Back in 2018, Netflix gave us The Christmas Chronicles. The movie was such a hit that we got a part 2 this year. Not only do we get more of Santa and his elves, we also finally get to see Mrs. Claus!

Kate (Darby Camp) is spending Christmas on the beach with her family. Her mother, Claire (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), has started dating a new man, Bob (Tyrese Gibson). Kate is unhappy about the whole situation so she decides to run away. She, along with Bob’s son Jack (Jahzir Bruno), get kidnapped by a former elf, Belsnickel (Julian Dennison), in order to try to get into the North Pole. The kids are saved by Santa but now Belsnickel is attacking Santa’s Village. It’s up to Kate, Jack, Santa, and Mrs. Claus to save Santa’s Village from Belsnickel’s evil-doings.

Sadly, all of the things I enjoyed about the original movie are missing here. The elves, who were really cool in the first movie, spend a lot of this movie doing bad things, thanks to Belsnickel covering them with a potion. Kate is now a teenager and she’s kinda unbearable. She whines a lot and, even though she’s supposed to be a True Believer, she is terrible to everyone who isn’t Santa Claus.

Is it worth watching? Eh, Mrs. Claus is pretty awesome. Santa has another big musical number that is fun. I honestly think The Christmas Chronicles 2 would have been better with different kids or if Kate was teaching Jack how to be a True Believer. Instead, we get a lot of Santa fighting - both with Belsnickel and with the Yulecat.

The movie isn’t completely terrible but it’s not great either. If you really loved the first movie, I would recommend you skip the second. But if your curiosity wins out, it isn’t a completely terrible 2 hours. I just hope there isn’t a third movie in the works.