'Noelle': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything you need to know about the Disney+ movie starring Anna Kendrick
'Noelle', a holiday movie starring Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader is part of the lineup for the November 12th launch of Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney Plus (Disney+). The network's official handle released the film's trailer with the tagline "It isn’t Christmas without Santa’s sister".
The film was originally supposed to have a theatrical release on November 8, but after Disney reshuffled its release calendar, the film will only be available on the streaming service. The film's music has been composed by Cody Fitzgerald and Clyde Lawrence and will hopefully put Anna Kendrick's voice to use.
Kendrick, at the film's promotion at the D23 Disney fans' expo, said it has always been her dream to star in a "Christmas movie". Dressed in an appropriately holiday-themed red dress, with heels to match, she revealed she and her family have certain go-to movies for the holidays, one of them being Disney's 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'.
Release Date:
The film is set to premiere exclusively on the streaming service Disney+ November 12.
Plot:
Santa Claus' mantle passes on to his son Nick Claus (Bill Hader). But the title and the responsibility is obviously too much for Nick, who dreams of "getting out". When his sister Noelle (Anna Kendrick) suggests he take a weekend off, Nick goes AWOL.
Now, it is up to Noelle to save Christmas and keep the family's legacy running. She has to leave the North Pole, with her childhood nanny in tow (Shirley McLaine), to find her brother and convince him to return to work. Meanwhile, back in the North Pole, their cousin, a tech geek, is all set to upend the family business by turning Santa's workshop into an online delivery service.
Cast:
Anna Kendrick stars as Noelle Kringle, Santa's daughter, while Bill Hader plays her brother, Nick. Kendrick's breakthrough role was the comedy-drama film 'Up in the Air' (2009). She has also seen rave reviews for her starring role as Beca Mitchell in the 'Pitch Perfect' film series (2012–2017).
Hader, first became popular as a cast member of SNL. He branched into films, starting with supporting roles in hit films like 'Superbad', 'Tropic Thunder' and 'Adventureland' before starring in 'The Skeleton Twins' and 'Trainwreck'. In 2018, he created the HBO dark comedy series 'Barry', starring as the titular character who is an assassin.
'Barry' won Hader an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and consecutive nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for its first two seasons.
Shirley MacLaine stars as Elf Polly, Noelle's childhood nanny while Billy Eichner is Gabriel Kringle, Noelle and Nick's tech-savvy cousin. Julie Hagerty is Mrs. Claus, Noelle and Nick's mother, and Santa Claus' wife while Brayan Brendle plays Santa Claus, Noelle and Nick's father.
Other cast members include Maceo Smedley, Michael Gross, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Chelah Horsdal, Anna Van Hooft, Anthony Konechny, Ron Funches and Diana Maria Riva.
Creator:
The movie is written and directed by Marc Lawrence, who has writing credits for films like the 'Miss Congeniality' films, 'Two Weeks Notice', 'Music and Lyrics' and 'Did you Hear About the Morgans?'. Stepping away from the romantic comedy genre, 'Noelle' is Lawrence's first foray into a holiday-themed production. The film was produced by Suzanne Todd for Walt Disney Pictures.
Trailer:
"My name is Noelle Kringle,” Anna Kendrick says in the trailer, which opens with her singing for her reindeer. “Christmas runs in my family," she continues, as Santa's village in the North Pole comes into view. The trailer shows a struggling Nick (Bill Hader) on the verge of a breakdown as several shots show how bad he is at being Santa.
Noelle suggests he take the weekend off to clear his head. Nick takes this chance to disappear without a trace. The village calls an emergency meeting to decide what to do and comes up with the solution of putting Nick and Noelle's geeky, tech-savvy cousin in-charge of operations, who decides to shift to an "online delivery platform".
Noelle decides to take off with her childhood nanny to bring her brother home, only to find he has become a yoga teacher, teaching his class the "reindeer pose". The trailer ends with Noelle angrily blowing out the yoga studio's candles with Nick telling her, "Wow, that's a big deal in here".
If you like this, you'll love these:
'The Santa Clause', 'The Elf', 'The Polar Express', 'The Muppet Christmas Carol', 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' and Disney's 'A Christmas Carol'.
