The Ending Of The Christmas Chronicles Explained
When it comes to Netflix Christmas movies, one has stood out, in particular. "The Christmas Chronicles" has everything you could want out of a family-friendly affair during the holiday season. It includes jolly St. Nick himself, as played by Kurt Russell. It's packed with action and humor appropriate for children of all ages. And it's instantly rewatchable, so you'll no longer count the days until Christmas. You'll count the days until you can watch "The Christmas Chronicles" again without people thinking you're a weirdo.
The premise of the film is straightforward. You have two siblings — Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis) — who hatch a plan to find proof of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. While they discover Father Christmas, they inadvertently go for a ride on his magic sleigh. After a crash landing, the kids have to help Santa find all the presents before Christmas morning arrives.
It's a ton of fun and the kind of movie you can watch every year without getting tired of. In fact, if you caught the subtle message in the conclusion, you'll see that the film has compared itself to some of the all-time great holiday classics. Here's the ending of "The Christmas Chronicles," explained in case you missed that final joke.
That surprise cameo
"The Christmas Chronicles" ending is filled with surprises, particularly when Kate and Teddy get their presents from Santa. However, arguably the biggest twist of all comes when Mrs. Claus arrives home, and she's played by none other than Hollywood legend Goldie Hawn. It makes sense that someone of Hawn's caliber would be needed to go opposite of Kurt Russell's Santa, and Hawn perfectly exemplifies the sweet nature of Mrs. Claus.
She's only in the film for a minute or two, but it's enough to leave an impact. And suffice to say, Mrs. Claus had a much meatier role to delve into when the sequel came around. She actually winds up welcoming Kate and Jack (Jahzir Bruno) to Santa's village and provides the backstory for the villainous Belsnickel (Julian Dennison), who's running amok to stop Christmas from happening.
Hawn has proven to be an incredible addition to "The Christmas Chronicles" legacy. If a third film in the franchise materializes, there's little doubt she'd be a welcome return.
The Christmas Chronicles pitches itself as the next holiday classic
After Mrs. Claus returns to the workshop, she suggests the two of them watch a Christmas film together. She throws out a few ideas, including "It's a Wonderful Life" and "White Christmas," but Santa has other ideas. He pulls out a tape, which we as the audience know came from Kate's camera. She filmed the previous night's exploits, and Santa appears not to want to waste any time reliving his experience with the Pierces.
The scene ends with Santa giving a knowing wink to the camera, almost as if he's suggesting to the audience that "The Christmas Chronicles" is every bit as much of a holiday classic as something like "The Grinch." It's a fun way to break the fourth wall as well as an effective way to tell the audience to revisit the film the next time they're looking for something to watch around Christmastime.
It's been a few years since the film came out. Have you followed the movie's message and revisited it since the first time you checked it out?