The poem is a timeless classic, not just of Christmas but of anything. It is a poem read out loud every year as one of the family Christmas traditions and it has never gotten old. Saw this adaptation of 'The Night Before Christmas' as it came from Rabbit Ears Productions and they have been responsible for some wonderful adaptations of childrens/family literature. It also had Meryl Streep on board, a regular narrator for their adaptations and she proved in 'The Velveteen Rabbit' (one of their best) and the Beatrix Potter adaptations that she was a great narrator.
Streep proves it here too in Rabbit Ears Productions' adaptation, as one of their Holiday specials, of 'The Night Before Christmas'. It is not one of their best in my view though and was for me a little disappointing. That is not to say that 'The Night Before Christmas' wasn't good, actually liked it quite a lot. Considering the source material, it though could have been a classic and didn't reach that distinction and it would have done if the changes worked more consistently.
Which was what brought 'The Night Before Christmas' down. Actually didn't mind the changes to the little details, but there is quite a bit of tampering with the poetry itself and it wasn't always for the better. Actually found some of it somewhat stilted and that the more wordy changes disrupted the poetry's flow and made the rhythm somewhat uneven.
Also felt that although the drawings were very good on the whole, occasionally the character designs were on the crude side with Santa occasionally looking unintentionally scary.
On the most part, the drawings are just lovely. Simple but not my definition of limited, and very elegant in the colours and some nice little details. The music is both nostalgically festive and spirited with beautiful use of instrumentation and a real sense of atmosphere. Streep narrates sensitively and very like a mother reading a bedtime story to her child, which is exactly the right approach for this poem and something that Rabbit Ears Productions' literary adaptations excelled brilliantly in.
Even with the changes to the poetry, the text is mostly charming and engages throughout. To me, the story still has its magic and sweet charm even if not quite embodying it, although there are differences in the text the spirit is still there. The characters are engaging, once one gets past the character design Santa's personality is fine.
Concluding, nice though didn't blow me away. 7/10
