The Guardians of the Galaxy team met up with fans in Disney’s latest holiday special, which also stars Kevin Bacon. Expect holiday-themed musical numbers, sets decked out in Christmas lights, and dialogue that’s both silly and heartwarming—perfect ingredients for a cozy movie night.
This release is nearly 10 minutes shorter than Marvel’s Halloween special, “Warewolf by Night,” which ran nearly an hour long and is inspired by an old-school horror classic. But as Mike Cecchini wrote for Den of Geeks, the TV special format inspires “less of a ‘story’ and more of an ‘atmosphere’.”
Taking place between “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” the film gives fans a look at the fan-favorite characters celebrating the holidays in a new spaceship, the Bowie, on the planet Knowhere.
Right from the start, Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, appears alongside Nebula (Karen Gillan), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave). Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Cosmo the space dog (voiced by Maria Bakalova). Spoilers ahead!
“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” highlights a special duo
The story is pretty simple: Drax and Mantis head to Earth in an attempt to make Peter a memorable Christmas.
It becomes clear early on that neither Drax nor Mantis really know what Christmas is all about—they refer to a candy cane lawn decoration as a “red and white curly man”—but their love for their teammate pushes them to board travelling. , according to Variety.
Peter remains missing from most of the episode, as does the larger, more muscular Groot, nicknamed “Swole Groot” by the internet. He has grown since his last appearance as a teenager.
That said, Drax and Mantis fill the void with their sweet bond, as seen earlier in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
The two, dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters, head to Hollywood Boulevard in search of Peter’s hero – Kevin Bacon from “Footloose,” according to Comic Book Review. With super strength and mind control powers, Drax and the naive Mantis make a great team for two characters who usually don’t get enough screen time.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was actually really nice. I loved Mantis even more and I’m glad Pom finally got her time to shine. She deserves it. pic.twitter.com/PeoTcZ6f6t
— alias (@itsjustanx) November 25, 2022
“I love those two,” director James Gunn told ComicBook.com in an interview. He said the other “Guardians” movies “marginalized” these two characters incredibly.
“So being able to really tell their story and put their journey in the middle of that was important to me. And to be able to see how talented these two actors are as comedians and especially dramatically, you see how good Pom is in this show,” Gunn said.
The Marvel Christmas special is all about the music
The best part of this 44-minute special is some of the original music, starting with “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime is Here),” which Gunn wrote with help from Rhett Miller, the band’s soloist. 97 years old, according to Marvel.com.
And that led to the ultimate collaboration: the alien band in the film is also performed by the Old 97s.
Another hit that takes the spotlight is “Here It Is Christmastime,” where Bacon joins the band for a final performance.
“I love this song, it’s really hard to write a fresh Christmas song at the moment. I started playing it and I was really having fun singing it and singing it,” Bacon said.
“Then to stand there with The Old 97 and they’re in crazy makeup and costumes and they’re looking down on the world and all the Guardians are there, and they’re rocking to this song and so is the rest. world, community. It was absolutely fun and funny and just a great experience,” he said.
The special was scored by John Murphy, who also worked with Gunn on 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.” The tracklist includes the romantic “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kristy MacColl, the energetic “Dead by XMas” by Hanoi Rocks and the slightly impertinent “Mrs. Christmas” by Little Jackie.
Is it OK for kids to watch “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special”?
The special is a holiday conquest that is similar to the other films featuring the superhero team in terms of violence and language. Although this movie takes the drinking to another level as Drax and Mantis go on a bender while searching for Bacon. (They do have a hangover.)
But as Common Sense Media reported, despite the bad language and action sequences, this blockbuster episode brings the holiday spirit in a non-traditional way — whether it’s through the sweet friendship between Drax and Mantis or the fact that Kevin Bacon was meant to be a thoughtful Christmas present.
This is also a quick entry from the intergalactic heroes before “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is released on March 5, 2023, which will be the last installment.
“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” is rated TV-14 and can be streamed on Disney+.