Every real-world monster and myth in Red One explained

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Every real-world monster and myth in Red One explained

Warning: spoilers for 2024’s Red One.

Red follows the kidnapping and rescue of Santa Claus (JK Simmons) in a story that mixes action, fantasy and comedy, and features some real-life monsters and myths that many viewers are certainly familiar with. Directed by Jake Kasdan, Red brings together two of the most popular action stars of recent years: Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. Red follows Callum Drift (Johnson), the head of security at the North Pole, who, after submitting his petition to retire after Christmas, faces a major emergency: a black ops team invades the North Pole complex and kidnaps Santa Claus.

The director of the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (MORA), Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu), tracks hacker Jack O’Malley (Evans), the last piece in a chain that will lead them to the kidnapper. Callum and Jack are forced to work together and discover that Santa’s kidnapper is Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), the winter witch. This sends them on an adventure to find Gryla’s lair and rescue Santa Claus, and in the process they come across another famous Christmas character, while also dealing with a famous Christmas myth and even discovering the existence of another famous character, but from another holiday.

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Santa Claus

Santa Claus is played by JK Simmons

It is clear that the main myth Red It’s Santa Claus. Red seeks a different image from the classic Santa Claus, as Simmons’ version is very fit and healthy, who exercises and stays in great shapeunlike the typical image of a bigger, softer Santa. RedSanta Claus is also a magical character, although it is not known exactly what his magical powers are, but he uses this magic to drive his sleigh and bring gifts to all the children on the “nice” list.

Although the figure of Santa Claus is mainly associated with Western Christian culture, the idea of ​​it comes from the folk traditions surrounding Saint NicholasChristian bishop and patron saint of children from the 4th century. It is said that Saint Nicholas was a very generous man who gave gifts secretly and the modern concept of Santa Claus is a combination of Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus. The latter comes from English folklore and is a bringer of Christmas gifts and the human representation of Christmas.

Santa Claus is a benevolent figure, associated with kindness, charity and philanthropy. The idea of ​​Santa Claus making the toys he gives to children in his workshop emerged at the beginning of the 20th century and, over time, this idea began to include elves who help him in the workshop. Nowadays it is a tradition for children to write a letter to Santa Claus with a wish list of gifts, and some postal services in different countries recognize this and allow children to deliver their letters.

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Gryla

Gryla is played by Kiernan Shipka


Keirnan Shipka as Grya in Red One

Although she may seem like a character exclusive to Red, Gryla is actually a mythological character from Icelandic folklore. In RedGryla is introduced as the Winter Witch and is later revealed to be a huge troll with the ability to shape-shift. What does Gryla want? Red is to get rid of all the people on the Naughty List, and to do so, she steals the “glaskafig”, a magical snow globe – but as the Naughty List is very long, she needs a toy duplicating machine owned by Santa Claus to create many of these snow globes.

Callum and Zoe, thanks to a tracker placed on Jack, discover that Gryla’s lair is underneath the North Pole, as that is where Santa’s old workshop is, and the machine she needs is stored there. Gryla needs Santa’s magic to drive her sleigh and deliver the snow globes to everyone on the Naughty List, but she is stopped by Callum and Jack. Gryla assumes her true troll form and fights them and Krampus, who joins the fight. Gryla is eventually defeated after Santa recovers and calls his reindeer to attack her.

Gryla falls into a puddle of snow globes she created, trapping herself in one of them. Zoe takes the snow globe with her, and it will be kept safely by MORA. As mentioned above, Gryla is a figure in Icelandic folklore, but began to be associated with Christmas in the 17th century. Gryla is represented as a very ugly and greedy ogresswho wanders through human settlements demanding charity, mostly asking for mischievous children, who she then takes to her mountain lair. In some representations, she carries a bag where she keeps the captured children..

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Krampus

Krampus is played by Kristofer Hivju

If there is someone as kind and good as Santa Claus, then there must be someone who is the complete opposite (for balance, of course) – and that’s where Krampus comes in. RedKrampus is revealed to be Santa’s estranged brother, who Callum believes is working with Gryla. Callum and Jack visit Krampus in his castle, where it is revealed that Krampus created the Naughty List (more on that in a bit) and he is Gryla’s ex-lover. Krampus is hosting a party when Callum and Jack arrive, and they are horrified to see how he entertains his guests.

Jack and Callum eventually manage to outwit Krampus and escape his castle, but to their surprise, Krampus appears to help when Gryla resurfaces in her true troll form. Although Krampus is unable to dissuade Gryla from her destructive plans, he is still a great help, and Santa recognizes him in the end, thus mending their relationship. In real life, Krampus is a figure from the folklore tradition of the Central and Eastern Alps and is closely associated with Santa Claus. Krampus is an anthropomorphic figure with horns and accompanies Santa Claus on visits to children.

During these visits, Santa gives gifts to well-behaved children, while Krampus punishes those who misbehave with birch sticks (yes, really). There are variations when it comes to Krampus’ physical appearance, but most agree that he is furry, black or dark brown, has goat-like horns, tusks, a pointed tongue, and a cloven-hoofed foot. Krampus typically carries chains, bells, and a bundle of birch branches or whips. On Christmas Eve, Krampus carries with him a bag in which he keeps all the bad and mischievous children, whether to drown them, eat them or take them to Hell.

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Santa’s “Naughty List”

If you are in this, you will not receive gifts


Santa's Sleigh at Red One

A big part of the Santa Claus concept and tradition is the Naughty or Nice List. In RedAs explained above, the Naughty List was created by Krampus, who wanted to do the opposite of his brother and go after children who misbehaved. Gryla pulls out the North Pole Naughty List to see who she will send a snow globe to, and on that list are Jack and his son, Dylan. The Naughty or Nice List is an addition to the Santa Claus tradition, although its exact origin is unknown.

However, according to National Day Calendar, it was first mentioned in the 1934 song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” The idea of ​​the list goes hand in hand with the idea of ​​“nice” children receiving candy, cookies, or other small gifts in their stockings, while “naughty” children find a lump of coal in theirs. It is also believed that the Good/Naughty List comes from many cultures and legends, all of which are rooted in the concepts of good/bad and nice/evil, along with the idea of ​​how good behavior should be rewarded, while bad behavior brings unpleasant consequences. .

To help children better understand the concepts of good and bad behavior and the consequences of each, the figures of Santa Claus and Krampus come into play. Santa Claus, the benevolent, smiling and gentle figure, is the one who will visit well-behaved children and reward them with gifts, while those who misbehave will be visited by the demon Krampus, who can eat them or take them to a very dangerous place. horrible.

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The Headless Horseman

The headless horseman makes a brief but memorable cameo

An unexpected but brief appearance in Red It’s the Headless Horseman. When Zoe captures Jack, she takes him to the North Pole to interrogate him and explains what MORA’s work is about. Of course, Jack doesn’t believe anything she’s saying… until he sees the Headless Horseman’s demonic horse, the horseman himself, and his pumpkin head being taken into custody by MORA agents. Zoe explains to Jack that since Santa has been kidnapped, they will interrogate all the mythological creatures to get information and hopefully find Santa.

The figure of the Headless Horseman became widely popular thanks to Washington Irving’s 1820 short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

The Headless Horseman is a mythical figure found in European folklore since the Middle Ages.appearing in German, Irish, Scandinavian and British legends. Headless horsemen are horsemen who do not have a head, and whether or not they carry their heads depends on the legend. Headless horsemen were seen as omens of bad luck, and their victims were proud, scheming and arrogant people. The figure of the Headless Horseman became widely popular thanks to Washington Irving’s 1820 short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

It is believed that Irving’s character was not only based on the legends mentioned above, but also on the headless corpse of a Hessian Jäger found in Sleepy Hollow and buried by the Van Tassel family in an unmarked grave. Since then, the Headless Horseman has become a figure associated with Halloween and has been adapted into all types of media, particularly feature films such as The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and Tim Burton Sleepy hollow.

Source: National Day Calendar.

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