I wasn’t originally going to include Netflix’s Alien XMas since it isn’t a live action movie but it looked cute and it is a 2020 Christmas film. Besides, it’s only 42 minutes long.

A group of aliens called Klepts steal everything they can find. As a result, the aliens and their planet have lost all of their bright colors. When they come upon Earth, they decide to steal all of the stuff Earth has. The supreme leader, Z (Barbara Goodson), sends the smallest alien, X (Dee Bradley Baker), to set up a machine that will reverse the Earth’s gravity, sending all of their stuff into space where the Klepts can gather it. Since the North Pole is the ideal spot for the machine, X lands in Christmastown, where Santa (Keythe Farley) is preparing for his Christmas journey.

Originally, Alien XMas was intended to be a full-length movie but it couldn’t find funding. You can tell that they tried to jam the same amount of information into a shorter running time. The beginning part of the story where Santa is explaining who the Klepts are is very rushed. I think the movie might have been better if they didn’t spend so much time on why the Klepts enjoy stealing or how good they are at stealing.

The best part of the movie, besides the voice acting, is where X was running around Christmastown. As the little alien ran around town, he was stealing whatever he could. The writers pretty much ripped the page right out of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. But, hey, it’s a story you know that kids like. Might as well keep the formula.

Alien XMas is a cute movie. I’m not sure how it would do with older children but I wouldn’t be surprised if younger kids find it entertaining. There’s puppies and elves and aliens. And, like I said, it’s only 42 minutes long. If you have some time to waste, this is a perfectly acceptable way to do it.