A Fabled Holiday

I love stories about writing books or anything adjacent to books. The movie IS a book story, Talia is a writer writing a book, and Talia owns a book shop, so this is a triple yes for me! I love how innocent and imagination Talia is, how Anderson supports her, and the abundance of Christmas festivities in the magical village.

Summary: Talia's father introduces childhood friends Talia and Anderson to the story of Wunderbrook, a Magical Christmas Village where those that have lost their way in the world can find joy and peace. 30 years later, both Talia and Anderson end up staying at the Gingerbread Inn for Christmas where they participate in Wunder Week Christmas festivities and rediscover their joy and true self. The movie is told in chapters like a storybook with book graphics, text, and a narrator.

"Once these special visitors arrive in this place, they experience a Holiday like no other and are reminded of who they really are and the true joy and peace that is the meaning of Christmas." -A Wunderbrook Christmas Story book.

MeetCute: Talia and Anderson are childhood friends and read the book of Wunderbrook together.

Anderson gifts Talia a notebook that says, "Don't Stop Dreaming" while Talia gifts Anderson a copy of the book, A Wunderbrook Christmas Story

As adults, Talia is negatively muttering to herself her doubts about her unpublished manuscript when Anderson enters. Talia spots him and they realize they know each other from their childhood! Talia tells him she is still trying to write fiction and Anderson tells her that he is taking a break from his job as a doctor.

Christmas Festivities: Christmas Tree Lighting Snow Falling Hot Chocolate Tasting Story Hour of an Original Holiday Story Talia & Anderson Dress Up as Santa & Elves Making Christmas Stockings Charles decorates Mildred's Magical Tavern with Christmas Decorations Christmas Market Christmas Bell Procession Night of Wunder Party.

I knew they were in trouble when Lindsey Stirling was featured in the previews. Turns out, that was pretty much her entire participation.

This is a story about people in crisis magically visiting a fairy tale land they had all read about as children.

It is very hard to pull off a fairy land in a two hour Christmas movie, and as it turns out, other than an occasional bell ringing, there is very little else to suggest anything special is going on.

A knowing look occasionally is about it.

Ryan Paevey is good in almost everything, and he's pulled some movies out of the fire before. But not this one I'm afraid.

I didn't care for the chemistry with the still-gorgeous Brooke D'Orsay, and I thought her acting was a little spotty in this.

Admittedly hard to do a film like this, but the result was nothing special.

Six.

Deep in the woods there lies a sleepy little village with the biggest Christmas spirit. Look for it on a map and you won't be able to find it. It is said that only those in need of the village's particular joy can find their way to it's quiet welcoming streets and once these special visitors arrive in this magical little place they experience a holiday season like no other and are reminded of who they really are and the true joy and peace that is the meaning of Christmas...

And so starts this unusual Hallmark holiday romance. A father gives a daughter a beautiful picture book about a special village called Wunderbroke. The imaginative Talia, played by Brooke D'Orsay, dreams of being a writer one day herself. Coincidences align and Talia ends up in the magical Wunderbrook of the story with a friend from the past...Anderson who has become a surgeon but is questioning his calling...just like Talia.

"So which section is yours? Do you use a nom de plume?"-Anderson "More like a nom de calculator. This is actually my store. Which you know requires a surprising amount of math and sadly not as many clever turns of phrase."-Talia

They both end up staying at "The Gingerbread Inn" for the holidays...can both rekindle their passion and their callings with a little help from their hosts in Wunderbrook.

The narration was sweet and I like how the children's storybook was woven throughout the film. I liked the touch of magic...but the best part is the end. I love both Brooke D'Orsay and especially Ryan Paevey who played Anderson. Synergy or kismet...these two have great chemistry amongst this holiday backdrop. Can they keep Wunderbrook alive, rekindle it's magic and their friendship?

This was sweet and well worth the watch. Very family friendly, I recommend this to those with a good imagination and a love of Hallmark holiday films.

I liked the trappings and the framing of the story but the basic plot of strangers coming together to repair what is wrong with their lives was tired. None of their arcs had a lot of substance or originality. Or, failing substance, humor, suspense, drama, or engaging romance. On the positive side, it did have Brooke D'Orsay and Ryan Paevey as the main couple. Their performances were charming as usual. I like them separately, and they were OK together, but just OK. Maybe they are both just too nice to generate much romantic tension with each other.

It all starts out with a little girl and her father reading a fairy story about a magical town called Wunderbrook. Sadly the Dad dies and the little girl and her mother move away. Before she goes, she gives her storybook to her best friend Anderson and she promises to send him her stories as she writes them.

When next we see her, she owns a bookstore. Her aspirations to be an author have died on the vine due to her lack of self-confidence and fear of failure. Meanwhile, we catch up on her childhood friend Anderson who is now a surgeon who is questioning his calling due to losing a patient. We also meet a married couple who have grown apart and are on the verge of divorce and an old man who is very lonely since his beloved wife died.

Through various magical means (a detour on a road, a wrong number, getting lost, and a flooded basement) they find themselves together in Wunderbrook. It is the magical town of the storybook come to life. It turns out that they all had the book as children, but for some reason, it is only Brooke that starts to make the connection between the story and the real-life town they find themselves in. She is poopoo-ed throughout the whole movie, almost. As they spend time with the owners of the B&B and their daughter (really the King, Queen, and Princess), and the other denizens of the place, including the wicked witch, they start to get cured of what ails them. The hostile bickering couple starts to repair their marriage and the old man finds a friend in the owner of the bar/restaurant who is also bitter and lonely (the witch.) The two childhood friends start to fall in love as well as, in the end, get over the fears that are holding them back from fulfilling their dreams. It all comes together at the end with not only our friends on a happy road to love and success but Wunderbrook itself being saved, thanks to a certain aspiring writer.

Their individual stories of love and learning are told by a storyteller as if they were characters in a storybook. This was a new path for Hallmark to take and I liked and appreciated the creativity. Christmas Magic is a common trope but usually has to do with Santa and time travel. This was something quite different and, again, I appreciated it. Unfortunately, they forgot to find engaging stories to put in all that creative framing. It was, to paraphrase one of Brooke's publisher's rejections, "cute" but not entirely enough for me.

A magic book passed on from the blessed to those needing healing leads those needing to a hidden town. Are the residents fairies? There is a sense of wonder as we meet 5 people with something missing in their lives. There is some freshness in how their stories progress. Mildred seems to be a strange addition to the town since she resembles the grinch more than a helpful fairy. Even so, there are no great highs or lows or surprises.

Ryan Paevey and Brooke D'Orsay have chemistry as their characters rekindle their childhood relationship. D'Orsay's Talia seems the most perceptive of the fact that something about Wunderbrooke is unique and perhaps stirring up memories of childhood stories. I think D'Orsay is well cast for this part.

The friction between Diane and Keith doesn't develop as much as it jumps to a conclusion.

The fairy tale atmosphere and unfolding mysteries kept my interest, but I can't say this movie stood out and certainly not a tear jerker.