SnoopyStyle Niko is a young reindeer told by his mother that his father is one of Santa's elite flying reindeers of the "Flying Forces". He has never met him because they are fully dedicated to flying for Santa. Flying squirrel Julius tries to guide the young reindeer and his friend Saga. Niko is eager to fly. They are hounded by the wolf pack and Niko overhears their plans to take on Santa and the Flying Forces. With the help of Wilma the weasel, Niko goes in search for his father in the Flying Forces.The animation looks fine. It's a little blocky but the animals look cute enough. The Flying Forces are rather annoying and I wish they have a better name. That song just isn't funny. I also wish Niko knew his father's name. I don't know what kind of nameless reindeer sex his mother had. It doesn't cost the movie anything for him to admire a specific father from afar. This is an OK family film.

athari-p If you want to see real family issues solved how they must to be solved, without pretending they don't exist, without turning them into a sugarcoated "happy ending", you may like this movie.Considering the movie's low ratings, I expected a silly predictable story with poor animation. I was pleasantly surprised it's not! Sure, if you're spoiled by Disney's animation, you'll notice it's not as perfect, but I watch movies not for their special effects. And let's be fair, it's good enough for today's standards.The story is good. There're a some clumsy moments which adult audience may find too silly, but the story is far from being trivial and the characters aren't flat. When Niko, the main character, finds out not all dads are good for their family, does his dad magically turn into a perfect daddy after a few lectures? No. It doesn't work like this and he has to find a real solution, without Christmas and Santa doing everything magically for him. I adore this aspect of the film.And I absolutely loved how Niko burped. It's not a burp of "I'm turning into a drunk uncaring womanizer like my daddy" kind, it's a burp of "I want to be part of your group" kind. We all do this to be accepted, there's nothing criminal about it. (By the way, was it beer in American version? It was kvass in Russian.) The movie may be a Christmas movie, but the setting doesn't really matter. It's not about Christmas at all. It's about family.

johnsubs1 I just finished watching this movie/cartoon with my son so its kind of fresh in my mind. For all of those who liked this, why waste your time reading any further, I think it sucked. Sure explaining to young children why most humans think it's unethical for humans to act like the animals in this feature can be delicate, but questions do arise. Children will relate with on-screen characters and try to emulate them and/or question about their motives. The bar scene is over the top for reindeer, the promiscuous behavior of the reindeer's mom and pop might be normal for that particular species but be hard to explain to a child. The wolf scenes were a bit much in the peril category for young children in my opinion, but then again when watching documentary type films with my kid I prefer to change the channel than let my kid watch wild animals tear each other apart, implied or not. The graphics were OK for a 2008 film, not anything stellar. For a Christmas film the only thing that remotely indicated Christmas were the references to Santa and his flying reindeer, so it missed the mark poorly. After reading the current reviews for this film and remarks about the American reviewers, I had a good laugh, American television can be quiet filthy just watch a little of the family guy or numerous other cable shows. Kids grow up fast enough like it is without having to force feed them with adult oriented content.

CattyA Although I'm a Finn I can see where the negative comments of the American parents come from. You have grown up with the Disney policy of showing children only sugarcoated films trying to protect them from the real world. I am a great fan of enchantment, princesses and cute animals but to make changed versions of world classics such as The Little Mermaid in which the ending was ruined by changing it into a happy one is a sacrilege. The Andersen story is forever spoiled for those who have first seen the film.I don't actually believe that children pay much attention to the one night stand or the macho behaviour of the reindeer. That's there for the grown-ups. The children are drawn to the story and if you don't point the other matter to them, it goes by like a snowflake.On the other hand many children living with a single parent may relate to Niko's situation and find comfort in seeing that he is not an outcast. It would be wonderful if all families had two parents and everyone lived happily ever after but sadly it isn't so. The word bastard should be deleted from the world. Your own goals and resources are what matters, not your family background.As mentioned in another post the animation of snow is fantastic in this movie. Also the animals are drawn well. The reindeer really look like this and the wolves' running rhythm is spot on. There are many local details like the landing light on the runway. They are called lumberman's candles in Lapland.