Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!

Given the huge success of the first Nativity movie, it's no surprise that a sequel would be made no long after. But given that Martin Freeman was busy with making a certain Hobbit movie, they got the Tenth Doctor himself David Tennant to fill Freeman's boots along with Gavin & Stacey actress Joanna Page as the love interest replacing Ashley Jensen. So, can the Tenth Doctor himself bring as much charm as his predecessor Biblo Baggins, or is it really as dangerous as the title implies? Let's take a look!

Story: Given the simplicity & charm of the original, you'd think that the director would try to emulate it but with different characters. Wrong. I get that with a sequel that there's a need to rehash it but bigger & this one is no exception. While it attempts to capture the essence of the original, the plot itself is actually pretty...creepy. Instead of a nativity play, this is a journey plot to a Song for Christmas competition in Wales & despite EVERYONE around him saying no, Mr Poppy decides to take the kids (along with a kidnapped Mr Peterson & tag-along baby) on a duck-bus, it loses petrol & they have to go through the forests of Wales to get to the contest. I can't help but find it ridiculous that in this light-hearted Christmas film, child abduction is a key part of this plot & Mr Poppy never thinks of the consequences up to the point that he gets the kids to climb down a bloody cliff with a rope (which doesn't go as planned, of course), takes them into a cave & takes them down some rafts without a helmet for the baby. Seriously, I was genuinely concerned that he'd kill one of his pupils & yet Tennant's Peterson is portrayed as being a killjoy for simply caring about their safety! And unlike the first one where it's semi-improvised, this film also does that yet feels a lot more scripted & therefore has a lot of contrivances including a plot convenient donkey for when they have to get to the next part of the story & a raft, helmets & lifejackets for them to go through a river. And it also doesn't help that the (fun) musical numbers are often interrupted by the numerous subplots cramming for attention unlike the last one where it let the play take over, including Donald's heavily pregnant wife (pretty predictable what's gonna happen at the end), wanting to impress his strict father & his sibling rivalry with his choir master twin brother, Roderick (also played by Tennant). While it did get a couple of chuckles out of me because of Mr Peterson's deadpan straight man antics, the unfortunate & scary implications of this whimsical Christmas movie really drag it down for me.

Characters: Since Martin Freeman couldn't return (his character being explained as moving to America), David Tennant's Mr Peterson fills in for him. I must say that he actually fits very well into the universe & is a pretty likeable lead. David Tennant's performance does manage to make him equally as charming (well, it IS David Tennant AKA one of the most adorkable actors EVER) & he does get some funny moments as the straight man to Poppy's more 'eccentric' persona, even if it doesn't work as much compared to before. And as mentioned, Mr Poppy is just more infuriating in this as he plays a bigger role (clearly because Debbie Isitt thought he was the 'breakout character' for kids) & is just insufferable throughout as a bigger man-child because he kidnaps the children to Wales, puts them in potential danger, convinces them to bring babies to school so they can take one to the competition, throws Mr Peterson's phone off the bus & losing all possible contact with his pregnant wife who could burst any minute and has a shrine devoted to Freeman's Mr Maddens. And as Don himself says in one (funny) scene, I believe he's certifiably insane! But what doesn't work with Tennant for me is his dual portrayal as Roderick because while he does have a lot of range as an actor, this character was just such an over the top Gareth Malone caricature/villain that it gets borderline ridiculous & only feels like an actual character by the end. And it doesn't help when they're onscreen at the same time via an unconvincing split screen/body doubles. Donald's pregnant wife Sarah (Joanna Page pre-Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special) does try to play a role by setting up a search party for her husband & the kids, getting a helicopter & standing up to her father in-law, but she can just be relegated to the pregnant love interest to benefit Donald's arc of being worried about being a father. Gordon Shakespeare also returns as the secondary villain (despite reforming in the last one) even if he doesn't have as much of a purpose other than his school also competing for the Song for Christmas contest even if he can be happy & Angel Matthews (Jessica Hynes) also plays a funny role as a singer hosting the competition who can easily be described as a bitch in sheep's clothing. Oh yeah, and Mrs Bevans is back despite mentioning that she was retiring in the last movie! I must not forget the kids in this because despite the more contrived & scripted story, they still have times where they can be cute & do what they want, but nowhere near as much as the first film. Despite the very likeable lead from David Tennant, the rest can either come across as generic, & most

Songs: I will give it this. The songs for the movie are pretty catchy in a corny kind of way. The song Born in the Hay that the St Bernadette's kids show to Mr Peterson, while cheesy, is still a pretty fun & cute ear worm despite a few lyrics not working for me. Elfing Christmas is a small number the Oakmoor School sing when dressed up as elves in Santa's Grotto which I guess is meant to intentionally be cheesy & corny. Everybody's Got a Dad But Me that Poppy sings was pretty depressing & wasn't really the best way to give him 'character development' even if it emulates the cliched white guy playing the ukulele. Oh yeah, and a reprise version called Hawaii in My Heart which was confusing as hell. But the next one has to be my favourite with Gordon Shakespeare's A Dickens Christmas which is clearly a parody of Broadway musicals (specifically Les Miserables' At the End of the Day & Oliver's Where is Love) because it was pretty funny & I am a sucker for the musical theatre. However, most of the original songs are in the Song for Christmas competition so they feel a little cramped together. It doesn't really help that they try to cram in plot between these songs, so it's a bit hard to fully immerse myself in them because they Anyway, Christmas Crackers is a pretty cute opener even if it's a tad weak, Snow Angel is a pre-2015 Justin Bieber parody which is exactly what you'd expect, Spirit of the Trees is an Irish Riverdance style song which is adorably catchy, Christmas Fairies is a pretty embarrassing rap number (probably the weakest) & Counting Down for Christmas is a pretty catchy musical number despite some clumsy lyrics here & there. Peace & Joy is a pretty good choir song, although the addition of stealing Where is Christmas from Gordon's act feels really distracting. And finally, St Bernadette's Yes We Can is cloyingly catchy & sweet ear worm but the addition of Born in the Hay felt pretty unnecessary. Oh yeah, and Christmas is Coming as a medley clearly because of them being the protagonist school. Along with the original songs, there's obviously the public domain songs like Sleigh Ride, O' Holy Night,  However, the rest of the soundtrack is, let's say....repetitive. Why? Well, they play The Puppini Sisters' cover of Jingle Bells as comedy background music not once, not twice, not thrice, but FIVE times! And while it is a good version, I didn't particularly want it being shoved down my ears every 20 minutes or so because it got more & more annoying each time!

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger is undeniably a classic case of sequelitis. With a story that's somehow even more ridiculous & surprisingly for a family film, annoying flanderisations of characters and a couple of good songs, this really was a low point of the franchise. And to add insult to injury, they dedicated this movie to Jason Watkins' deceased 2 year old daughter which I felt was disgustingly insulting because it's clear they were just using that to try & add false sentiment & gain sympathy! This does not justify the lack of effort put into this piece of crap & to be frank, Isitt should be ashamed of herself for doing that because the death of a child that young caused by a terminal disease should not be put up in a movie that gleefully contains child abduction. But given that this still made a load of money in the UK, it was pretty clear that a third movie was still on the cards for Debbie Isitt. And as for my thoughts on it...oh boy, you're in for a treat tomorrow!
Story: 😡
Characters: 😡
Songs: 😊
Overall:😠