Santa's Apprentice

G

2010

1h 20m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Comedy

Drama

Fantasy

Adventure

Animation

List

80%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

48%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

When the time for him to retire draws near, Santa Claus selects and trains a young orphan boy to become his successor.

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Philippa Hawker

The Age (Australia)

Bright, amiable traditional animation with an old-school flavour and solid storytelling.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 10, 2011

Full Review

Sacha Molitorisz

Sydney Morning Herald

So, an Australian gem? Not quite. It's more a feelgood diversion than an all-time classic.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 9, 2011

Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Fresh take on familiar holiday themes; some bullying.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 16, 2016

Full Review

Matthew Toomey

ABC Radio (Australia)

I'm not sure why Santa is portrayed as such as a schmuck early on and this is part of the reason why I think kids will be sitting there with a blank stare on their face.

Rated: C+

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

With its simple yet elegant 2D animation and festive spirit, Santa's Apprentice is an Aussie Christmas movie for families looking for sweetness and old fashion morals in their holiday movie going experience.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 10, 2011

Full Review

Matt Neal

The Standard

Good movies for very young kids are few and far between, but this sweet Australian-French animation is well worth the ticket price for the under 10s.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 10, 2011

Full Review

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Audience Member

What about a pure heart? Santa is getting older and is required by rule to acquire and teach an apprentice to replace him one day. He finds an orphan with a pure heart named Nicholas and begins training him to become Santa. A boy who didn't get picked is jealous of Nicholas and will do his best to ruin Christmas, Santa, and the spirit of Christmas. Can Santa and his apprentice save the holidays? "Santa must never be seen." Luc Vinciguerra, director of The Magic Snowflake, and episodes from the television series Santa's Apprentice and Zombie Hotel, delivers Santa's Apprentice. The storyline for this picture was very entertaining, unique, and well presented. The animation style wasn't cutting edge but fit the story well and the voices fit the characters to perfection. "You've got the wrong Nicholas." I came across this movie on Netflix this holiday season and decided to give it a shot with my daughter. She liked it and I was surprised to like it as much as I did. I enjoyed the plot and characters and feel this is worth watching at least once with your children. "It's pretty cold where we are going." Grade: B-

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A beautiful simple & touching Christmas film done by French Production made for a seemingly Australian translation & audiences. I really appreciated the French touch with the animation they really did a stunning job with the look of it such depth in background & gorgeous use of color. I found the story very simple but the characters where all interesting and likable and the voicing of the film was great too subtle but fitting. A really nice Christmas film that was a real nice surprise.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film was really well done & the story is nicely told. Kids will adore this really nice flick.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Luc Vinciguerra

Director

Julie Gayet

La mère de Félix

Jean-Pierre Marielle

Voice

Lorànt Deutsch

Randolph

Bruno Salomone

Voice

Pierre-François Martin-Laval

Edgar

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Synopsis

When the time for him to retire draws near, Santa Claus selects and trains a young orphan boy to become his successor.

Director: Luc Vinciguerra
Producer: Clément Calvet, Christian Davin, Ross Murray, Avrill Stark, Paul Young
Screenwriter: Alexandre Révérend
Production Co: Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Yoram Gross EM-TV Pty. Limited, Département de la Charente, Orange Cinéma Séries, Flying Bark Productions, La Région Île-de-France, Cartoon Saloon, Gaumont-Alphanim, Région Poitou-Charentes, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board
Rating: G
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2016
Runtime: 1h 20m

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