'Twas the Night (film)

Last updated
'Twas the Night
Twas the Night.jpg
Film poster
Written by
  • Jim Lincoln & Dan Studney (teleplay and story)
  • Jenny Tripp (teleplay)
Directed by Nick Castle
Starring
Theme music composer Craig Safan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Robert M. Myman
  • George Paige
  • Tim Stephen
ProducerKevin Lafferty
CinematographyMilan Podsedly
Editors
  • Patrick Kennedy
  • Duncan Christie
Running time87 minutes
Production companyAdam Productions
Original release
Network Disney Channel
ReleaseDecember 7, 2001 (2001-12-07)

'Twas the Night is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Nick Castle and starring Josh Zuckerman, Brenda Grate, Bryan Cranston and Jefferson Mappin. It was first aired in December 2001 for the Christmas holiday. [1]

Contents

Plot

A troubled and irresponsible man named Nick Wrigley (Bryan Cranston) is hacked by criminals who are looking for a bank account code to Nick's boss. The criminals Bill (Jeff Geddis) and Harry (Sandy Robson) manage to find his apartment and start deriding him for the Internet scam he has pulled on them, losing $30,000 in the process. They tell him they want their money by Christmas or else they will have their enforcer Eliot (Jung-Yul Kim) beat him up. Bill and Harry leave and Nick decides to run away. Nick is leaving the building when Eliot sees him leaving and chases him. Nick manages to escape when he runs to a North Pole stage where kids meet Santa Claus. He steals the costume for Santa Claus and walks to the bus stop in disguise and goes to his brother's house.

Meanwhile, the house's mischievous 14-year-old Danny Wrigley (Josh Zuckerman) welcomes his uncle because he has a better relationship with him than any other person in his family. Danny's father, John (Barclay Hope) however is less than thrilled to see his older brother, while his wife, Abby (Torri Higginson) welcomes Nick. Danny's parents, both doctors, are called into the hospital and reluctantly leave Nick to look after their three children. After receiving a threatening e-mail from Bill and Harry that they are currently tracking him down to get the money out of him, Nick ends up having to unleash a virus to throw them off his trail. On Christmas Eve, Santa comes to the house with a device that can freeze time, in order to put the family's presents under the tree unnoticed. An object hits the device, time goes back to normal, and Nick hits him unconscious. They decide to deliver Santa's presents. While Nick is delivering the presents, unbeknown to Danny he is stealing from the houses. When Danny finds out that Nick is stealing he feels betrayed and goes back home in Santa's sleigh.

Meanwhile, Danny's younger siblings, Kaitlyn (Brenda Grate) and Peter (Rhys Williams) find an unconscious Santa (Jefferson Mappin) on the floor of their living room. He wakes up and convinces them that he is Santa. They find out that Danny and Nick have stolen the sleigh and presents and Santa says that Danny will be on the naughty list forever. When Danny comes back he apologizes to Santa, but the sleigh is broken.

Nick is sitting at a bus stop when he sees Bill, Harry, and Eliot. They ask him where the address to his brother's house is as they don't recognize him because he is wearing a Santa costume. Nick doesn't answer them and they drive off. Nick realizes a second later they are going to his brother's house, which means that his family is in trouble. Nick, who still has Santa's device, races back to the house and get there just in time. He saves his family from the men using the device to shrink Eliot. This causes Bill, Harry, and Eliot to drive away terrified. Nick returns the device to Santa and then gives Santa his beloved laptop to fix Santa's sleigh and save Christmas.

The next morning, Nick wakes up and sees Santa has given him the guitar that he has wanted since childhood, but never got for Christmas because he was on the naughty list. He agrees to sell the guitar to pay off his debts but entertains the family by playing it first.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Santa Clause</i> 1994 film directed by John Pasquin

The Santa Clause is a 1994 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first installment in The Santa Clause franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof to his supposed death on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish the late St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Santa Claus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haunted Mansion Holiday</span> Seasonal overlay of attraction

Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal overlay of The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland that blends the settings and characters of the original Haunted Mansion with those of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. Taking inspiration from "The Night Before Christmas", the attraction retells the story of Jack Skellington visiting the Haunted Mansion on Christmas Eve, leaving holiday chaos in his wake.

<i>Call Me Claus</i> 2001 American television film by Peter Werner

Call Me Claus is a 2001 American Christmas comedy television film directed by Peter Werner and starring Whoopi Goldberg and Nigel Hawthorne. The movie involves Santa Claus (Hawthorne) who needs a replacement Santa after serving his 200-year reign. He decides on Lucy Cullins (Goldberg), an eccentric, grouchy shopping network executive, who hires him to promote Christmas decorations and presents on the network. The film premiered on TNT on December 2, 2001, and was also released on VHS and DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. The film has since been reran on Lifetime, Freeform and The Hallmark Channel.

<i>Waiting for Santa</i> 1990 American film

Waiting for Santa is a direct-to-video Christmas Eve special. Released on video on April 30, 1990 as part of the Barney & the Backyard Gang series, it features an array of traditional Christmas songs as well as new arrangements. The video had sold almost five million copies by 1999.

<i>A Flintstone Christmas</i> 1977 animated Christmas special

A Flintstone Christmas is a 1977 animated Christmas television special featuring characters from The Flintstones franchise. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and is the second Christmas-themed animated work in the franchise, after the 1964 episode "Christmas Flintstone." Both feature the character Fred Flintstone taking on the role of Santa Claus. The special first aired on NBC on December 7, 1977.

<i>Pinocchios Christmas</i> 1980 Christmas TV special

Pinocchio's Christmas is a 1980 American-Japanese Christmas stop motion television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions that is a holiday adaptation of the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. The special was originally aired on ABC on December 3, 1980. It aired annually during the Christmas season on Freeform and as of 2018 airs on AMC.

<i>A Miser Brothers Christmas</i> American TV series or program

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas is a 2008 American-Canadian Christmas stop motion spin-off special, based on the characters from the 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Distributed by Warner Bros. Animation under their Warner Premiere label and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios, the one-hour special premiered on ABC Family on Saturday, December 13, 2008, during the network's annual The 25 Days of Christmas programming.

Snow 2: Brain Freeze is a television film starring Tom Cavanagh and Ashley Williams. It premiered on ABC Family in 2008 on their 25 Days of Christmas programming block. The made-for-television film is a sequel to the 2004 television film Snow.

<i>The Night Before Christmas</i> (1905 film) 1905 American film

The Night Before Christmas is a 1905 American silent short film directed by Edwin S. Porter for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It closely follows Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem Twas the Night Before Christmas, and was the first film production of the poem.

<i>Christmas Comes to Pac-Land</i> American TV series or program

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land is a 1982 American animated Christmas television special of the Saturday morning animated series Pac-Man based on the video game, produced by Hanna-Barbera. It premiered in prime time on ABC on December 16, 1982. The film was ranked #38 in the Nielsen Ratings published the next week.

<i>Arthur Christmas</i> 2011 British-American Christmas comedy film

Arthur Christmas is a 2011 animated Christmas comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Aardman Animations, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is Aardman's second mostly computer-animated feature film after 2006's Flushed Away. It was directed by Sarah Smith, co-directed by Barry Cook, and written by Smith and Peter Baynham. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen, the film centres on Arthur Claus, the clumsy but well-meaning son of Santa Claus, who discovers that his father's high-tech ship has failed to deliver one girl's present. Accompanied only by his free-spirited and reckless grandfather, an enthusiastic Christmas elf obsessed with wrapping gifts, and a team of reindeer, he embarks on a mission to deliver the girl's present personally in the early morning hours of Christmas Day before sunrise.

Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas is an American animated 2011 Christmas TV special that aired on CBS on November 25, 2011. The special was based on the Hallmark Cards characters Hoops & Yoyo.

Santa and Pete is a 1999 American Christmas film directed by Duwayne Dunham. It was written by Greg Taylor, based on the novel by Christopher Moore and Pamela Johnson. It stars Hume Cronyn as Saint Nick, Flex Alexander as Pete, and James Earl Jones as Grandpa Nicholas. It first aired on CBS on December 5, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Santeclaus with Much Delight</span> Anonymous 1821 Christmas poem

"Old Santeclaus with Much Delight" is an anonymous illustrated children's poem published in New York in 1821, predating by two years the first publication of A Visit from St. Nicholas. It is the first publication to mention Santa Claus's reindeer and his sleigh, as well as being the first to describe his arrival on Christmas Eve. The accompanying illustrations are the earliest published artistic depictions of a Santa Claus figure.

<i>Noelle</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Marc Lawrence

Noelle is a 2019 American Christmas fantasy comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film stars Anna Kendrick as Noelle Kringle, the daughter of Kris Kringle. It also stars Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine. In the film, when Noelle's brother Nick is stressed from all the pressure of taking over for their father, he leaves and does not return. She must find her brother and bring him back in time for Christmas. It was filmed from October 2017 to January 2018 in British Columbia and Woodstock, Georgia.

<i>The Christmas Chronicles</i> 2018 American Christmas comedy film

The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. The film stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Lamorne Morris, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Oliver Hudson. It is the first installment in The Christmas Chronicles film series. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide and was released on November 22, 2018, on Netflix.

<i>The Christmas Chronicles 2</i> 2020 American Christmas comedy film

The Christmas Chronicles 2 is a 2020 American Christmas comedy film directed and produced by Chris Columbus, who wrote the screenplay with Matt Lieberman. A sequel to the 2018 film The Christmas Chronicles, it features Kurt Russell reprising his role as Santa Claus. Also reprising their roles are Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, with new cast members Julian Dennison, Jahzir Bruno, Tyrese Gibson, Sunny Suljic, Darlene Love, and Malcolm McDowell. The film had a limited theatrical release before moving to Netflix on November 25, 2020.

<i>Alien Xmas</i> 2020 American stop-motion animated film

Alien Xmas is a 2020 American stop-motion animated Christmas film directed by Stephen Chiodo. Based on the 2006 book of the same name by Chiodo and Jim Strain, the film features the voices of Keythe Farley, Dee Bradley Baker, Kaliayh Rhambo, Michelle Deco, and Barbara Goodson. The film's plot centers on X, an extraterrestrial belonging to a race of thieving aliens known as Klepts, who is sent to the North Pole on a mission to eliminate Earth's gravity.

References

  1. Fries, Laura (2001-12-04). "'Twas the Night". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-22.