This is a fun movie for kids, but I have to admit, while watching I felt that I'd seen elements of it before. The most obvious was the Buddy 3000's resemblance to E.T., while forgetting about Wall-E, which other reviewers have reminded me of. What really dazzled me were the outstanding sets, so vibrant and colorful. In that respect, I was also reminded of the 2011 film "Hugo". with all those gears and wheels working harmoniously together, much like that whirlygig toy in this movie that required a gyroscopic stabilizer. The shining light of this film was the young granddaughter Journey (Madalen Mills), just a sweet kid with a loving disposition. At first I thought to myself, 'who names a kid Journey', but then figured why not, it's symbolic of a youngster's journey from being a child to adulthood, so why not. For some reason, I felt disappointed that Forest Whitaker's Jeronicus character wasn't as outgoing and friendly to Journey at the outset, I felt he should have been thrilled to see her even though he was despondent over his failing toy shop and career. The whole deal with his assistant Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key) was a downer, and threatened to turn the story into a maudlin affair. But you knew it couldn't last because after all, this is a Christmas movie and you can't let the kids down with an uninspiring message. I have a feeling this might become a Christmas staple in the tradition of "Elf" or last year's "Klaus", and if this keeps going on, there won't be enough days in December to rewatch them all.
