Barbara Robinson’s classic book, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” lands on screen. And it’s pretty great. “Max and the Midknights” doesn’t charge into battle in rusted armor, but it might appreciate a little polish. “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is a fitting sequel series to Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
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Read on to get Plugged In on what’s beyond the movie titles and trailers for faith-filled and family-first reviews from Focus on the Family’s Plugged In.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – In Theaters
“The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.”
So begins Barbara Robinson’s short novella “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” And it’s a sentence that never fails to make me smile. I’ve heard, and read, and said these words countless times over the years: My mom read the book to me when I was a kid. I read it aloud almost every Christmas to my own children. I still laugh out loud at most of it. I still get a little misty at the end.
And while there’s no replacing the book come Christmas, this movie does a bang-up job of bringing it to the screen.
As you might’ve gathered by now — or hey, even from just reading the movie title — this story is pinned to the Christmas story. And if you dig underneath all the movie’s humor, it’s intended to remind us just how beautiful, powerful and messy that story is.
We tend to forget that mess, the story suggests. But as the Herdmans force Grace to tell them the Christmas story “from the beginning,” we see it through fresh eyes. We’re reminded that the manger was a feeding trough. That Mary and Joseph weren’t as clean-faced and holy as we imagine them, but rather dirty, confused and scared. We hear the Christmas story separated from Renaissance-era Nativity scenes and picture-perfect cards, and so find the story infused with more context and urgency.
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“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” also does something that Jesus did back in the day: It calls out the most pharisaical among us. It reminds us, uncomfortably perhaps, that the very people we tend to avoid are exactly the people we should embrace.
“Jesus would not have suffered Herdmans!” says Alice, Beth’s prim-and-proper friend who—before Imogene—had played Mary at every Christmas pageant. But, of course, we know Jesus would have suffered them. And by the time the credits roll, we get the feeling that Imogene Herdman came to understand Mary and Jesus far better than Alice did.
In the Christmases of our imagination, we picture the beautiful lights, the beautiful trees, the pure, white, freshly-fallen snow.
But if you live anywhere that it snows, you know what it turns into when it’s mixed with dirt and leftover leaves and tire tracks and grime. Snow gets grimy. Just like we do. God made us, like snow, to be pure. But in our fallen world, we never stay that way. We get dirty and slushy and gross.
And yet God loves us anyway. He loves us in the hope that we — like Imogene — will discover, all in a rush, that we love Him. That we will see Him through the muck and mud of our lives. That we will see the love, hope and beauty under the snow, the colors just waiting to sprout come spring.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” contains plenty of content that would make the Alices of the world raise an eyebrow. But it’s all done to point the story — and us — to something better, something true. It reminds us that hey, unto us, a Child is born.
And that makes all the difference.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Max and the Midknights – Streaming on Hulu / Nickelodeon
Those who were upset about the removal of “Big Nate” from Paramount+ might have a new show they can watch — provided they have access to Nickelodeon or Hulu.
“Max and the Midknights” is the latest animated release based on the work of Lincoln Pierce, the author best known for his Big Nate book series. This time, we focus on Max, a young girl living in medieval times who aspires to be a knight.
The character was designed to have a “gender neutral” look. And according to the author, this was an intentional choice to encourage his young male audience to root for a female protagonist and to focus more on her aspirations of being a knight rather than focusing on her gender. In that respect, parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the character isn’t meant to be any sort of political statement on gender fluidity. However, related to this point, it should be noted that the voice actress behind the character identifies as nonbinary.
Regarding the actual content in the show, so far, there’s not much that’ll raise concerns. The animated violence is more in line with cartoons: When monsters are stabbed, we don’t see any blood. And even though a man dies, he’s killed offscreen. As for other issues, magic exists in this world, and good and evil characters alike use it to fight for their own causes.
In other words, “Max and the Midknights” doesn’t charge into battle in rusted armor, but it might appreciate a little polish.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place – Streaming on Disney+
There are a lot of similarities between Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” (which aired from 2007 to 2012) and this sequel series.
Fans of the original will be delighted to see their favorite characters onscreen again, portrayed by the same actors, no less. And while the end-of-the-world aspect is new, the three-siblings-with-clashing-personalities story setup remains the same. Roman is a bit uptight. Billie is a bit of a rebel. And Milo is a bit of a goofball.
But that brings to mind another similarity: No matter how much trouble Justin, Alex and Max got into, they always had each other’s backs. The family’s love kept them together even at the height of the wizard competition (which, by its design, often tried to drive them apart). And we see that same love replicated in the Russos’ pseudo-adoption of Billie.
Mortal families watching this sequel don’t have to worry about language or graphic violence. However, as Paul Asay stated in his review of the original “Waverly Place,” “Alex has proven to be a less than ideal role model for her hordes of young Disneyfied fans. And the adults in her life are buffoonish and little less wise than you might wish for or even expect.” Those sentiments are reflected in Billie. And although Justin and Giada seem to be more level-headed at times, they certainly have their own doofus moments.
Finally, we’ve obviously still got the show’s magical components to deal with. We’re told wizards are born with their powers but that they can also have those powers removed. We’ll also see an influx of other magical creatures: traditional ones, such as werewolves and vampires, but also entirely new ones like the Medusa-esque “floogie.”
Parents shouldn’t necessarily minimize those concerns (you can read more about the issues with witchcraft and wizarding in Paul Asay’s blog, “Toil and Trouble: Witches Are In, and Why That’s a Problem”), even if they grew up watching the original series.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Reviews written by Paul Asay, Emily Tsaio and Kennedy Unthank.
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