Nativity! | |
---|---|
Directed by | Debbie Isitt [1] |
Written by | Debbie Isitt [1] |
Produced by | Nick Jones [1] |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Seán Van Hales |
Edited by | Nicky Ager |
Music by |
|
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | E1 Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $2,443,493 or £1,847,561.95 |
Box office | $8,494,434 or £6,422,769.81 |
Nativity! is a 2009 British Christmas musical comedy film directed by Debbie Isitt and released on 27 November 2009 and the first instalment in the Nativity film series. The film stars Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen. In the film, teacher Paul Maddens (Freeman) lies to his rival that Hollywood are coming to watch his school's Christmas nativity, but after the lie gets out of hand, he must resolve the issue fast. The film was written by its director, Debbie Isitt, but was also partially improvised. [2] The film premiered on 23 November 2009 in the SkyDome Arena, Coventry, England. [3]
It was released in cinemas on 27 November 2009. The film was followed by Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012), Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? (2014), [4] and Nativity Rocks! (2018).
In 2017 a stage musical adaptation premiered and has since toured the UK over the subsequent Christmas seasons.
Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) is a miserable, jaded teacher at St. Bernadette's, a local state-funded Catholic primary school in Coventry. He once had ambitions of being successful as an actor, producer or director in musical theatre, but gave it up after negative reviews in the press. Mr. Maddens grew to hate Christmas after his girlfriend at drama school, Jennifer Lore (Ashley Jensen), broke up with him at Christmas time.
Every year, St Bernadette's competes with Oakmoor, the local posh Protestant private school, to see who can produce the best nativity play. The headteacher at St Bernadette's, Patricia Bevan (Pam Ferris), tasks Mr. Maddens with running their nativity this year and assigns him a new classroom assistant named Desmond Poppy (Marc Wootton), who is actually Mrs. Bevan's extremely childish, immature nephew searching for work.
While out shopping with Mr. Poppy for a new school Christmas tree, Mr. Maddens bumps into his old rival from drama school, Gordon Shakespeare (Jason Watkins), who runs the nativity plays at Oakmoor. Desperate not to be seen as a failure, Mr. Maddens lies to Mr. Shakespeare about how a supposed Hollywood producer, Jennifer, will be turning his production into a Hollywood film (although in reality, he hasn't spoken to her in five years). Mr. Poppy overhears this and gets so excited that he spreads the story to the press. Mr. Maddens finds his lie spiralling out of control, and all he can do is go along with it as media attention mounts and the children get very excited.
The children at St Bernadette's are nowhere near as talented as the Oakmoor students, and Mr. Maddens has little confidence in their abilities. The enthusiastic Mr. Poppy helps him and the class to create an energetic, interesting nativity which showcases all of the children's unique (and often strange) talents.
Mr. Maddens tries to contact Jennifer to make the lie come true, even getting on a flight to America to persuade her to visit in-person. It turns out she is only the secretary to a film producer, and he returns home disappointed.
Amid continuing media attention and the Mayor (Ricky Tomlinson)'s kind offer to allow the play to be performed in the historical ruins of Coventry Cathedral, Mrs. Bevan discovers that the Hollywood story was a lie and cancels the play, advising Mr. Maddens to start looking for another job and firing Mr. Poppy in the process. This causes Mr. Maddens to snap at Mr. Poppy about everything going wrong, but when facing his disappointed class, he decides that the show must go on.
The play is performed at the cathedral to an audience of the children's parents and family friends. The children, initially anxious but motivated and encouraged by Mr. Poppy's childlike spirit and optimism, actually put on a decent performance, to the surprise of everyone involved. Halfway through, Mr. Shakespeare climbs on stage to tell everybody that there is nobody from Hollywood there and the entire story was a lie. Luckily, a helicopter flies over and Mr. Poppy declares that it's Hollywood arriving; the show continues, and Jennifer and her boss, Mr. Parker (Clarke Peters) indeed appear at the back to watch. Mr. Maddens joins them and, still in love, kisses Jennifer. The play ends with everyone, including Mr. Shakespeare and Mrs. Bevan, who have a change of heart after seeing the children's talents, united onstage to celebrate the children's success.
As the film closes, Mr. Maddens and Jennifer are shown decorating his house together for Christmas, reunited at last.
Mr. Maddens' class | Mr. Shakespeare's class |
---|---|
Alexandra Allen as Cleo | Adeste McLeod as Grace |
Ben Wilby as Bob | Anna Price as Ellen |
Bernard Mensah as TJ | Arun Nahar as Jake |
Brandon McDonald as Olly | Bessie Cursons as Christy |
Cadi Mullane as Crystal | Bethany Carter as Daisy |
Caitlin Cronin as Lucy | Charlie Dixon as Thomas |
Dominic McKernan as Dan | Cherie Ng as Nicola |
Ellie Coldicutt as Beth | Eleanor Bonas as Rachel |
Faye Dolan as Jade | Francesca York as Caroline |
James Warner as Buddy | Freddie Watkins as Sebastian |
Jake Pratt as Alfie | Georgina Owen as Emily |
Joe Lane as Edward | Hannah Ciotknowski as Elizabeth |
Joshan Patel as Bill | Harriet Kilner as Charlotte |
Krista Hyatt as Becky | Hayley Downing as Victoria |
Maeve Dolan as Sam | Imogen Stern as Phoebe |
Michael McAuley as William | Katie Maguire as Megan |
Daisy Churchill as Neve | Katie Stafford as Molly |
Morgan Brennan as Charlotte | Lauren Downing as Joanne |
Rebecca Maguire as Saffron | Lily-Rose Sharry as Lynette |
Oscar Hiscock as Fraser | Michael Brown as Charles |
Rhyannon Jones as Alice | Molly Burton as Catherine |
Sam Tott as Matt | Mi Tuulikki Kelly as Lorna |
Sydney Isitt-Ager as Sadie | Safiya Asharia as Sophie |
Thomas McGarrity as Zack | Salim Zayyan as Percival |
Oscar Steer as Billy | Behrad Koohy as Harry |
Brandon Chambers as Tyrese | Chris Reynolds as Freddy |
Tomas Ferris as Charlie | Stephen Mitchell as George |
The film was first announced in August 2008, when it was announced Martin Freeman would star. [6] Principal photography began in the same month.
When released in the United Kingdom, the movie opened at #5, taking £794,315 at the box office in the United Kingdom. In its third week, the movie rose to #4, and in the end, made £5,187,402. [7]
A stage musical adaptation of the film written and directed by Debbie Isitt and composed by Nicky Ager opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in October 2017. Since its world premiere the musical has toured the UK over the Christmas seasons, including runs at London's Hammersmith Apollo which have featured guest star celebrities such as Louis Walsh, Danny Dyer, Dani Dyer, Jo Brand, Rylan Clark-Neal and Sharon Osbourne.
The Hundred and One Dalmatians is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith about the kidnapping of a family of Dalmatian puppies. It was originally serialized in Woman's Day as The Great Dog Robbery, and details the adventures of two dalmatians named Pongo and Missis as they rescue their puppies from a fur farm. A 1967 sequel, The Starlight Barking, continues from the end of the novel.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a 1964 American Western musical comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Debbie Reynolds, filmed in Panavision. The screenplay by Helen Deutsch is based on the book of the 1960 musical of the same name by Richard Morris. The song score was composed by Meredith Willson. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. Reynolds was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Brown.
Alexander Martin Clunes is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Dr Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series Doc Martin, Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, and William Shawcross in William and Mary. Clunes has narrated a number of documentaries for ITV, the first of which was Islands of Britain in 2009. He has since presented a number of documentaries centred on animals. He has also voiced Kipper the Dog in the animated series Kipper.
Jennifer Anne Ehle is an American actress. She gained recognition and acclaim for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice (1995), for which she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. Known for her roles on Broadway and the West End she has won two Tony Awards as well as a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award.
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles on-screen and in theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatrick in the Disney Channel teen sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005–2008). This success was heightened when she starred as Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008). The success of the films led to Tisdale's signing with Warner Bros. Records and subsequently releasing her debut studio album, Headstrong (2007), which was a commercial success, earning a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Tisdale also provides the voice of Candace Flynn in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb.
Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and presenter, known for portraying Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series Gavin & Stacey. She played Dora Spenlow in the 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield, and featured as Just Judy in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. She currently co-presents the BBC One consumer series Shop Well for Less. In 2023, Page joined Loose Women as a regular panellist.
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress and narrator. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in Extras, Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present), and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present).
Tessa Peake-Jones is an English actress who has appeared in The Danedyke Mystery (1979), Pride and Prejudice (1980), When We Are Married (1987), Up the Garden Path (1990–1993), So Haunt Me (1992–1994), The Demon Headmaster (1996–1998), The History of Tom Jones: a Foundling (1997), Summer in the Suburbs (2000), Poppy Shakespeare (2008), Doctors (2009–2011) and Unforgotten (2015).
Marc James Wootton is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his role as Mr Poppy in the Nativity! film series. He also starred in the television series High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman, La La Land, Nighty Night and voiced Max in Counterfeit Cat.
Eloise: The Animated Series or Me, Eloise! is an American children's animated comedy television series, based on the Eloise series of children's books drawn and written by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight. This series features the voices of Mary Matilyn Mouser as Eloise, Lynn Redgrave as the Nanny, and Tim Curry as Mr. Salamone. The television series was produced by Starz Media and HandMade Films, and aired on Starz Kids & Family from October to November 2006. 13 episodes were produced.
Debbie Isitt is an English comic writer, film director, composer and performer.
Nativity! 2: Danger in the Manger is a 2012 British Christmas comedy film written and directed by Debbie Isitt, an improvised Christmas comedy and the second instalment in the Nativity film series. The film focuses on Donald Peterson, an anxious primary school teacher, who embarks on a wild and heartwarming adventure with his class and teaching assistant, the childlike Mr Poppy, as they travel to Wales to perform in a Christmas singing competition.
Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?! is a 2014 British Christmas comedy film which serves as the third instalment of the Nativity film series and was directed by Debbie Isitt. It stars Martin Clunes, Marc Wootton, Catherine Tate with Celia Imrie and Jason Watkins. Like its predecessors, it was distributed by Entertainment One.
Jemma Churchill is an English television, theatre, film and radio actress, best known for her roles as Nanny Lyons in Upstairs Downstairs, and Ms Fellows in Waterloo Road.
Hank Zipzer's Christmas Catastrophe is a 2016 standalone British Christmas television film, that appeared during Season three of the Hank Zipzer. It is an adaptation of the Hank Zipzer book series by American actor Henry Winkler and children's book author Lin Oliver. HBO Max began streaming Hank Zipzer's Christmas Catastrophe on December 2, 2022.
The Nativity film series is an English film series of family Christmas films.
Simon Lipkin is a British actor, best known for his work in musical theatre. He has originated roles in several major West End musicals such as Avenue Q and Rock of Ages. His television work includes The Amazing World of Gumball and Doctor Who. He has acted in small roles in film as well as in the starring role in 2018 comedy Nativity Rocks!.
Nativity! The Musical is a stage musical written and directed by Debbie Isitt, based on Isitt's 2009 film of the same name.
Nativity Rocks! is a 2018 British Christmas comedy film and the fourth and final instalment of the Nativity film series by Debbie Isitt. It stars Simon Lipkin, Celia Imrie, Craig Revel Horwood, Helen George, Ruth Jones & Daniel Boys. Like its predecessors, it was distributed by Entertainment One. The only people who reprised their roles in this film were Celia Imrie and Jessica Hynes.
Christmas On Mistletoe Farm is a 2022 British Christmas comedy musical film, written and directed by Debbie Isitt. It was released on Netflix on 23 November 2022.