Woo, new Star Wars! I remember the hype when The Force Awakens first came out. It was pretty crazy to see new Star Wars for the first time (second time?) in years. And it’s pretty dang cool. It’s shinier than the original trilogy, a bit less stuck in the weeds (trade blockades!) than the prequels, and it leans hard on nostalgia. Overall, it’s Star Wars! Could they have done something newer and more unique?

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Not really sure what to say about this one. It’s the Nativity story told from the point of view of various animals, voiced by a few famous people (Kris Kristofferson as ‘Old Donkey’ was pretty awesome… also Oprah apparently?). It’s a cute enough story and the kids enjoy it. The songs are a nice touch. I expect this will be fairly low on my list for the year, mostly since I’m… not really the target audience.

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Perhaps it’s nostalgia speaking, but I really miss the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It was basically a reading of the book with a great narrator (Boris Karloff, who amusingly is best known for a bunch of 1930-40s horror films) and a few new songs that really fit the Seuss style. Given that the Grinch is probably in my top 5 Seuss books overall, of course I like it.

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