David E. Talbert’s Jingle, Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Entertainment, Film Reviews — By Buddy Sampson on November 13, 2020 at 5:04 pm

A New Christmas Cinematic Masterpiece for The Ages

By Buddy Sampson

Mystical. Whimsical. Magical. Those three words may describe David E. Talbert’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, but four words should be added- A Cinematic Christmas Masterpiece.

Talbert, a brilliant writer, playwright, director and theater maker, has produced 14 national tours, including for his first play “Tellin’ it Like it Tiz,” which toured for two years, establishing him as one of the most successful directors, writers and producers in American theater. He has written and produced 14 national tours, has earned 24 NAACP nominations, winning Best Playwright of the Year for “The Fabric of a Man,” and is also a best-selling author, having written three novels “Baggage Claim” (2003), “Love on the Dotted Line” (2005) and “Love Don’t Live Here No More: Book One of Doggy Tales” (2006), which he wrote with Snoop Dogg. In 2008, he made his film directorial debut with the Sony Pictures comedy “First Sunday,” which starred Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams. Among his impressive credits are Fox Searchlight’s “Baggage Claim,” an adaptation of his own novel and “Almost Christmas,” for Universal Pictures, with Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union and Academy Award winner Mo’Nique, which was the highest grossing theatrical release of his career. His recent national tours include the widely successful “What My Husband Doesn’t Know,” which starred Morris Chestnut.

“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” a mystical journey of fantasy, magic and wonder, follows an eccentric toymaker (Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker), his tenacious granddaughter (newcomer Madalen Mills), and a magical invention with the power to reunite their family and change their lives forever. “It was 22 years in the making,” said David E. Talbert, who started writing the play in 1997. “Thankful for that.” He wrote the film many years ago, but one major life event set the film on its course to success. “When finally, our son was born, it kind of reawakened the kid in me,” said David about the birth of his son with wife Lyn Sisson-Talbert, who has produced all of Talbert’s plays and films. “Looking at life through his eyes and I said ‘okay, well, it’s time to do it.’” He sat with his son and watched one of his favorite kid movies “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” His son was four, but his son didn’t quite have the reaction he was looking for. “I was just singing all the songs and he was staring at the screen and he finally said, ‘Daddy can I play with my Legos?’” he laughed. “And he walked away. I realized he couldn’t get into the movie like I could when I was young- we had no other option but to see movies that didn’t have people that look like us. There was no other option. From ‘Willy Wonka’ to ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,’ to the original ‘Dr. Doolittle’ to ‘Mary Poppins’ there was just no option.”

David set to change the status quo, to make a holiday blockbuster that featured people of color, a film that not only is a holiday masterpiece, but a film in which people of color can see themselves in a huge blockbuster extravaganza. “I realized on his wall (his son’s wall) was ‘Miles Morales’ (A Spider Man character) and he rocked with Miles Morales because he looked like him. And that’s when it hit me that it’s time to do this, and that the world needed- my son needed, our world needed to see people of color in this world in this holiday genre of films. And that’s when it took traction.”

“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” is simply a flawless movie. With sensational performances from Forest Whitaker, newcomer Madalen Mills, Phylicia Rashad and a monstrous performance by Keegan-Michael Key as the villain Gustafson, Key displays he has great range as an actor. Mills is a young superstar with a voice that captures the screen. In addition, the choreography is flawless and the production design and costuming, simply otherworldly (do we hear Oscar?).

Although this film features actors and actresses of color, this film will appeal to audiences of all ethnicities. In this time of isolation and strife, the world needs an inspirational story that inspires and encourages. “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” may be a Christmas movie, but it will live as a testimonial of triumph from the belief in human accomplishment. One line in the movie sums up its inspirational prowess- “If You Believe, It’s All Possible.” Simply, “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” is a masterpiece, a holiday Christmas classic that all families should view and have in their collections.

In select theaters in November, “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” is set to be released November 13^th, 2020 on Netflix.

Follow David on Instagram @DavidETalbert.

See my in depth coverage at Lee Bailey’s Eurweb.

David E. Talbert’s ‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’: A New Christmas Cinematic Masterpiece for the Ages