Gifts to Delight – 12/09/21
We have suggestions for all your favorite people, whether they’re artistic (p. 10), love the outdoors (p. 14), enjoy good eats (p. 22) or like to get lost in a book (p. 33),
Also on the cover, find out where to get delicious Christmas eats, p. 22. Add some sparkle to your holidays, p. 31. And Black Violin comes to the Cap Center in Concord, p. 36.
I find being one of my family’s elders a bit unsettling. Sure, I already embraced the gray hair. But until ...
Covid-19 update As of Nov 29 As of Dec 6Total cases statewide 160,287 169,219Total current infections statewide 7,078 9,671Total deaths ...
Shop local this holiday season Nancy Kyle, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Retail Association, talked about the current ...
With December here and four games left to play, let’s take a look at where things stand for the Patriots ...
Putting a damper on shopping The Mall of New Hampshire had to shut down its food establishments temporarily after a ...
Big Events December 9, 2021 and beyond Thursday, Dec. 9 Productions of A Christmas Carol take place on stages throughout ...
Art, music and theater gifts for all ages There are plenty of opportunities to shop locally for handmade, one-of-a-kind gifts ...
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities • Nutcracker galore: Don’t miss your chance to see the classic ...
Gear, good reads and great ideas for kids By Dan Szczesny While the cold season and its wind chills, frost ...
Family fun for the weekend Holiday happenings The Nov. 25 issue was our big Holiday Guide issue, packed full of ...
How to make them a little brighter This is the darkest time of the year: Not only are the days ...
Katie Booker Vintage and handmade gift shop owner Katie Booker is the owner of Little Vintage Venue in Suncook. The ...
News from the local food scene • Shop (and eat) local: More than 80 specialty food vendors, artists and craftspeople ...
Tasty gift ideas for the foodies in your life Give the gift of local eats this holiday season — whether ...
Where to dine in for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ’Tis the season for holiday dining, as several local eateries ...
Matt Pierce of Salem is the owner and founder of Granite State Spice Blends (granitestatespiceblends.com, and on Facebook @granitestatespiceblends), a ...
I don’t know if the word “spread” accurately describes this recipe. Yes, as you can see in the photo, it ...
So you’re finally a full-blown grown-up. Congratulations. One of the things that comes with that is learning how to give ...
Celebrate with some sparkling wine As the song goes, it is “the most wonderful time of the year!” as we ...
Modern Nature, Island of Noise (Bella Union Records) Here continues the saga of U.K. songwriter Jack Cooper, with whom you ...
Gift ideas for book lovers As holiday gifts go, you can’t do much better than books. They’re easy to wrap, ...
Encanto (PG) A girl growing up in a magical family with a magical house tries to find her place in ...
8-Bit Christmas (PG) Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn. I’ve seen this movie described as an update of A Christmas Story ...
Local music news & events • Side to front: A rock guitarist takes a jazz direction as Scott Sharrard & ...
Black Violin transcends genres Black Violin earned a Grammy nomination for its 2020 album, Take The Stairs — a fitting ...
Thursday, Dec. 9 Auburn Auburn Pitts: open mic jam, 6:30 p.m. Bedford Copper Door: Chad LaMarsh, 7 p.m. Brookline Alamo: ...
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Music this week – 21/12/09
Thursday, Dec. 9
Auburn
Auburn Pitts: open mic jam, 6:30 p.m.
Bedford
Copper Door: Chad LaMarsh, 7 p.m.
Brookline
Alamo: Joey Clark, 4:30 p.m.
Concord
Area 23: DJ Dicey, 8 p.m.
Hermanos: Paul Bourgelais, 6:30 p.m.
Derry
Fody’s: music bingo, 8 p.m.
Epping
Telly’s: Tim Theraiult, 7 p.m.
Exeter
Sawbelly: Max Sullivan, 5 p.m.
Sea Dog: Chad Verbeck, 5 p.m.
Goffstown
Village Trestle: John and Roxanne Man, 6 p.m.
Hampton
CR’s: Ross McGinnes, 6 p.m.
Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.
Hudson
Lynn’s 102: Karaoke w/ George Bisson, 8 p.m.
Kingston
Saddle Up Saloon: karaoke with DJ Jason, 7 p.m.
Londonderry
Stumble Inn: 21st &1st & Justin Jordan, 7 p.m.
Manchester
Currier: Ian & Abbi Sleeper & Kent, 5 p.m.
Fratello’s: Ted Solovicos, 5:30 p.m.
KC’s: Paul Lussier, 6 p.m.
Strange Brew: Becca Myari, 8 p.m.
Meredith
Giuseppe’s: Mary Fagan, 5:45 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Jeff Mrozek, 5:30 p.m.
Milford
Stonecutters Pub: Blues Therapy, 8 p.m.
Nashua
Fody’s: DJ Rich Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.
Fratello’s: Clint Lapointe, 5:30 p.m.
Stones Social: Stephen Decuire, 6:30 p.m.
Newmarket
Stone Church: Akrobatik, 9 p.m.
Northfield
Boonedoxz: music bingo, 6:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Scott Sharrard & Friends, 7:30 p.m.
Salem
Copper Door: Dave Zangri, 7 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: Mica Peterson, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10
Auburn
Auburn Pitts: live music, 7 p.m.
Brookline
Alamo: Robert Allwarden, 4:30 p.m.
Concord
Area 23: Classic Invasion, 8 p.m.
Penuche’s: Duo Del Inferno, 7 p.m.
Deerfield
Lazy Lion: Fagan/O’Neill Honey Bees Duo, 7 p.m.
Derry
Fody’s: Pop Rox, 8 p.m.
Epping
Telly’s: Tim Theriault, 8 p.m.
Exeter
Sawbelly: Douglas James, 5 p.m.
Goffstown
Village Trestle: Mr. Doctor Pepper — steel drums, 6 p.m.
Hampton
CR’s: Sharon Jones, 6 p.m.
The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.
North Beach Bar: Mostly Young, 8 p.m.
Tinos: Max Sullivan,7 p.m.
Wally’s: Crooked Coast & The Quins & Supernothing, 8 p.m.
Whym: Steve Haidaichuck, 6:30 p.m.
Hudson
Lynn’s 102: Karaoke w/ George Bisson, 8 p.m.
Londonderry
Coach Stop: Ted Solovicos, 6 p.m.
Stumble Inn: Mugsy Duo, 8 p.m.
Manchester
Angel City: The Drift, 9 p.m.
Backyard Brewery: Dwayne Haggins, 6 p.m.
Bonfire: FatBunny, 7 p.m.
Derryfield: Almost Famous, 8 p.m.
The Foundry: Paul Driscoll, 6 p.m.
Fratello’s: Clint Lapointe, 6 p.m.
The Goat: Pop Disaster, 8 p.m.
Strange Brew: Peter Poirie, 8 p.m.
Meredith
Giuseppe’s: Bob Kroepel, 5:45 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Justin Quinn, 6 p.m.
Milford
Pasta Loft: Way Up South, 9 p.m.
Nashua
Fody’s: DJ Rich Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.
Fratello’s: Dave Zangri, 6 p.m.
New Boston
Molly’s: Ralph Allen, 7 p.m.
Newmarket
Stone Church: Maine Dead Project, 8 p.m.
North Woodstock
Woodstock Inn Brewery: Dancing Madly Backwards, 8:30 p.m.
Northfield
Boonedoxz Pub: karaoke night, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth
Gas Light: Rebecca Turmel, 9:30 p.m.
The Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Brubeck Brothers Quartet, 8 p.m.
Thirsty Moose: Greg Mattson & Sweep the Leg, 9 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: Lisa Love, 7 p.m.
Stratham
Tailgate Tavern: Chad Verbeck, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 11
Alton Bay
Dockside: Jeff Lines, 8 p.m.
Auburn
Auburn Pitts: live music, 7 p.m.
Bow
Chen Yang Li: Amanda Adams, 7 p.m.
Brookline
Alamo: Chris Perkins, 4:30 p.m.
Concord
Area 23: Crazy Steve, 1 p.m.; Undaunted Professor Harp, 8 p.m.
Concord Craft Brewing: Ryan Williamson, 3 p.m.
Hermanos: Eugene Durkee, 7 p.m.
Penuche’s: The Honeybees, 7 p.m.
Contoocook
Cider Co.: Alex Cohen, 1 p.m.
Deerfield
Lazy Lion: live music, 5 p.m.
Epping
Telly’s: Chris Fraga, 8 p.m.
Derry
Fody’s: Kevin Haverty, 8 p.m.
Exeter
Sawbelly: Red Tail Hawk Duo, 1 p.m.; Rich Amorim, 5 p.m.
Goffstown
Village Trestle: Off Duty Angels Trio, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Smuttynose: live music, 6 p.m.
Wally’s: One More Time, 9 p.m.
Whym: Gabby Martin, 6:30 p.m.
Henniker
Colby Hill Inn: Brad Myrick Duo, 1 p.m.
Kingston
Saddle Up Saloon: Ryan Palma, 8 p.m.
Laconia
Tower Hill Tavern: karaoke w/ DJ Tim, 8 p.m.
Londonderry
Coach Stop: Paul Lussier, 6 p.m.
Stumble Inn: Little Kings, 8 p.m.
Manchester
Backyard Brewery: Andrew Geano, 6 p.m.
Bonfire: Houston Bernard Band, 7 p.m.
Derryfield: Last Kid Picked, 8 p.m.
The Foundry: Kimayo, 6 p.m.
Fratello’s: Jodee Frawlee,6 p.m.
Great North Aleworks: Alli Beaudry, 4 p.m.
The Goat: Alex Anthony, 7 p.m.
Strange Brew: Mike and Howie, 9 p.m.
Meredith
Giuseppe’s: Sweetbloods, 5:45 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Clint Lapointe, 6 p.m.
Milford
Pasta Loft: Compaq Big Band, 9 p.m.
Nashua
Fody’s: Occam’s Razor, 9:30 p.m.
Fratello’s: Justin Jordan, 6 p.m.
Liquid Therapy: Kevin Horan, 6 p.m.
Millyard Brewery: Bradley Copper Kettle, 5 p.m.
The Peddler’s Daughter: Take 4, 9:30 p.m.
San Francisco Kitchen: April Cushman, 6 p.m.
North Woodstock
Woodstock Inn Brewery: Dancing Madly Backwards, 8:30 p.m.
Northfield
Boonedoxz Pub: live music, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth
Gas Light: Rebecca Turmel, 9:30 p.m.; Max Sullivan, 9:30 p.m.
The Goat: Mike Forgette, 9 p.m.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Brubeck Brothers Quartet, 7:30 p.m
Press Room: Truffle, 8 p.m.
Thirsty Moose: Clique, 9 p.m.
Rochester
Porter’s Pub: Max Sullivan, 6 p.m.
Seabrook
Chop Shop: Bulletproof, 7 p.m.
Red’s: Kaleidoscope, 8 p.m.
Somersworth
Speakeasy: karaoke, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 12
Alton Bay
Dockside: Jackie Lee, 4 p.m.
Auburn
Auburn Pitts: live music, 2 p.m.
Bedford
Copper Door: Nate Comp, 11 a.m.
Brookline
Alamo: Jae Minnion, 4:30 p.m.
Chichester
Flannel Tavern: McAdams Duo, 4 p.m.
Exeter
Sawbelly: Max Sullivan, 11 a.m.; Tombstone, 3 p.m.
Goffstown
Village Trestle: David Papa, 3:30 p.m.
Hampton
CR’s: Gerry Beaudoin 4 p.m.
Whym: Phil Jakes, 12 p.m.
Henniker
Colby Hill Inn: Brad Myrick Duo, 12:30 p.m.
Kingston
Saddle Up Saloon: video music bingo, 5 p.m.
Londonderry
Stumble Inn: Jonny Friday, 2 p.m.
Manchester
The Goat: Mike Forgette, 10 a.m.
Strange Brew: jam, 7 p.m.
Meredith
Giuseppe’s: Lou Porrazzo, 5:45 p.m.
Newmarket
The Stone Church: Dan Blakeslee, 2 p.m.; Jim Prendergast, 5 p.m.
Northfield
Boonedoxz Pub: open mic, 4 p.m.
Portsmouth
The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Brass (R)Evolution, 5:30 p.m
Salem
Copper Door: Steve Prisby, 11 a.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: Birchwood Blaze, 8 p.m.
Warner
Reed’s: Tequila Jim, 4 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 13
Hudson
The Bar: karaoke with Phil
Gilford
Patrick’s Pub: open mic w/ Paul Luff, 6 p.m.
Londonderry
Stumble Inn: Lisa Guyer, 7 p.m.
Manchester
Fratello’s: Phil Jakes, 5:30 p.m.
The Goat: live band karaoke, 8 p.m.
Spotlight Room: D-Comp, 6 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Chris Cavanaugh, 5:30 p.m.
Nashua
Fody’s: karaoke night, 9:30 p.m.
Fratello’s: Austin McCarthy, 5:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
The Goat: Musical Bingo Nation, 7 p.m.; Alex Anthony, 9 p.m.
Press Room: open mic, 6 p.m.; Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec 14
Concord
Hermanos: State Street Combo, 6:30 p.m.
Tandy’s: open mic night, 8 p.m.
Hampton
Shane’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.
Wally’s: Musical Bingo Nation, 7 p.m.
Kingston
Saddle Up Saloon: line dancing, 7 p.m.
Manchester
Fratello’s: Ryan Williamson, 5:30 p.m.
The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.
KC’s Rib Shack: Paul & Nate open mic, 7 p.m.
Strange Brew: David Rousseau, 7 p.m.
Stark Brewing: David Rousseau, 8 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Joe Winslow, 5:30 p.m.
Nashua
Fratello’s: Jeff Mrozek, 5:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.
Press Room: Wiki X Navy Blue, 9 p.m.
Stratham
Tailgate Tavern: Musical Bingo Nation, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 15
Brookline
Alamo: Jeff Mrozek, 4:30 p.m.
Concord
Area 23: open mic night, 7 p.m.
Hermanos: John Franzosa, 6:30 p.m.
Tandy’s: karaoke, 8 p.m.
Hampton
Bogie’s: open mic, 7 p.m.
North Beach Bar & Grill: Mikey J, 6:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Chris Toler, 7 p.m.
Kingston
Saddle Up Saloon: Musical Bingo Nation, 7 p.m.
Manchester
Fratello’s: Austin McCarthy, 5:30 p.m.
The Goat: country line dancing, 7 p.m.
Stark Brewing: Cox Karaoke, 8 p.m.
Strange Brew: Howard & Mike’s Acoustic Jam, 8 p.m.
Meredith
Giuseppe’s: Paul Warnick, 5:45 p.m.
Merrimack
Homestead: Ralph Allen, 5:30 p.m.
Milford
Stonecutters Pub: open mic, 8 p.m.
Nashua
Fratello’s: Doug Thompson, 5:30 p.m.
Newmarket
Stone Church: Eleanor Elktra, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth
The Goat: Alex Anthony, 9 p.m.
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Kandace Springs, 7:30 p.m
Press Room: Pressing Strings, 8 p.m.
Rochester
Porter’s: karaoke night, 6:30 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: Max Sullivan Trio
Somersworth
Speakeasy: open mic night, 7 p.m.
Classical hip-hop
Black Violin transcends genres
Black Violin earned a Grammy nomination for its 2020 album, Take The Stairs — a fitting title, given the band’s challenging journey to success.
Led by Kev Marcus on violin and Wil Baptiste on viola, the group mashes up classical music and hip-hop. They invented their innovative genre years before YouTube, Twitter and TikTok virality existed, when making it in the world of music came from wearing out shoe leather, not web clicks.
Their first big break came as the new millennium was unfolding, and it’s illustrative. Hoping to perform at basketball star Allen Iverson’s birthday bash, they got a meeting with the promoter of Teasers nightclub in Miami.
“He laughed us out the door,” Marcus said in a recent phone interview. “He said, ‘What am I gonna do with violins?’”
Their irate manager responded by opening the back of his Ford Expedition, cranking up the sound system, and instructing the pair to play on the sidewalk in front of the club. A crowd quickly formed that soon included the shocked promoter. He got it, and agreed to hire them — as long as they promised to stay in flow.
“We needed to create a set for the DJ to mix in [so] our music didn’t stop everyone dancing,” Marcus said. “It’s the same kind of hip-hop music, except now you’re hearing violins, and you’re like, where is that? Then once they see us, they start crowding around. That was sort of the beginning.”
A couple of years later, they earned a spot on Showtime At The Apollo, a talent contest famous for unforgiving audiences.
“They boo you off the stage if they don’t like you,” Marcus said. “I mean, they are legendarily ruthless.”
The two waited in the green room as four acts went out ahead of them and were quickly dispensed by the crowd.
“A guy called the Sandman jumps from his box, hits the stage, and starts tap dancing you off,” Marcus said. “I remember being underneath … and just seeing the dust fall from the green room ceiling.”
Staring down at their violins, the two feared they’d been set up. But that feeling soon vanished.
“We walk on stage and we never lose,” Marcus said. “We won four straight competitions, we got standing ovations. It was the ‘we call home and quit our jobs’ moment. … If this crowd is gonna take us, then any crowd is gonna take us.”
The spark for their unique sound came when Marcus and Baptiste were in high school together — via a Sony Ericsson cell phone.
“Before ringtones, you could program notes,” Marcus said. “Busta Rhymes took the theme from Psycho and made a hip-hop beat, and it was the No. 1 song in the country…. I thought that was cool, so I created the notes for it and put it in my phone.”
When it rang in orchestra class, Marcus’s teacher predictably confiscated it, but not before his intrigued fellow musicians started replicating the digital sounds on their own instruments.
“The violinist next to me started playing the notes from my phone, and he went, ‘What if the violinist played?’ The next thing you know, the whole orchestra is playing,” he said.
Although Black Violin’s first Grammy nomination came for Best Instrumental Album, there’s an uplifting lyrical message throughout Take The Stairs, particularly on “Impossible Is Possible” and “One Step.” The latter song was made into a hard-hitting video, reminiscent of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”
C&I Studio CEO Joshua Miller wrote a short film that touched on racial profiling, the immigration crisis, and the scourge of gun violence in schools.
“We wanted it to be really controversial,” Miller said in a ‘making of’ video. “Our whole pitch was really telling the story of what’s happening in America right now.”
“One Step” had been written two years earlier, with a different message in mind, Marcus explained, but they also felt a need to update it for the present moment.
“Everything you see in the video … we’re dealing with directly,” he said. “We wanted to show our reality, and if we can’t do that within our own art then we’re in the wrong business.”
Black Violin
When: Sunday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $35 and up at ccanh.com
Featured photo: Black Violin. Courtesy photo.
The Music Roundup 21/12/09
Local music news & events
• Side to front: A rock guitarist takes a jazz direction as Scott Sharrard & Friends pay tribute to bop and soul legend Grant Green in an evening dubbed Green Is Beautiful. Beginning in 2008, Sharrard was musical director for the Gregg Allman Band. Currently he plays lead for Little Feat, stepping in after the passing of Paul Barrere in 2019. His presence gives that band new velocity. Thursday, Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club, 135 Congress St., Portsmouth, $20 and $30 at ticketmaster.com.
• State repping: A packed lineup of hardcore talent drives 603 Strong, with Great American Ghost performing a holiday show, the original lineup of metal band Vanna rebranded as Inspirit for its first New Hampshire appearance, Kaonashi, In Remembrance doing a reunion show, Katahdin, Martial Law and Underthrow. The 18+ show has an early start to provide each act with enough time to stretch out. Friday, Dec. 10, 5 p.m., Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester, $20 advance at eventbrite.com ($25 day of show).
• Peanuts gang: The music from a beloved 1965 Christmas special is revisited by the Heather Pierson Trio. When A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired, the network complained about inexperienced child voice actors, poor sound and choppy animation. They wanted a laugh track in and the Gospel of Luke out. The jazz soundtrack was most troubling, but it sparked an interest by a young Pierson that’s still enduring. Saturday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m., The Word Barn, 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, $25 at portsmouthnhtickets.com.
• Holiday swing: Symphony NH performs its annual Holiday Pops Concert, playing favorite classic Christmas songs led by conductor Roger Kalia. This year’s program begins with “A Christmas Scherzo” followed by music from the motion picture Frozen and a reading of The Night Before Christmas. The show’s second half offers seven selections from The Nutcracker, “Deck the Halls” and, finally, an audience sing-along. Sunday, Dec. 12, 3 p.m., Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord, $35 and up at symphonyny.org.
• Dynamic duo: Touring in support of Noon, their first new album since 2005, Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon perform an evening of acoustic music. Phish drummer Jon Fishman recalled seeing virtuoso guitarist Kottke in a Vermont club in the 1980s and thinking if he ever connected with his bandmate Gordon, “that might be the end of the world.” The two joined up in the early 2000s, making a pair of albums before their hiatus. Monday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m., Lebanon Opera House, 51 N. Park St., Lebanon, $38 to $58 at lebanonoperahouse.org.
At the Sofaplex 21/12/09
8-Bit Christmas (PG)
Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn.
I’ve seen this movie described as an update of A Christmas Story and it definitely has shades of that, though it may be even more family-friendly. Here, present-day dad Jake Doyle (Harris) tells his young, iPhone-wanting daughter Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) about a Christmas back in the 1980s when he desperately wanted a Nintendo. His parents, Kathy (June Diane Raphael) and John (Zahn), go from not exactly knowing how to pronounce “Nintendo” to being violently opposed to ever having one in their house. Young Jake (Winslow Fegley) and his friends try a variety of schemes to ensure that one of them will wind up with a Nintendo while Jake’s younger sister Lizzy (Bellaluna Resnick) works on getting that equally rare item, the Cabbage Patch Kid.
I thoroughly enjoyed this family comedy, with its Harris-narrated tale of life in the 1980s, occasionally edited to explain to his daughter that “of course all kids wore bike helmets.” The story features plucky kid-quests in search of the game system or the money to buy it while also offering really good-hearted examinations of kid social relationships — the bullies, the perceived weirdos, the habitual liars. It also does a good job with the age-old struggle between the “why can’t you and your friends just play outside” parents and the “X piece of tech is the Most Important Thing Ever” kids. A Available on HBO Max.
A Boy Called Christmas (PG)
Henry Lawfull, voice of Stephen Merchant.
Maggie Smith is the dour-seeming great-aunt of three gloomy and grieving children who comes to their house to babysit. Though they want nothing to do with Christmas this year, having recently lost their mother, she settles in to tell them a story about a boy named Nikolas (Lawfull) who lives deep in the woods in Finland in olden days. The king (Jim Broadbent) asks people to go on quests to the farthest reaches of his realm in search of something that will bring magic and hope into people’s lives. Nikolas’ father (Michiel Huisman) sets out in search of a magical place that Nikolas’ mother used to talk about, Elfhelm. After running away from the horrible aunt (Kristen Wiig) left to care for him, Nikolas also goes in search of his father and Elfhelm, taking along with him Miika (Merchant), a mouse that, to his great surprise, he’s taught how to talk.
Along the way they help a reindeer that Nikolas starts calling Blitzen and they meet a community of elves who are part of the resistance to an oppressive new elf regime run by Mother Vodol (Sally Hawkins).
This is a darker live-action Christmas tale, with orphans and parents who have died and discussions of grief and sadness. But in that dark fairy tale way, and for kids maybe in the 9-years-old-and-up range who don’t mind that kind of story, the movie is also sweet, adventure-packed and straightforward in how it deals with kids’ emotions. I think Maggie Smith’s narration, with its Princess Bride-style interruptions, helps sell that particular mood of kids working through stuff and of kids learning how to stay hopeful in the face of a world that isn’t always about loving moms and happy elves. B+ Available at Netflix.
Waffles + Mochi’s Holiday Feast (TV-Y)
The humans here include Tracee Ellis Ross, Samin Nosrat and Mrs. O (Michelle Obama), the owner of the market where Waffles and Mochi normally hang out to learn about food. In this half-hour holiday special, the market is closed for the holiday season and Waffles and Mochi, enamored of all the talk about special holiday foods, tell their friends it’s Freezie Day and accidentally invite the whole gang over for a Freezie Day feast. This leads Mochi to set out around the world to learn about a few winter-solstice-season celebrations and gather some holiday treats while back at Waffles’ house the guests talk about their own cultural winter holiday traditions. Like the show Waffles + Mochi, the holiday special is the right mix of learning, puppet-y fun, food, silliness and sweetness. B+ Available on Netflix.
Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (TV-Y)
Voices of Justin Fletcher, Kate Harbour.
Shaun, his sheep friends, the dog who watches after them and their farmer, with another harebrained scheme to make money, return in this charming 30-minute Christmas-themed special. The farmer’s attempts to sell soda at a local Christmas fair and the littlest sheep’s curiosity about gifts come together, resulting in the whole flock riding a Santa sleigh on their way to heist-like hijinks at the home of a little girl who thinks she’s been gifted a robot sheep. As usual, this story has no real words, just lots of grunts and meeps and British-y noises. Sheep silliness is the star of this very all-ages-friendly holiday fare with, as always, top-notch Aardman animation. A Available on Netflix.