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The Magic Crystal (2011 film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Magic Crystal' , also released as 'Santa's Magic Crystal' and 'The Elf that Rescued Christmas' in the UK, is a 2011 3D computer-animated Christmas film directed by Antti Haikala from a screenplay by Haikala, Bob Swain, Dan Wicksman, Nuria Wicksman and Alessandro Liggieri. It features characters from the TV series 'Red Caps'. An international co-production between Finland and Belgium, 'The Magic Crystal' was produced by the Finnish Epidem ZOT and Belgian Arano and Skyline Animation.
Released on 18 November 2011, the film was a box office bomb, grossing $340,836 against a budget of 5,074,000 ($).
Plot
Yotan (Jonas in some versions) is an orphan who wants to be helpful as much as he can much to the disapproval of the orphanage owner. On December 23rd, Yotan is late to come back due to him helping a younger boy retrieve his Christmas letter in a drain. In his room, Santas twin brother Basil and his minion Grouch (Ltty in some versions) (Basil originally found him in a post office) show up outside his window asking if he would like to help save Christmas. The orphanage owner bursts into the room scaring Yotan out of the window and into the garbage bin. In the bin, Yotan befriends a talking squirrel named Jiffy. Just then, the orphanage owner falls into the bin after a scuffle with Basil who stole his cane. Santas rocket-powered sleigh shows up driven by a Jamaican anthropomorphic reindeer named Poro who picks up Basil and Grouch. The bin rolls down the hill with the orphanage owner falling out telling Yotan to never come back. Yotan and Jiffy crash into the town centre where Yotan explains to Jiffy what Christmas is (She claims that squirrels dont know about Christmas). The sleigh returns to collect the letters and the two hide in one of the letter bags. Basil and Grouch notice them and help Poro with the bags and they take off back to Lapland.
In Lapland, the sleigh arrives at Santas palace. Yotan and Jiffy sneak out before Basil finds them and they run around the palace narrowly avoiding Basil. Basil eventually finds them and takes them to the crystal room where the titular crystal is being kept. He explains that Santa is two minutes older than him and says that Christmas isnt what its supposed to be. He then makes Yotan retrieve the crystal and with Jiffys help is able to get it. Basil then betrays Yotan when he takes the crystal from him and drops them into the room for them to be caught. A group of elves and Poro arrive in the crystal room to find Yotan and Jiffy and the crystal missing. An elf named Jaga accuses Yotan of stealing the crystal. Santa Claus (credited as Joulupukki in original version) and his wife Maya arrive and react more calmly to Yotans presence. Basil calls from the control room revealing he stole the crystal. Jaga and another elf named Didi chase after Basil on rocket-powered skis but are shot down by Basils Robotics (robots that are like Minions). Smoo, one of the elves, suggests a rescue team but Yotan hijacks the sleigh with the help of a younger elf named Alpo who only speaks in Elvish. Porro grabs on to the sleigh and it blasts out of the palace. Yotan earns Poros trust after he saves him. Santa reveals that the reason Basil needed Yotan was because he is at the top of the nice list making him the nicest person in the world and earlier put a magic star in Yotans pocket and tells him that when the time comes it will do exactly what he needs it to do and to believe in himself. Basils base, Basil steals Jaga and Didis magic stars and forces them to activate the stars in order for his base to start working. He then freezes the palace and imprisons them.
As the sleigh closes in on the base, Basil flies out on another sleigh shoots down the sleigh. Basil explains to Jaga and Didi that he plans to kidnap all the children in the world due to bad things they do when they grow up (wars, pollution, crimes etc.) and says that Santa spoils them. Surviving the crash, Yotan tells Poro to fix the sleigh, Alpo to distract the Robotics and for Jiffy to come with him. Making their way into the base, Yotan and Jiffy find out that the Robotics are strange green beings in robot suits. Disguising as one of them, Yotan finds portions of Basils plan but before he can move on, his cover is blown and is imprisoned by Basil who steals his star. Jiffy escapes and accidentally falls off the base and causes a giant snowball to destroy the sleigh just as Poro finished fixing it. They crash into the base and Yotans cell, freeing him. Unbeknownst to them, Basil witnessed the escape.
Back at the palace, Santa, Maya, Smoo and the elves are revealed to have survived being frozen from the blast and with the radio down, Smoo attempts to fix a drone to find Yotan and the group. The group retrieve Jaga and Didis stars but then Basil appears and after a fight chases him to where Jaga and Didi are where Basil reveals that the base is built under a volcano and attempts to burn them in the lava. Yotan throws them their stars allowing them to escape as Basil and Grouch escape. Chasing after them, the base starts to rise with Basil getting ready to become the new Santa. Jaga still doesnt trust Yotan who runs off with Jiffy to stop Basil himself after she said that hes not one of them. Just then, the drone from the palace arrives with Santa asking where Yotan is making Jaga guilty. Yotan attempts to stop Basil but is then joined by the others. Yotan throws Jiffy at Basil who retrieves his star. The volcano starts to erupt due to the power of the crystal trapping Poro, Jaga, Didi and Alpo. Basil pushes Yotan into the lava but uses the orphanage owners cane to hold himself up. Jiffy accidentally drops the star, Yotan catches it and it gives him anti-gravity powers which he uses to save the others. The crystal is revealed, when the Christmas star rises, to multiply Santa for each country so he can deliver the presents. Yotan asks the Basils Which one of you is the real Santa Claus? This causes a fight between the Basils giving Yotan and Jaga a chance to save the crystal and it apparently falls into the lava but is saved by Grouch who they take with him. Due to the crystal being taken, the Basils regroup causing Basil to be launched out of Lapland and into a house where hes toppled by children.
In Basils sleigh, it is too heavy for all of them so Jaga jumps out so they can escape but Yotan attempts to save her causing them to fall off. The sleigh escapes but the drone saves Yotan and Jaga and the green creatures from the Robotic suits escape from the base. Back at the palace, Yotan, Jiffy, Jaga, Didi, Alpo and Smoo are named Santas special helpers: the Red Caps. The crystal multiplies Santa and Poro who go off to deliver the presents and spread Christmas joy to the world and Yotan is given his wish he made earlier: being part of a family.
Cast
* Kyle E. Christensen as Yotan/Jonas
** Jukka Nylund as Yotan/Jonas (Finnish dub)
* Clarissa Humm as Jaga
** Paula Vesala as Jaga (Finnish dub)
* Lisa Kent as Jiffy
** Kiti Kokkonen as Jiffy (Finnish dub)
* Gerald Owens as Basil
** Veeti Kallio as Basil (Finnish dub)
* David Dreisen as Grouch/Ltty
** Antti Jaakola as Grouch/Ltty (Finnish dub)
* CJ Fam as Didi
** Henni-Liisa Stam as Didi (Finnish dub)
* Michael Mena as Smoo
** Jon-Jon Geitel as Smoo (Finnish dub)
* Mathew Wetcher as Alpo
** Aapo Haikala as Alpo (Finnish dub)
* Joe Carey as Santa/Joulupukki
** Veikko Honkanen as Santa/Joulupukki (Finnish dub)
Release
'The Magic Crystal' was released in Finnish cinemas on 18 November 2011 by Future Film.
Box office performance
'The Magic Crystal' was a box office bomb. It received 5,000 admissions during its opening weekend, ending with 16,865 during its entire theatrical run, which equates to $195,599 according to Box Office Mojo. In Belgium, it grossed $74,096. The film was later released in Lebanon on 13 December 2012, where it grossed $71,141 for a worldwide total box office gross of $340,836 against a budget of 5,074,000 ($). It was the 86th most-watched film in Finland of 2011 by number of admissions. According to Peter Toiviainen, manager of marketing at Future Film, the reason for the film's underperformance at the box office was because "the novelty value of domestic 3D films is now lower than it was two years ago," and competition from 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' which premiered at the same time as 'The Magic Crystal'.See also
* 'The Flight Before Christmas' (2008 film)
References
Buy The Magic Crystal (2011 film) now from Amazon
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