Jingle All the Way

Story

Jamie Langston (Jake Lloyd) is a typical young boy. He loves superheroes and, in particular, Turbo Man. His father, Howard (Arnold Schwarzenegger), promises to get him a Turbo Man doll for Christmas. But as usual, Howard forgets all about it until just before Christmas Day when he’s reminded by his long-suffering wife, Liz (Rita Wilson). Howard rushes to the shops to discover that he’s one of many desperate parents trying to find a Turbo Man doll. Chaos and fights erupt among greedy parents. And Howard is followed everywhere by another, even more desperate, dad, Myron (Sinbad).

Howard gives up at the end of a long day and returns home to keep at least one promise to his son, which is to attend the annual Christmas Parade. Along the way, however, he’s dragged inside a garage where he’s mistaken as the fill-in guy for Turbo Man, who has been taken sick.

As Turbo Man, Howard finds that he loves being the centre of attention, waving to all his adoring fans. He has the task of choosing a lucky bystander to receive a super-charged Turbo Man doll. Howard, of course, chooses Jamie. Myron then appears on the scene as Turbo Man’s archenemy, Dementor. A real-life superhero fight breaks out, with Jamie having to escape the clutches of Dementor.

In the end, Jamie discovers the identity of Turbo Man. He gives away his prize to Myron because he now has the real thing at home.

Themes

Superheroes; consumerism

Violence

Jingle All The Way has quite a lot of comic, slapstick violence. For example:

A rather aggressive reindeer takes a disliking to Howard and bites him.
A crowd stampedes into a shop, stepping over the shopkeeper. Howard crashes into the shelves, knocking everything down. Fights break out among the customers.
Howard’s neighbour Ted burns his fingers on the stove.
Howard chases a child who has a lottery ball and ends up in a ball pit with the child. Several mothers hit Howard over the head with their bags.
Howard goes into a Santa workshop with many Santas. Howard hits one of them, and a fight breaks out against all of the Santas. One large Santa takes off his shirt to confront Howard, and they punch each other.
The police arrive. Several times they have guns.
Liz hits Ted over the head with a thermos.
Howard breaks into Ted’s house to steal his Turbo Man doll but has second thoughts. He accidentally drops another present into a fire, setting it alight. Ted, the reindeer, comes in and attacks Howard, who punches it in the face.
In the final scene, Dementor kicks Booster off the float and grabs Jamie, who kicks him in the genitals. Dementor chases after Jamie, who climbs to the top of a Christmas tree on a roof. The tree starts to collapse under the weight, and Dementor steals Jamie’s doll. Jamie falls to the ground but is saved by Turbo Man flying through space.

The movie has other types of violence too. For example:

Jamie watches superheroes on TV, flying through space, shooting lasers, kicking and punching. One of the baddies grabs a child and dangles him over a cliff and drops him. Turbo Man rescues the child.
Jamie has a fight with his friend next door.
Myron threatens a radio station DJ with a bomb. It’s a hoax. Later he tries it again with the police, but the bomb goes off and leaves the police chief covered in soot.

Sexual references

Jingle All The Way has some sexual references. For example:

Myron talks about a woman who has slept with everyone at the Post Office except for him.
Ted gets a reindeer for his son, who calls him Ted after his father. Jamie tells Howard that his mother is next door petting Ted (the reindeer).
Ted puts his arm around Liz and tells her they can’t keep hiding their feelings any longer and that he’s liked her for a long time.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Jingle All The Way shows some use of substances. For example, Myron and Howard pour some alcohol into their coffees. Myron then drinks out of the bottle. Howard has a vision of Jamie drinking out of a bottle too.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity or sexual activity in Jingle All The Way.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Jingle All The Way: Crayola Crayons.

Coarse language

Jingle All The Way has some coarse language, including ‘damn it’, ‘what the heck’, ‘shut up’, ‘screw it up’, ‘lord no’, ‘son of a …’, ‘ass’ and ‘jeez’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Jingle All The Way is a comedy about Christmas and the pressure many parents feel to please their children at this time of year. Unfortunately, the comedy focuses on the worst aspects of Christmas – that is, greed and consumerism. The movie redeems itself at the end, when Jamie gives away his much longed for toy and realises that what he wanted all along was his father’s time and attention.

Jingle All The Way has some adult themes and innuendo, making it unsuitable for children under 8 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged 8-9 years.

These are the main messages from Jingle All The Way:

Always keep your promises if you want to keep your friends.
Love and attention are more important than material possessions.

Values in Jingle All The Way that you could reinforce with your children include redemption and forgiveness.

Jingle All The Way could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the meaning of Christmas. Originally, it was about joy, peace, kindness and goodwill. You and your child could talk about your own beliefs about Christmas and what’s important to you.