Jingle Jangle: a Christmas Journey

If part of David E Talbert's aim was to make a film that became a perennial festive fixture, then he might just have done it with this uplifting, lovingly crafted family musical, featuring (Broadway-ready) songs by John Legend and others. Set in a town that's like a Christmas card come to life, it tells the story of a visionary inventor of steampunk playthings, Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker), who loses everything after an apprentice steals his book of designs and sets himself up as a rival toy-maker. Facing ruin unless he can come up with something revolutionary, Jeronicus finds his way back with help from his brilliant granddaughter, Journey (Madalen Mills). Clearly inspired by films such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Talbert creates something that feels and sounds at once timeless and contemporary. Heading up the mainly black cast, Whitaker is heartbreaking, his spine-tingling vulnerability during a plaintive solo number providing one of the film's highlights. Jingle Jangle isn't perfect - its plot holds few surprises and its tone is uneven - but succeeds, nonetheless, as an entertaining and good-natured fairy tale that should delight viewers of all ages.