Netflix's 'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' cast: Meet Forest Whitaker, Madalen Mills and rest of the stars
'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' is another addition to Netflix's holiday releases this year and the musical stars A-listers Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Phylicia Rashad and many more. The film is written and directed by David E Talbert and follows the life of toymaker Jeronicus Jangle who loses everything when his apprentice takes his inventions from him.
But, with his granddaughter Journey now in the mix, the magic is set to be re-kindled. Here is the cast bringing the holiday cheer to you this Christmas season.
Forest Whitaker as Jeronicus Jangle
Whitaker is known for his roles as Idi Amin in 'The Last King of Scotland' (2006), Cecil Gaines in 'The Butler' (2013), Zuri in 'Black Panther' (2018) and Ker in 'Battlefield Earth' (2000). His recent works include 'Finding Steve McQueen' (2019), 'Bring Me The Horizon: In the Dark' (2019), 'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' (2019), and 'Godfather of Harlem' (2019).
He has a release titled 'Respect' in post-production and an upcoming release titled 'A Fall from Grace' that has been announced. The actor has won numerous awards over the course of his career including an Oscar in 2007 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for 'The Last King of Scotland', a Golden Globe in the same year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for the same and a Primetime Emmy in 2003 for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for 'Door to Door' which he shared with his teammates.
Keegan-Michael Key as the trusted apprentice
Keegan-Michael Key is an actor, writer, and producer known for his roles in 'Keanu' (2016), 'Let's Be Cops' (2014), 'The Predator' (2018) and 'Tomorrowland: A World Beyond' (2015). He is also most populary known for his comedy sketch series 'Key and Peele' (2012-2015). His most recent works include 'Green Eggs and Ham' (2019), 'No Activity' (2019), 'Rick and Morty' (2015-2019), 'All the Bright Places' (2020) and 'Home Movie: The Princess Bride' (2020).
He has a completed release titled 'The Prom' (2020) and another release that is listed as filming titled 'Wendell and Wild' (2021). The actor won a Primetime Emmy in 2016 for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series for 'Key and Peele' (2012) and in 2014 he won a Festival Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival for Best Actor in 'Teacher of the Year' (2014).
Madalen Mills as Journey
Mills is a young actress who is part of two productions — 'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' (2020) and a release titled 'The Tiger Rising' in post-production. She plays the role of Sistine Bailey in the latter.
Phylicia Rashad
Rashad is known most popularly with the 90s crowd as Clair Huxtable from 'The Cosby Show' but she has had multiple other roles that she stands out for. These include Gilda in 'For Colored Girls' (2010), Mary Anne Creed in 'Creed' and 'Creed II' and most recently as Diana DuBois in 'Empire' (2016-2018). Her other recent works include 'This is Us' (2019), 'David Makes Man' (2019), 'A Fall from Grace' (2020), 'Station 19' (2020) and '13 Reasons Why' (2020).
The actress has been nominated for five Primetime Emmys — two for 'This is Us', two for 'The Cosby Show' and one for 'A Raisin in the Sun' (2008). In 2011, Rashad won a Black Reel for Best Supporting Actress in 'For Colored Girls', in 2018, she won another Black Reel for Outstanding Guest Actress, Drama Series for 'Empire' and in 2019 she won another Black Reel for Outstanding Guest Actress Drama Series for 'This Is Us' (2016).
Hugh Bonneville as Delacroix
Bonneville is known for his roles as Bernie in 'Notting Hill' (1999), Henry Brown in 'Paddington' (2014), Schiller in 'Frankenstein' (1994) and Robert Crawley in 'Downtown Abbey' (2019). His most recent works include 'Odilo Fabian or (The Possibility of Impossible Dreams)' (2019), 'The Corrupted' (2019), 'Tutankhamun: Enter the Tomb' (2019), 'Sandylands' (2020), 'Amphibia' (2020), and 'DuckTales' (2020).
He has a completed release titled 'Silent Night - A Song for the World' coming up, and he also has a release titled 'An Unquiet Life' in post-production. In 2016, the actor won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for 'Downton Abbey' which he shared with his castmates, and in 2015, he had won another Screen Actors Guild for the same production in the same category. In 2008, the actor had also won a Jury Prize at the Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival for Best Actor for 'French Film' (2008).
The rest of the cast includes Sharon Rose, Anika Noni Rose, Kieron Dyer, Justin Cornwell and Lisa Davina Phillip.
The synopsis reads: "A musical adventure and a visual spectacle for the ages, 'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' is a wholly fresh and spirited family holiday event. Set in the gloriously vibrant town of Cobbleton, the film follows legendary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker) whose fanciful inventions burst with whimsy and wonder."
"But when his trusted apprentice (Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key) steals his most prized creation, it’s up to his equally bright and inventive granddaughter (Madalen Mills) — and a long-forgotten invention — to heal old wounds and reawaken the magic within. From the imagination of writer-director David E Talbert and featuring original songs by John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan and 'This Day' performed by Usher and Kiana Ledé, 'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' reminds us of the strength of family and the power of possibility."
Catch 'Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey' on Netflix on Friday, November 13, 2020. Watch the trailer below.