The Naughty Nine
Detailed parental analysis
Mission: Gifts is a light and energetic family adventure comedy, driven by a group of resourceful children and the atmosphere of a Christmas caper film. The plot follows a boy on the naughty list who recruits eight classmates to break into Father Christmas's workshop and retrieve the gifts he believes he deserves. The film is clearly aimed at children aged 6 to 12, with enough action and humour to hold the attention of younger viewers without attempting to appeal to teenage or adult audiences.
Underlying Values
The film builds its moral arc around a genuine tension: the main character is presented as intelligent and charismatic, but his talents are first put to the service of dishonesty, manipulation and theft. This narrative choice is deliberate and not softened, which gives the final message a certain honesty. Redemption arrives in a credible way, carried by a gradual realisation rather than a magical reversal. Father Christmas explicitly expresses the idea that one can choose to change every day, which offers a concrete foundation for discussion with the child. In parallel, the film values teamwork and the ability to acknowledge one's mistakes, without ever resorting to heavy-handed moralising.
Discrimination
A character, Jon Anthony, is presented as gay and adopts a flirtatious tone: he describes an adult as attractive and pays compliments to a classmate. These lines are light and not explicit, but their presence in a film aimed at primary school children has prompted documented parental debate. Some parents judge them inappropriate for the target age group, whilst others consider them harmless. The film does not treat this character differently from the others nor does it make his orientation a subject of mockery or lesson: he is simply there, as a member of the team. It is precisely this neutral treatment that makes the question worth addressing with the child if the parent wishes to do so, according to their own values.
Violence
The film contains several sequences of physical peril: children jump from a moving aeroplane, there is an emergency landing, snowmobile accidents and chases. These scenes are treated in a comic and spectacular manner, without realistic consequences or visible injuries. The intensity remains within the codes of the family adventure film and should not worry children over 6 years old, although younger or more sensitive children may be startled by the pace of certain sequences.
Language
The language is generally clean, with a few mild insults in English whose French equivalents remain in a register common to playgrounds. Nothing that exceeds what a primary school child hears in the schoolyard.
Parental and Family Portrayals
Parental figures are little present in the narrative, which is consistent with the film's logic: the children act alone, make decisions and assume the consequences. This sidelining of adults is a classic device of the genre, but it deserves to be noted for families where the question of autonomy and disobedience is a sensitive subject.
Strengths
The film delivers on its promise of paced entertainment: the young actors are convincing, the energy is constant and the mechanics of the caper movie work well for a primary school audience. The main character's redemption arc is better constructed than in many productions of the same genre, with a sister who plays a credible moral conscience role rather than a decorative one. The film offers concrete material for discussing with a child the difference between being talented and making good use of one's gifts, which is a genuine educational entry point.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from age 6, with parental presence recommended for younger viewers due to a few sequences of peril. For 8 to 12 year-olds, it can be watched without major reservations. Two angles of discussion are worth pursuing after viewing: ask the child why Andy ends up changing his mind, and what this says about the difference between being clever and being honest; and, depending on the child's age and the family's values, return to the character of Jon Anthony and what the child thought of him.
Synopsis
Fifth-grader Andy finds himself without a present from Santa on Christmas morning. Realizing he must have landed on the “naughty list” and feeling unfairly maligned, Andy pulls together a team of eight other naughty-listers to help him execute an elaborate heist on Santa’s Village at the North Pole to get the presents they feel they deserve.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2023
- Runtime
- 1h 23m
- Countries
- United States of America
- Original language
- EN
- Directed by
- Alberto Belli
- Main cast
- Winslow Fegley, Danny Glover, Camila Rodriguez, Anthony John Joo, Imogen Cohen, Clara Stack, Ayden Elijah, Madilyn Kellam, Deric McCabe, Derek Theler
- Studios
- Poutine Productions, Disney Branded Television
Content barometer
- Violence1/5Mild
- Fear1/5Mild
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language1/5Mild
- Narrative complexity1/5Accessible
- Adult themes0/5None
Watch-outs
- Sexual orientation stereotypes
Values conveyed
- Friendship
- Autonomy
- Forgiveness
- responsibility
- teamwork
- making amends