GLISTEN AND THE MERRY MISSION

Good news for family movie night: this one is a delight. It's a fun, enjoyable, cute animated fantasy that families with younger children can settle into together. Most of the jokes land, and all of them are wholesome.

The heart of it is strong, too. The story promotes family bonds, helping others, gift-giving, kindness, love, and repentance, with warm allusions to the "spirit of Christmas," to faith, and to belief in things unseen. That's a lot to celebrate in a G-rated movie.

Two small things to know. There's some light cartoon violence and peril, including one sequence with scary wolves that may unsettle your littlest viewers. And while the film references the "Christmas star," it never names Jesus or the Nativity — so you may want to fill that in afterward. But for a sweet holiday outing with young kids, take the trip.

At the North Pole, Santa's workshop is running short — there may not be enough toys for the world's children this Christmas.

Marzipan, the young daughter of the workshop's new assistant manager, decides to save the day. Her plan: bring back Glisten, the original flying reindeer, who gave Santa's reindeer the power to fly. Glisten vanished long ago because people stopped believing in her. Marzipan suspects the answer lies in a twinkling light up in Cathedral Canyon — a light that sparkles with Christmas spirit. Following it will take more courage than she knows.

Four stars, and for a family film aimed at younger children, that's high praise well earned. This is simply a fun, enjoyable, cute movie — the kind that keeps small viewers happy and doesn't wear out the grown-ups in the room.

The humor is a big part of why it works: most of the jokes are genuinely funny, and every one of them stays wholesome. There's real warmth in Marzipan's friendship with a grumpy, thorn-in-his-fur bear named Grizz, and the North Pole setting — peppermint trees, stardust, a canyon full of Christmas spirit — gives the animation plenty to play with. It knows exactly who it's for and serves them beautifully.

For a bright, kid-friendly cartoon, this movie carries a surprisingly sturdy moral center. It promotes family bonds, helping others, gift-giving, kindness, love, and — notably — repentance. Grizz the bear gets angry, but he tries to change and generally succeeds, which is a lovely small picture of a heart being softened.

The Christmas references run through it, some overt and some allegorical: the "Christmas star," the "spirit of Christmas," the need for a "miracle," having faith, and belief in things unseen, like love. A child who has learned that faith is "the conviction of things not seen" will recognize the shape of what this film reaches toward.

But parents should know where it stops. Beyond the "Christmas star," the movie never mentions Jesus or the Nativity story. And one line of dialogue says the Christmas Star merged with a "Wishing Star" — a small softening of the real thing worth talking about with your kids. The film's world is the legend of Santa Claus, a fantasy spun from the real St. Nicholas.

So there's a good conversation waiting after the credits: the film longs for a miracle and a light in the darkness, but it leaves the Light unnamed. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2) — and that light has a name.

This is a sweet, funny, warmhearted Christmas outing your youngest children will love, built on family, kindness, and repentance — with only a brief scary-wolf scene to watch for. Its one real gap is that it names the "Christmas star" but never the Savior it pointed to, so bring that story home yourself. Our answer stands: worth the trip.