New to Disney+ today is the children’s comedy, The Naughty Nine. The movie – directed by Alberto Belli – stars Winslow Fegley and Danny Glover and follows the story of a group of children who plan to infiltrate the North Pole to pull off a Christmas present heist.
In the movie, Andy is a good-natured but manipulative child. He is forever telling white lies and creating schemes at school, and he even has his parents believing his tall-tales.
However, Andy’s lies catch up with him on Christmas morning, when he doesn’t receive any presents from Santa Claus. The same thing happens to Andy’s best friend, Dulce, who also tells lies and doesn’t receive a gift from Santa.
After consulting with a fellow student, Andy and Dulce come to realise the concept of Santa’s ‘naughty list’ is true. Because of their lies, Andy and Dulce are on the list, and this has robbed them of presents.
However, if the naughty list is true, and Santa holds back presents from children who have been bad, then these presents must be hidden somewhere in Santa’s workshop. This could mean there are countless presents, including some amazing gifts, sitting idly by and going unclaimed.
Putting together a team of operatives, all of whom have a special skillset (master of disguise, getaway driver, etc), Andy and Dulce plan to retrieve those presents by pulling off the ultimate heist. But will they succeed, or will they get caught and end up grounded?
If you just read the above premise and thought “oh, this sounds like a fun idea”, then you and I are on the same page. The premise for The Naughty Nine does indeed sound fun, and for the most part it works fine as a children’s film.
Not a particularly spectacular children’s film, but for anyone who falls into the pre-teen crowd, it should be OK. The imagination is there, and it is competently put together.
The biggest disappointment is that with stronger direction, and a different approach, the premise for The Naughty Nine could have been applied to a better film. A picture which could push its status beyond a ‘children’s movie’ into a ‘family film’ and attract a wider audience in the process.
However, that’s not what this is, so I guess there’s no point in dwelling on what could (and should) have been. The Naughty Nine is made for a young audience, so it needs to be discussed appropriately.
As a children’s film there’s nothing in here that is especially offensive. The Naughty Nine is a crime caper, where magic and charm are the order of the day, and where all logic goes out of the window for the purpose of fun and entertainment.
The film centres around a group of kids who band together to steal some presents, but it is all done in a wholesome, cheeky, and loveable way. Sure, they are committing a crime, but they’re not bad kids, and you can bet your bottom dollar that be the climax of the film they will be far less naughty than the title suggests.
This is safe stuff and 100% Disney as you might expect it to be. No one is going to get banged up by the police, and Santa isn’t going to hold a grudge and blacklist these kids forever.
Is it all satanised fun and a bit bland? Yes, but I’m saying this as someone who is way beyond the target audience for this movie, so take this with a pinch of salt.
The Naughty Nine is fine for what it is. The movie does play like a TV film or one of those direct-to-DVD titles that were popular in the ‘00s, but I doubt kids will care.
The film has adventure, it has a sleigh chase, elf outfits, and smart-talkin’ youngsters. That should do the trick, right?
Not likely to impress adults, but young audiences will find it enjoyable. Expect The Naughty Nine to be on rotation a couple of times over the Christmas period, with a possible sequel on the horizon.
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