Every year, Disney+ gives its subscribers the gift of a brand new original holiday movie; we’ve had “Noelle”,  “Home Sweet Home Alone”, “Godmothered” and the “Guardians Of The Galaxy: Holiday Special.”

This year, it’s “Dashing Through The Snow”, which tells the story of police social worker, Eddie Garrick, who is played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, who is a good-hearted man who has turned his back on Christmas due to a traumatic childhood experience between his parents.

At the request of his wife, Allison, from whom he is currently separated, Eddie spends Christmas Eve with his 9-year-old daughter Charlotte to work with him on Christmas Eve, but when Eddie meets a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick, who Eddie thinks the man is delusional and needs professional help, since obviously finding someone in a house, dressed as Santa and believes they are Santa would usually be a red flag!

While trying to take Nick to the local police station to be checked out, they come to feel the wrath of a local politician and his goons, who believe Nick has something they want.  This leads Eddie and his daughter on a magical adventure through Atlanta, that just might restore his faith in Christmas. 

There isn’t anything in this movie that feels new or fresh. They’ve updated a few things to make it feel more modern, but it still has the traditional Christmas holiday movie vibe.   The goons chasing down Nick are very one-dimensional and not even that funny.  I did find it a little confusing at first, since they didn’t really explain why they were after Nick until a little later in the film, and I can’t help but think, if I missed that, then younger audiences might be confused too.

As you might expect from a Christmas film, it’s very predictable. You know within minutes that ultimately everything is going to be ok, Eddie’s going to finally believe in the holiday season, and Christmas is going to be saved, because if it didn’t, it would possibly be one of the most depressing Disney holiday films of all time!   

Ludacris plays the role of the grouchy dad who hates Christmas well, but it meant his performance felt very flat.  Madison Skye Validum, who plays his nine-year-old daughter, is a delighted kid, who shows how she believes everything, which is what you’d want from this film. 

Lil Rel Howery was an interesting choice as Santa. He has some fun moments, but I wasn’t blown away.   Teyonah Parris, who plays Allison, is a generic mom/wife character who seemed like a wasted opportunity, having just watched her in “The Marvels” this week.   And that’s a general theme of the performances. They’re all fine, but nothing amazing, which is kind of how I feel about the film as a whole.

Overall:  “Dashing Through The Snow” is a charming, easy-going holiday film. I enjoyed the movie, but I’m not sure I’d ever want to rewatch it since it certainly isn’t one of those instant classic films that you’ll watch every film like “Home Alone” or “Elf”.  It’s an enjoyable, straight-to-streaming movie.  It’s a good movie to get you into the Christmas spirit ahead of the holidays.

Rating – 3.5 Out Of 5

“Dashing Through The Snow” is out now on Disney+

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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