L'apprendista Babbo Natale - Sulle ali del Natale

This is a poorly made piece of art. We had high expectations going into it, since it advertised that the same people who made "Leap" had a hand in this. It was nothing like "Leap." It had the feel of the "Little Prince," but more confusing. The main plot and conflict/resolution was lost in a mess of one disconnected problem after another, almost like it was originally designed as a mini series, but then someone decided to just throw it all in the same pot and call it a movie. We watched it with our four kids, ages 4-10. After it was done, before biasing then, we asked the older two how they liked it. Our 10-year -old said, "That was a mess, and really confusing." Our 8-year-old said, "I liked it, but it was really weird and confusing."

Christmas films are aplenty, and though this does not reach the heights of posterior works like Klaus there is some interesting animation going on. The movie combines a rather child-book like style with more caricaturish designs, making this feel like an odd mixture of a stereotypical Disney film and a Nickelodeon cartoon.

Plotwise, it is alright. The idea of a child successor to Santa Claus is reasonably novel, and there are some genuinely funny gags, like the circus Santa Claus being called and leaving his fellow perfomer to fall. The protagonist is rather likeable, the portrayal of having to deal with such a massive burden as a kid being reasonably realistic. It also maks an attempt at ethnic representation with the Inuit boy Tim Tim, though the way he was exploited to deliver mail at the beginning was a little messed up.

Overall, a harmless Christimas classic.

I have watched this film now 2 years in a row. It's become part of our holiday tradition! I'm surprised by the lower rating. It has a Studio Ghibli feel and the writing along with the animation and VO work is spectacular. Really brings you into the world! I have watched this with kids and adults who have all said they enjoyed every minute! Highly entertaining!

Really cute! My grandson age 7 and granddaughter age 5 loved it!

I was annoyed and confused the first 5 mins. My kids didn't care much for it either and all the characters were annoying, frustrating, and self absorbed.