A Light in the Forest (2002)

I'm a sucker for a fairy tale but this fairy tale seems to be the sucker while I'm the suckee. Still, it's a cute enough attempt at a modernized fairy tale with a fairly low budget. Let's just say it's a shade better for acting than Moesha's Wizard of Oz but about the same for script and special effects. Danielle Nicolet plays the beautiful, sorrowful Britta who moves to Hollywood to live with her grandmother (Carol Lynley, whose career goes back to the early 1950s) and attend high school. Lindsay Wagner as Miss Audrey is barely better than her wooden Sleep Number Bed commercials but Eddie Albert Jr. is an enjoyable farce as the evil King Otto. (In defense of his warped nature, his name is Otto and he has a mwah-ha-ha! laugh that the mother of any despot, mad scientist, or Klingon warrior could love.) My favorite is Witch Hazel (Alexandra Ford), who has an evil cackle to match, a crone's face only a troll could love, and she can really work that tongue! (Iggh!) Our story begins as Holly Boy (Christopher Khayman Lee, previously just a Power Ranger but handsome if Pan-ish) is frozen in stone so that the Christmas spirit may be defeated "for a time." Ages later, he's reborn from his statue in Hollywood (get it?) to restore Britta's happiness and the joyous Christmas spirit -- and defeat a plan to raze the Hollywood forest and school to boot. Danielle's talent show performance is a crowd pleaser! Families with young kiddos should enjoy this movie if they don't mind "magical" elements reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, Willow, and Morgan le Fay -- esp. when humorously paired with modern-day school and city officials. Besides the often plodding script, oatbag acting, Casio keyboard soundtrack, and PSP-grade special effects, I had a few chuckles. I hope you enjoy this wannabe Christmas classic. 2.5 stars.