8-Bit Christmas

8-Bit Christmas

By this time next year, we should have a better understanding of the NCU the Nintendo Cinematic Universe. Alternatively, you may also know about it if you are a fan of video games and weird casting rumors like the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie that will feature Chris Pratt as Mario and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. This is one of many underdeveloped elements in an overly sentimental piece of product placement attempting to borrow from John Hughes’ oeuvre with some nondescript Illinois references and background music by Joseph Trapanese that sounds like he’s itching to break into John Williams’ “Somewhere in My Memory.”

“8-Bit Christmas” was written by Kevin Jakubowski (he adapted it from his book). The story in “8-Bit Christmas” is about how Jake grows up on his inner child’s longing for one thing. In the opening scenes of the film, Neil Patrick Harris shows his daughter a console he’d gotten himself as a child, but has no recollection of how (or why) he was able to do so. Harris plays the role of a rigid sit com dad at first then turns into a curious voice full of awe when narrating how they spent winter 1988 trying to win themselves Nintendo.

Later after that when Jake moves with Winslow Fegley who plays him now during different leads on where they could obtain their own Nintendo it becomes interesting because there is cuteness everywhere including these cute guys over here not giving funny treatment for the humorists. Characters such as Farmer (Max Malas) offer more than others, exploiting any opportunity available to them through lies (and it doesn’t help that he has been known for stretching truths too far without even realizing it).

Steve Zahn and June Diane Raphael play Jake’s parents who bear very minimal but heartfelt portrayals, showing him just how costly buying such systems are and pushing him towards what truly matters.

Even if this film had almost all the growing up elements known such as ogres, bullies, girl scouts and baseball cards, it is not for people who were the original players of Nintendo. Moreover, these are also two major reasons why the movie is essentially a flashback that kids could enjoy more since they may be less critical of many scenes which were setting up something mildly humorous but which ended quite flat.

Although Jake employs different strategies to get a Nintendo like selling wreaths door to door or trying to sweet talk an old person into giving him one his gags lack vigor. What became evident while watching was that first there was a decision made that there should be a script about getting Nintendo instead of comedy coming up with its own identity.

For starters, this play evokes strong feelings of nostalgia associated with Nintendo; as one can perceive from its title itself. At some point though it started being self deprecating: for instance when just before mentioning how typical your town’s stuck-up rich kid would have had it, the whole sequence starts making fun out of most popular yet flawed Power Glove in history (as if we cared). To make matters worse, however, things become openly weird as Jake’s quest begins looking like subliminal advertising campaign full of such variations like “I must have my own Nintendo.”

However, what really freaked me out was when Jake saw talking Nintendo store display; it hypnotized him into playing “Rampage,” the only moment in which anyone plays a video game during the entire movie (there are others but he ends up playing this one). Then after he is done playing video games on it and goes away the creepy machine calls him “a good boy.” The scene intended to seem funny actually looks like stranger danger.

Throughout this Christmas story there is no emotional connection besides Jake’s continuous let down whenever another plan backfires. These last five minutes aim at bridging the gap as well as a ringing endorsement on the side of fun that doesn’t come from a screen but it’s too little and always late especially when you find out how Jake got his Nintendo.

Further, the character make up on one of them who instead looks like a ghost kidnapped than an older version of himself does not help him show forth love he feels inside him while she or he is also funny at times. In terms of gamer culture, “8-Bit Christmas” may be more grounded than expected, but its own lack of imagination always gets to it.

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