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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Comedy · Drama · Family · 2024

The Herdman kids are undeniably the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and overall terrorize their small community. But this Christmas, they're taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked little town the true meaning of Christmas.

Movie details

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

“Silent night, hold on tight.”

2024 Comedy · Drama · Family 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

The Herdman kids are undeniably the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and overall terrorize their small community. But this Christmas, they're taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked little town the true meaning of Christmas.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Best Christmas Pageant Ever?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Miracle on 34th Street

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A Christmas Story

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A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

Drama · 1984

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

Matilda

Matilda

Comedy · 1996

Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a terrifying, sadistic headmistress. As she becomes fed up with the constant cruelty, she discovers she has a special gift that she just might be able to use to outwit the unruly adults around her.

The Grinch

The Grinch

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

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Wimpy Greg Heffley, now in seventh grade, thinks he has it all together. He has mastered middle school and gotten rid of the Cheese Touch. However, Greg's older brother, Rodrick, is itching to cut him down to size. He gets the perfect opportunity when their mother tries to force the boys to bond. Rodrick may be Greg's chief tormentor, but he feels his constant pranks are just what his little brother needs to prepare him for life's hard knocks.

That Christmas

That Christmas

Animation · 2024

It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dallas Jenkins

Written by

Darin McDaniel · Ryan Swanson · Platte Clark

Judy Greer

Judy Greer

Grace Bradley

Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes

Bob Bradley

Molly Belle Wright

Molly Belle Wright

Beth Bradley

Lauren Graham

Lauren Graham

Narrator / Adult Beth Bradley (voice)

Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez

Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez

Charlie Bradley

Kynlee Heiman

Kynlee Heiman

Gladys Herdman

Matthew Lamb

Matthew Lamb

Claude Herdman

Court is in session

Put The Best Christmas Pageant Ever on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.