For those of us that love the cinema experience of watching a movie, having children can throw up some issues. The thought of taking your little one in to watch a film can be a rather daunting prospect; you just don’t know how they will behave. Even if the film is only ninety minutes long, that is a long time for someone tiny to sit still and remain relatively quiet. CBeebies have been a lifeline to many parents during the pandemic and the team may now have also solved the cinema conundrum with their new Christmas show The Night Before Christmas. The short programme (clocking in at under an hour) is the perfect vessel for parents and toddlers to dip their toes into the cinema experience together. It’s svelte run time makes it ideal for little attention spans, and with a cast packed full of familiar faces, there is plenty to entertain and distract them.
The CBeebies Christmas show is nothing new, the team have been making them for years, but The Night Before Christmas is one of the first to make it onto the big screen. Each year, stars of popular CBeebies shows, as well as the CBeebies House presenters, are drafted together to create a festive themed story to entertain their young audience. Even last year, when we were in the full grip of the pandemic, the team worked tirelessly to create a green-screen generated tale, Christmas in Storyland. Thankfully, with the vaccine in the world, this year the production could return to its typical stage play setting, making it not only a great early cinema experience, but also a glimpse into how theatres work too. Filmed at the Theatre Royal Plymouth earlier this year, The Night Before Christmas stars a number of CBeebies favourites including Justin Fletcher as Father Christmas, Little Monster as Little Elf, Evie Pickerill as leading lady Holly, and Ben Cajee as her brother Jack. The story is inspired by the popular story, The Night Before Christmas, but adds its own CBeebies Christmas cheer and sparkle, creating a magical tale of the power of wishes, hope, and the need for kindness.
The Night Before Christmas is exactly the content one would expect from CBeebies and is full of fun, colour, songs, and silliness, all of which will help stimulate the imagination of even the youngest of viewers. As ever, kids will love spotting all their CBeebies favourites, though some are harder to uncover than others. CBeebies presenter Evie Pickerill is wonderful as heroine Holly who travels by cloud to track down her stolen wish. Alongside Ben Cajee’s Jack, Pickerill exhibits an accurate heightened interpretation of an excitable child on Christmas Eve. The pair play great against one another, and their years of working together in the CBeebies house has helped create their sibling bond.
Whereas Pickerill and Cajee are versions of their presenting personas, several key faces of CBeebies programming play against the expected. Jennie Dale is excellent as the stories narrator and Holly’s helper, Moon; a role which is rather different to her evil pirate Captain Captain Swashbuckle character. Fellow Swashbuckle star Gemma Hunt, who is the hero on that show, is cast as Plum, one of the sidekicks to the villain of the story, The Wish Taker. It’s a fun exchange of roles, subverting expectations and proving that each actor has more in their arsenal than what viewers are used to seeing. Behind the make-up of our villain is Steven Kynman, aka Justin House’s cleaning-mad robot Robert. And what would a CBeebies production be without the King of CBeebies, Justin Fletcher, who makes an appearance as Father Christmas.
As avid CBeebies viewers will know, The Night Before Christmas will air on the channel later this month, but catching it in the cinemas is a great way to jump-start your festive season. The cinema print also has the added gift of some sneaky exclusive content. Those that brave the cinema trip will be treated to a special Justin / Father Christmas-themed wraparound, which includes a reading of the traditional Night Before Christmas story as well as some fun carol singing.
CBeebies The Night Before Christmas
Summary
A perfect first cinema experience trial that will also kick start the festive season on a jolly and joyous high.
Experience the magic of the CBeebies The Night Before Christmas on the BIG SCREEN as it hits cinemas across the UK on Dec 4 & 5 – BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW! CBeebies The Night Before Christmas will also be showing at select Encore screenings throughout December so keep an eye out at your local cinema! And if you can’t make it to the big screen, the show will screen on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer from 11th December 2021.
