MovieChat Forums > One Magic Christmas (1985) Discussion > great film, best Santa ever...but world'...

great film, best Santa ever...but world's worst parents? - spoilers

posted 19 years ago by lomticks_of_toast
19 replies | jump to latest

I first saw this film as a kid, in the theater, and even then it was depressing while also being fun and uplifting. Now I catch it whenever I can on TV, and still enjoy it.

The Santa Claus depicted is very original, with his forgetful head-in-the-clouds nature. I don't really care for this film's version of Santa's "elves", but that's a minor point.

However, having watched the film recently, I have to say, the Graingers must be the worst parents in the entire world. When this movie was made, leaving your kids in a car was, well, more "acceptable" than it is today. But never, and I mean NEVER, would my mom or dad have left me and my sisters in an unlocked car WITH THE KEYS STILL IN IT, especially not when we were under 8 years old or so!!! I cringe at that scene every time and scream at the TV. Maybe it's just because I now have a child of my own, but golly, get a clue Mr. Idiot Dad!

"What's the big idea? This is a LEFT hand!" - Versus

[–] tribob_creator 19 years ago

why didnt the bank robber, just take the car that she ended up 'stealing' that annoys me.

[–] jchaines 19 years ago

Because when the Grainger dad parks to go to the bank, he doubles parks next to the crook's car, so the crook's car is "parked in"

[–] lomticks_of_toast 19 years ago

Yeah, and so, besides being a very lousy parent, the dad is also a double-parker! What a jerk! haha

Merry Christmas!

"What's the big idea? This is a LEFT hand!" - Versus

[–] first_jabberwocky 19 years ago

i dont think they were lousy parents. everyone left their kids in the car in the 80's. my dad left us in the car all the time. he never wore a seatbelt. we never wore seatbelts. i never wore a bike helmet either. and look, im still alive. people are too paranoid nowadays. its ok to be careful, but ppl take it way too far now. i'm guessing at least one of you who posted on this board was born in the late 80's. a child of the 90's, thats when all the paranoia set in. ask any child of the 70's or 80's and they will tell you its not a big deal.

and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

[–] robert48-1 19 years ago

I certainly agree with you . . . all the horribly "dangerous" things we did and somehow surviced. We even ate peanuts!!! Now everyone I know has a kid with a life threatening allergy to peanuts. And no-one wore a helmet while riding a bike . . . And, get ready for this, when I was in high school I used to hitchhike to band practice in the morning since there was no early bus. I suppose my mother would have been arrested today for letting me do that!

[–] lomticks_of_toast 19 years ago

Yes, yes, times have changed. Born in 1974, I know my parents allowed my sisters and I to do things I would never dream of letting my own daughter do nowadays. HOWEVER, although my mom occasionally left us in the car to run in for something, she NEVER:

1. Left the doors unlocked
2. Left the keys in the car
3. Left car running? I'm not sure if the dad in the movie did or not...
4. ...all with the car double-parked in the MIDDLE OF A BUSY STREET in front of a very crowded bank where it was going to take her at least 15 minutes to return
5. Not to mention the kids were too young (both of them) to be left alone in that situation...the boy was only about 6 or 7 years old.

No, I agree that we are overly cautious these days, but the dad in the movie was a complete doofus. Case closed.

"What's the big idea? This is a LEFT hand!" - Versus

[–] WestBH 19 years ago

I grew up in the 80's (born in late '70's) and my parents would never have left us alone in the car. My mother also refused to start the car until all of us buckled our seatbelts. There goes that theory.

[–] Rinn13 (167) 2 years ago

People left their kids in cars, yes. But I was left in the car, locked, NOT with the keys in the damn ignition. That point WAS really stupid. There were many points in this movie that were really dumb or very confusing or contrived.

I don't think they're bad parents, by any means. But leaving your kids in the car, with it still running, IS pretty damn idiotic.

[–] kflfk22 19 years ago

This is just a movie. The dad thought it would only take a minute. And the kids are not newborn are toddlers. The boy is nine. He is old enough to stay in the care. This is the best Christmas movie ever. The Night they saved christmas. And I guess you can say the parents in this movie is lousy. People do make mistakes. I like the mother and the father in this movie. This would not been a movie if the door was locked.

[–] danyuld 18 years ago

Theres not a great deal of movie to be had if the dad hadnt left them in the car with keys in etc etc.....

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[–] lomticks_of_toast 18 years ago

I can think of 100 better ways to portray tragedy in a parent's life that don't require the other parent to be a moron. Just bad writing. But I do like the movie, folks!

"What's the big idea? This is a LEFT hand!" - Versus

[–] kflfk22 18 years ago

Well good for yoUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. You don't have taste.

[–] aragem 18 years ago

Our parents left us in the car when we little in the 80's.

[–] celestialnavigator 18 years ago

well, i'll give an even older person's view. i was a child of the 60's and my parents...

left me in a running car
left me in an unlocked car

now, it's not as if they did this routinely, not caring about my welfare. i can only really remember it happening a few times. perhaps they were able to do this as 1. there was no real crime in my hometown 2. they had instructed me on how to behave in a car. they never would have had to worry about me playing with the controls as i knew better than to do such things.

i can relate to jabber and robert.

as of age 8,i came home from school to an empty house and began following the instructions my mom left to begin cooking dinner...yup, used the stove unsupervised and i'm proud to say, i never burned the house down...lol!

the doors to our home were never locked...on a hot night, they were left open to allow the air to circulate.

by age 12, my friends and i used to walk to the movies after dark...4 mi. one way.

wore no bike helmet...hell, i didn't even know there were such things then.

none of us ever wore seatbelts...just like everyone else in the 60's and 70's, we stuffed the belts into the seats so they wouldn't be in our way.

my parents would get the butter out of the fridge when they got up so it would soften enough to spread...that butter sat on the table the better part of the morning...none of us ever got sick...my parents STILL do this.

we considered it a treat to get to eat a bit of the raw hamburger before my mom cooked it...again, never got sick.

as a teen, i hitchhiked to friends' houses, school, the mall, etc.

if we were caught stealing, the police were not called. the store owner/manager phoned our parents who then read us the riot act so that we knew better than to ever try that again.

the world was a very different place then.

i do not think the father character is horrible. i imagine to today's generation it seems ghastly that he'd do such a thing (and considering the state of the world today, i'd never do such a thing...in fact, in the 80's when my son was young, i didn't do this either), but to those of us who are older, we don't find his behavior surprising.

[–] brynniegirl82 18 years ago

This movie is clearly directed toward a younger audience. You ALL liked this movie as children and now that you're older you critique it. Maybe that should be a clue to you that this movie isn't about being 100% realistic and sensible. It's about having a message.

And by the way, you'd all probably be very surprised if someone could show you all the stupid, irresponsible things your parents did when you were younger that you weren't even aware of!

Sure, it might not have been being left in an unlocked car in the middle of a road, but they'll be equally as endangering and senseless.

Stop pretending your parents were perfect or never could have done something so dumb. ALL parents have. They and you were simply lucky not to have a gunned bank robber around when you were so vulnerable.

That's life.

I did like this film as a child and still like it with a similar relaxed joy and hope. I won't like it the exact same as I did as a child because I'm not a child anymore, I understand now that it's not 'realistic'. But I am not going to start nitpicking at the "dumb dad" or the "mean mommy" or the "totally unrealistic" storyline. It's a great, so very sweet movie!

The little girl was precious, both the kids were terrific. "One of these days Abby.... *holds fist up, shaking it* to the moon!" LOL I had crappy brothers just like that! LOL They were written as if the children weren't even acting, they did so well. And the sad or horrible sides of the movie were GLADLY subdued.

Oh how fantasyfull was Abby's trip to the north pole? It was like magic to my child eyes, I really liked it.

I hope everybody can relax, accept this story for what it accomplished (we all treasured this as children for a reason!) and just Enjoy the movie!

__________________________
"Stop brynning the dog!"©

[–] kflfk22 18 years ago

well said>

[–] lomticks_of_toast 18 years ago

I've said from the beginning I like and enjoy the movie to this day. But what's the point of the message board? To just come on and tell each other how much we enjoyed the film? Or to discuss it and <gulp!> possibly critique elements contained within?

Again, great film, but that one element is just ridiculously written. A cop-out by the script-writer(s).

"What's the big idea? This is a LEFT hand!" - Versus

[–] brynniegirl82 17 years ago

And some might say it's a cop-out to claim a message board is here to discuss and <gulp> possibly critique elements contained within just so one can excuse themselves as they pointlessly, and uselessly crab about aspects of the movie you're supposed to accept for the movie to exist.

__________________________
"Stop brynning the dog!"©

[–] HelloMyNameIsMrBurns 9 years ago

Not only that, he didn't even park. It's not like they were in a secure parking spot on the side of the street. He just left them in the middle of the street. Did he even put his four ways on? Not to mention, nobody in the entire family for a seatbelt. I was a kid in the 80s. We always wore out seatbelts. Bad, bad, bad! They were asking for dead kids.