Parents' Guide to

Noelle

By Jennifer Green, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Xmas comedy has predictable storylines, positive messages.

Movie G 2019 100 minutes
Noelle Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 7+

Based on 23 parent reviews

Frenchmummy
Frenchmummy Parent of 9 and 11-year-old
December 18, 2020
age 6+

Not for kids with divorced parents!

I am shocked that CSM did not mentioned in their summary that one sub plot is about a kid the parents are divorced and who wants them all to spend Christmas together. As it happen, the boy get his wish as a Christmas present. Not all separated family can (nor want!) to spend Christmas all together, even when their relationship are amicable. This give a very negative message for kids in this situation and raised many unnecessary questions and can make kids sad. Not the goal of a Christmas movie! The rest of the story is uninteresting and uninspiring. It is all about the presents and iPad. Poor choice of a movie. Watch something else and save your self lots of heartache.
Gibsons
Gibsons Parent of 5, 7, 11 and 13-year-old
December 9, 2022
age 12+

Santa spoiler?

questions whether or not Santa is real
See all 23 parent reviews

What's the Story?

NOELLE (Anna Kendrick) is Santa's daughter and also sister to Nick Kringle (Bill Hader), recently anointed Santa to replace his deceased father. The problem is that Nick doesn't seem to have what it takes to master the basic requirements of the job -- sliding down chimneys and steering the sleigh -- let alone the more complex tasks, intuiting what people really want and whether they've been naughty or nice. When Nick runs away to Phoenix, Noelle and her sassy elf assistant Polly (Shirley MacLaine) chase after him. There they encounter complexities of American life like homelessness, divorce, and loneliness. Noelle enlists private investigator Jake (Kingsley Ben-Adir), a divorced dad to sweet kid Alex (Maceo Smedley), to help her hunt down her brother. When she finds Nick, it slowly dawns on them all that she's the woman for the job.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (23 ):
Kids say (13 ):

This takes the formula for a feel-good holiday movie and throws in a few twists, including a gender role reversal, some modern humor, foot-tapping tunes, and updated versions of the North Pole. Older audiences may get a chuckle from jokes about delivering presents by drone and Amazon Prime, adjusting algorithms to track kids' online habits to determine their naughtiness, and the appearance of a typically droll Shirley MacLaine. There are also a couple of nods to non-Christians, potentially as outreach to wider audiences, including a line Noelle delivers that "Christmas is like sushi: The Japanese invented it but now everybody loves it."

That may be true, but as with sushi lovers, film fans notice the imperfections, and Noelle stumbles in a few places. An intro of the Kringle family when the siblings were kids feels unnecessary and contributes to a slightly long runtime. CGI creatures -- reindeer and puffins -- are somewhat out of place in this ultimately human tale. A running reference to Noelle as a "princess" threatens to subvert the feminist storyline. Comparisons to Elf (another North Pole creature-meets-world tale) will be inevitable, and while Kendrick's Noelle is sweeter, she's not quite as funny. Still, Christmas is about setting aside petty complaints and -- as Noelle and Polly remind us in final scenes -- finding hope, inspiration, and joy in the holiday spirit.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how they would react if an icon like Santa changed genders, as happens in Noelle. How much of the symbolism of Santa Claus is wrapped up in his traditional depiction as a jolly, white-bearded old man? Can you imagine a female Santa?

  • When he's appointed Santa, Noelle's cousin Gabe invents an algorithm that determines almost all kids are naughty because of minor infractions like not flossing or not eating their veggies. Why do others at the North Pole consider this so unfair?

  • How does this film compare with other Christmas movies you've watched?

  • What do the holidays mean to you?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate