The Night My Dad Saved Christmas

Name: The Night My Dad Saved Christmas
Released: 2023
Duration: 95 min

61/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 61 ↓

Not BBFC rated95 min
Comedy · Family

A Spanish Santa comedy that does what the title promises.

Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓

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Explore this film 4 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas all the way through.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, firmly.25/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for about half.10/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details5 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.8/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: substantially.15/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

67/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mostly warm in tone. Mild threat. A content ending.

How we score →

What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →

The story

About The Night My Dad Saved Christmas

Days before Christmas, a sleigh accident puts Santa in a hospital bed in the middle of a city. His room-mate, a small-time hustler who sells stolen car parts, is asked to take over the Christmas Eve deliveries. To win back his family he has to find the reindeer, learn to fly the sleigh and become a better person before the night is out. A Spanish and Mexican family comedy with Santiago Segura and Ernesto Sevilla.

The CineClaus verdict

A Spanish Santa comedy that does what the title promises.

Santa crashes his sleigh, ends up in a hospital bed, and hands the Christmas Eve round to the unlikeliest stand-in on the ward, a petty thief who has been a poor father. It follows the save-Christmas formula without many surprises, and the reindeer show their budget.

The charm is in the cast and in a plot that wants a father to do right by his son. Fine to put on with the family, as long as nobody expects subtlety.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

Not BBFC rated

Our take: fine from about nine. It is a broad comedy with schoolyard bullying and some crude gags, and there is no UK certificate to go by.

Content advice & accessibility

Not BBFC rated: The BBFC has no classification for this film, so it has no UK certificate. Our age guidance above is editorial, not an official rating.