Red was finally released, leading to the conclusion that the film is actually just a worse version of a classic Disney film. The trailers for Red made the film feel incredibly unique, following a highly trained elf who works alongside a member of the Naughty List to rescue Santa after he is kidnapped. However, when watching the film, it becomes clear that Red features a lot of familiar territory, with this beloved Disney holiday series already doing much of what Red he did.
The cast of Red immediately made it one of the most notable Christmas movies of 2024, featuring big stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, and Lucy Liu. The big-budget Christmas action comedy appeared to have broad appeal, with Red being the first original Christmas property of this scale in some time. While Red isn’t based on a pre-existing franchise, viewers could easily be fooled, as much of its world appears to have been lifted from this Disney film.
Red One is incredibly similar to Disney’s Santa Claus series
They have many similarities
from Disney Santa Claus film series is one of the most popular Christmas film series of all time, and Red seems to take a lot of his world away from him. Red and Santa ClausTed’s worlds have many similarities, featuring highly militarized elf units, similarly designed versions of the North Pole, and even similar explanations for how Santa makes his Christmas Eve deliveries. Even beats like the comical reindeer can be found in Redwith Santa Claus having won strongly.
The stories of Red and Santa Claus also have many similarities. Primarily, both films feature a divorced father who has a strained relationship with his son, and their relationship is repaired when father and son are transported to the North Pole. Through the experience of Christmas, father and son bond once again, with the previously work-obsessed deadbeat dad finally turning over a new leaf. RedJack O’Malley is just a more cartoonish version of Santa Clausis Scott Calvin, this being the heart of both films.
Santa Claus has already made Red One’s MORA mythological universe
Santa Claus beat red with his punch
One of the biggest appeals Red is the introduction of MORAsomething that highlights that Red It’s more than just Christmas. Red is set in a world where all manner of mythological creatures are real, with a militarized organization known as MORA being used to track and control them. Characters like The Headless Horseman are seen in Redsuggesting that any number of mythical or holiday creatures could appear in the future Red films.
However, this is another element in which Santa Claus to knock Red for the punch. Very similar Red, Santa ClausS.’s Christmas world exists in a universe where all kinds of mythological creatures are real. The sequences of Santa Claus feature appearances by characters such as The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, Cupid, Father Time and much more, with Jack Frost even being the main villain of the third film. Although this was not the main focus Santa Claus films, even this idea is not entirely original to Red.
Santa Tells His Christmas Redemption Story Better Than Red
Scott Calvin’s story has more heart than Jack O’Malley’s
Despite Santa Claus and Red having many similarities, Santa Claus It’s a much better story than Red. Both films attempt to present stories of redemption with the aforementioned father-son relationships. However, Jack O’Malley is not Redis the main character, being just a secondary protagonist to The Rock’s Callum Drift. Meanwhile, Scott Calvin is the protagonist of Santa Clausallowing the film to create a much better redemption story.
Furthermore, Scott Calvin’s redemption is directly tied to Santa Claus. Scott’s transformation into the joyful holiday figure is what thematically parallels his transformation into a better father, with him and his son spending much of the film together. Jack O’Malley, however, is separated from his son for much of the Red. His steady relationship with his son doesn’t seem so secure at the end of Redwithout having the heart that Disney Santa Claus he has.