It’s officially Black Santa season!
It’s that time of year when St. Nick takes over entertainment, appearing in commercials, movies, TV shows and holiday classics. However, this year it’s different because we’re finally getting our Santa. In the new Disney+ movie Dashing Through the Snow, Lil Rel Howery plays a Santa for the culture as he tries to help Eddie Garrick, played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, rediscover his love of Christmas. Accompanied by Eddie’s eight-year-old daughter Charlotte, the trio embarks on a wild Christmas Eve adventure. Producer Will Packer and Bridges spoke to The Root about creating a new Christmas classic.
The movie is a fun Christmas throwback. It didn’t try too hard, or weave together an overly complicated storyline, it’s just a sweet holiday movie that you will enjoy watching with your family. And honestly, that’s all you’re really looking for this time of year.
When a holiday movie revolves around someone who hates Christmas, they’re usually an evil Grinch-type character. But from the moment we meet Eddie, it’s clear he’s not a bad guy. He just had a rough experience as a child and his Christmas spirit has been diminished. Since Bridges loves Christmas, this role provided a welcome challenge for the rapper/actor. He also felt like it was important to showcase Eddie’s growth as he comes to terms with his family issues,
“It’s something deeper about our craft and what we do, wanting to heal people. For individuals to live vicariously through us in order to mirror their own sentiments and emotions so that they can work through things in their lives, receive more love and give more love,” Bridges told The Root. “There was a deeper, spiritual connection for me to play this role in order to try to help others.”
Eddie is the grounding factor amid all the Christmas craziness, but Howery’s unapologetically Black Santa is definitely the draw. He’s not a Santa Claus who happens to be Black. He’s absolutely a Black Santa. He listens to hip-hop while he’s dropping off presents, he has the black and white ombre beard and he’s someone you want to hang out with on Christmas Eve. Packer confirmed that these character quirks were intentional. He wanted this to be a modern, inclusive Christmas movie.
“We didn’t run from the fact or in any way try to dilute the fact that this was a Black Santal. At the same time, it’s not a movie that’s exclusively for one particular audience. It’s a universal story. It’s a movie for everyone,” Packer said. “But without a doubt, we want it to be through the lens of Santa, Ludacris’ character Eddie and our amazing young Black girl, played by Madison Skye. All those were very specific choices. That’s what a Christmas movie should look like today. I think it should look like the world.”
When you hear “Disney Christmas movie,” you’re expecting to get a crazy family adventure, adorable kids and an ending that gives you the holiday feels. Dashing Through the Snow delivers all of this and a little something extra for the culture.
And just in case you were wondering, Luda did tell me he’s now ready to get going on the “LudaChristmas” holiday album.
Dashing Through the Snow is now available on Disney+.