Product Details

• Actors: Carly Baker, Patrick Fitzsymons, Morgan Jones, Norm MacDonald, Andrew McMahon
• Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Unknown (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001B3LIRE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,972 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Flight Before Christmas" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

A reindeer boy named Niko dreams about flying like his father, whom he has never met. Despite suffering from severe vertigo, he sneaks out of his home valley to take flying lessons from Julius, a rare member of a Finnish family of flying squirrels.

Stills from The Flight Before Christmas (Click for larger image)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good European animation -- for older kids and grown-ups December 14, 2008

By Rowana

Format:DVD

When this popped up on CBS TV the other night, I started watching it, and the first thing I thought was "This is not an American-made film." For one thing, it's fairly densely plotted and has a much more complex and dark storyline than a U.S. cartoon would have. Sure enough, although CBS zipped through the ending credits almost too quickly to read them, I saw that it was made in Finland. That explains it! The night I watched, it followed on the heels of the awful 1996 "The Return of Frosty" cartoon, which made the Finnish production seem that much more intelligent.

As a grown-up viewer, I thoroughly enjoyed the story -- a young reindeer searching for his father, whom he believes to be one of Santa's heroic flying squadron. The youngster is helped along his way by a fatherly, protective flying squirrel and a female ermine/weasel (?) who warbles pop tunes like an American Idol contestant. There's also a pink French poodle who appears suddenly and disappears mysteriously once her plotline is over (what becomes of her??). Yes, there are implications of reindeer one-night stands (how very Scandinavian of them!), and Niko's real dad turns out to have, shall we say, commitment issues (many kids will relate, I'm afraid). And there are some scary wolf villains -- but really, no scarier than the hyenas in "The Lion King," which this production seems to channel (one could say "copy" if one were ungenerous) more often than not. The digital character animation looks a bit clunky, with giant grinning amorphous faces that too often really look computerized -- but the backgrounds and landscapes are quite lovely. There are shots of the Scandinavian forest with the aurora borealis overhead that are very memorable. The musical score recalls Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings" and almost seems a bit too grand for the room. But this is an hour-long cartoon that is really trying to be quite epic in its story and scope, and I think it's the first Finnish production (that I can recall, anyway) to make it to the U.S. TV market in such a big way (major network broadcast).

As for the scare factor of the big bad wolves -- really, can ANYTHING be scarier than the classic 1939 "Wizard of Oz"?? "Oz" gave me tornado and flying-monkey nightmares for years as a kid, but I loved it and watched it whenever it was on. I think a few good TV scares never hurt any child! Classic Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales are chock-full of scary and often quite violent situations; even the best Disney films (like "Lion King") are full of scares and sadness. I give the Finns points for offering a little darkness and scare factor, and not serving up sugary holiday syrup like "Frosty Returns" (or even the original 1960s "Frosty the Snowman," which also preceded "Flight Before Christmas" the other night -- yup, it may be a beloved classic, but wow, it's so sweet it makes your teeth hurt!).

So, yes, I recommend "The Flight Before Christmas" -- a Finnish production that is a quite worthy and surprisingly intelligent entry into the annual holiday animation derby.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD December 13, 2008

By cbh

Format:DVD

I'm 33 years old & saw this for the first time on tv . I couldn't move from my seat. a new Christmas classic . maybe it should've been PG but it wasn't even close to being as "bad" as some of the reviews made it out to be , saying that it was not for kids because it was to scary or violent . there are alot worse cartoons than this . for example Shreck , kids love that cartoon and the same parents that are trashing this cartoon , I bet , has bought Shreck & lets there kid watch it over & over and scary images ? what about all the walt disney cartoons ? what about Cruella Devil wanting to kill puppies ? or hunters shooting Bambi's dad ? don't listen to these uptight people , it is worth the money & your children will love it . I thought it was a very cute cartoon & I'm plan'n on buy'n it for my daughter .

31 of 44 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Parents beware - not good for young children December 19, 2008

By Anonymous

Format:DVD

I just watched this with my 3 and 7 year old boys. Entertaining - yes. Beautiful scenery and animation - yes. But I can't believe this is rated G and described as a "a festive addition to the holiday library that the entire family can enjoy." Folks, this movie is centered on a young reindeer whos hotshot flyboy father knocked up his mother during a one night stand, then left never to be seen again. It is a dark story about wolves (quite scary for a three year old by the way) who conspire to eat Santa and all the reindeer so the head wolf can travel to all the homes of the "delicious boys and girls" on Christmas night. The positive message of a reindeer who learns to fly because he believes in himself is far outshadowed by the dark, almost disturbing storyline and the awful family values it portrays. I know that is the sad reality of many families these days, but does that make it OK for a children's movie? To be frank, I can't believe some reviewers here see no problem with the movie and let their 3 year old watch it daily. Maybe for older kids... but this is NOT a children's movie.