Plugged In Review: Dallas Jenkins and 'The Best Christmas Pageant'

Barbara Robinson's classic book, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” hits the screen. And it's pretty awesome. “Max and the Midknights” doesn't charge into battle in rusted armor, but it could appreciate a little polish. “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is a fitting sequel to Disney's “Wizards of Waverly Place.”

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The best Christmas pageant ever – in theaters

“The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.”

So begins Barbara Robinson's short novella “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” And it's a sentence that always makes me smile. I have heard, read, and said these words countless times over the years: My mother read the book to me when I was a child. I read it to my own children almost every Christmas. Most of it still makes me laugh out loud. I still get a little foggy at the end.

And while there's no substitute for the book at Christmas, this movie goes all out to bring it to the screen.

As you may have already gathered – or yes, even if you just read the movie title – this story is linked to the Christmas story. And if you dig beneath all the film's humor, it's meant to remind us how beautiful, powerful, and messy that story is.

We tend to forget that mess, the story suggests. But as the Herdmans force Grace to tell them the Christmas story “from the beginning,” we see it with new eyes. We are reminded that the manger was a manger. That Mary and Joseph were not as beautiful and holy as we imagine, but rather dirty, confused and afraid. We hear the Christmas story separated from Renaissance nativity scenes and perfect cards, and thus find the story imbued with greater context and urgency.

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“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” also does something that Jesus did back then: it calls out the most Pharisaic among us. It reminds us, perhaps uncomfortably, that the very people we tend to avoid are the very people we should embrace.

'Jesus wouldn't have let Herdmans suffer!' says Alice, Beth's prim friend who – before Imogene – had played Mary at every Christmas pageant. But of course we know that Jesus would have suffered them. And by the time the credits roll, we get the sense that Imogene Herdman came to understand Mary and Jesus much better than Alice did.

In the Christmas season of our imagination we imagine the beautiful lights, the beautiful trees, the pure, white, freshly fallen snow.

But if you live somewhere where it snows, you know what it turns into when it mixes with dirt and leftover leaves, tire tracks and soot. Snow gets dirty. Just like we do. God, like snow, has made us pure. But in our fallen world we never stay that way. We get dirty, muddy and dirty.

And yet God loves us anyway. He loves us in the hope that we – like Imogene – will soon discover that we love Him. That we will see Him through the mud and mire of our lives. That we will see the love, hope and beauty beneath the snow, the colors waiting to sprout in spring.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” has a lot of content that would make the Alices of the world raise an eyebrow. But it's all done to point the story – and us – to something better, something true. It reminds us that a Child was born for us.

And that makes the difference.

Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.

Max and the Midknights – Streaming on Hulu/Nickelodeon

Those who were upset about the removal of “Big Nate” from Paramount+ might have a new show they can watch – provided they have access to Nickelodeon or Hulu.

“Max and the Midnights” is the latest animated film based on the work of Lincoln Pierce, the author best known for his Great Nate book series. This time we focus on Max, a young girl living in the Middle Ages who wants to become a knight.

The character is designed with a 'gender neutral' look. And according to the authorwas this a deliberate choice to encourage its young male audience to support a female protagonist and focus more on her aspirations to become a knight rather than focusing on her gender. In that regard, parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the character is not intended as a political statement about gender fluidity. Related to this point, however, it should be noted that the voice actress behind the character identifies as non-binary.

As for the actual content of the show, there isn't much to raise any concerns so far. The animated violence is more in line with cartoons: when monsters are stabbed, we see no blood. And even though a man dies, he is murdered off-screen. On other issues, magic exists in this world, and both good and evil characters use it to fight for their own goals.

In other words, “Max and the Midknights” doesn't charge into battle in rusted armor, but it can appreciate a little shine.

(Editor's note: Plugged In is rarely able to review every episode of a given series for review, so there's always a chance you may encounter an issue that we haven't spotted. If you notice content that you think should be included in our review, email us at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us on Facebook or Instagram, and let us know the episode number, title, and season so we can check it out.)

Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place – Streaming on Disney+

There are many similarities between Disney's “Wizards of Waverly Place” (broadcast from 2007 to 2012) and this sequel series.

Fans of the original will be thrilled to see their favorite characters back on screen, played by no less than the same actors. And while the end of the world aspect is new, the story setup of the three siblings with clashing personalities remains the same. Roman is a little tense. Billie is a bit of a rebel. And Milo is a bit of a weirdo.

But that reminds me of another similarity: no matter how much trouble Justin, Alex and Max got into, they always had each other's back. The love of family kept them together, even at the height of the Wizarding Competition (which, by design, often tried to drive them apart). And we see that same love repeated in the Russos' pseudo-adoption of Billie.

Mortal families watching this sequel won't have to worry about language or graphic violence. But as Paul Asay stated in his review of the original “Waverly Place,” “Alex has proven to be a less than ideal role model for her hordes of young Disneyfied fans. And the adults in her life are idiotic and little less wise than you would wish or even expect.” Those feelings are reflected in Billie. And while Justin and Giada may seem more down-to-earth at times, they definitely have their own doofus moments.

Finally, we're obviously still dealing with the magical components of the show. We are told that wizards are born with their powers, but they can also have those powers removed. We'll also see an influx of other magical creatures: traditional ones, like werewolves and vampires, but also brand new ones like the Medusa-like 'floogie'.

Parents shouldn't necessarily downplay these concerns (you can read more about the problems with witchcraft and wizards in Paul Asay's blog: “Toil and trouble: witches are in, and why that's a problem“), even if they grew up watching the original series.

(Editor's note: Plugged In is rarely able to review every episode of a given series for review, so there's always a chance you may encounter an issue that we haven't spotted. If you spot content that you think should be included in our review, email us at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us on Facebook or Instagram, and let us know the episode number, title, and season so we can check it out.)

Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.

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Connected is a Focus on the family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and influence the culture they live in. Through our reviews, articles, and discussions, we hope to stimulate intellectual thinking, spiritual growth, and a desire to follow the commandment of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through empty and deceitful philosophy, depending on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.”

Reviews written by Paul Asay, Emily Tsaio And Kennedy Ondank.