Noël Noël (2003)

Here is an impressively original Christmas story from an unknown team in Canada, narrated lovingly by Leslie Nielsen. I had to locate it through Blockbuster since Netflix doesn't list it. The story is a bit like A Christmas Carol meets The Lorax. Noel Noel is a gifted toymaker who falls in love with a wood fairy (who levitates and makes librarian glasses look luscious) then disappoints her. He misguidedly thinks he can win her back by becoming the richest and most powerful man on earth, which he accomplishes through stealing her Christmas magic, though in the process he becomes an ugly gnome with a dark gerkinish nose. There is a happy ending. The artwork is quirky and pencil-plain but as captivating as a Russian folk tale set to animation. The voice talent is gifted, although they only make emotive vocalizations -- no dialog. (Think Mr. Bean but with class.) The narration is in a fetching iambic pentameter with inventive vocabulary and rhyme pairs, and Leslie Nielsen is just the man for the job. Noel Noel is as close to Dr. Seuss as I have seen. I'd love to own this disc, as it's a Christmas treasure that should have a chance to become a classic. 3.5 stars.