arms Jack with them for his dash through the village, and later lobs one between two racing sleighs to stop them colliding.

What must Kate buy at the airport to power Belsnickel's time-travel device in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

AAA batteries are all the device needs: once Kate finally gets a pack to Santa, the sleigh can jump back to the present and the chase for the star resumes.

How does Santa try to win over doubting strangers in The Christmas Chronicles?

He recalls their childhood wishes, naming the toys they once asked him for, and it still fails on the officer holding him, who is convinced only by a phone call from his ex-wife.

Which hybrid animals pull Belsnickel's sleigh in The Christmas Chronicles 2?

Jackalotes, jackal-coyote crosses that Belsnickel bred himself, pull his sleigh when he runs down Santa's reindeer team in mid-air and snatches the new star.

In The Christmas Chronicles 2, what is Belsnickel driving when he hurls Kate and Jack into a wormhole?

A golf cart, posing as the resort's airport shuttle: Kate is trying to sneak off and fly home, Jack stows away behind her, and Belsnickel is the driver.