Jingle All the Way facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jingle All the Way
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brian Levant
Produced by	Chris Columbus Michael Barnathan Mark Radcliffe
Written by	Randy Kornfield
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Sinbad Phil Hartman Rita Wilson Robert Conrad Jake Lloyd Jim Belushi
Music by	David Newman
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Editing by	Kent Beyda Wilton Henderson Adam Weiss
Studio	1492 Pictures Fox Family Films
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16) (Mall of America) November 22, 1996 (1996-11-22) (United States)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$75 million
Money made	$129.8 million

Jingle All the Way is a fun Christmas comedy film from 1996. It was directed by Brian Levant. The movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. They play two dads, Howard Langston and Myron Larabee. Both dads are trying very hard to find a popular toy called Turbo-Man. They need to get it for their sons on Christmas Eve. The film's name comes from the famous Christmas song "Jingle Bells".

The idea for the movie came from real-life events. Sometimes, popular Christmas toys would sell out very quickly. This caused people to search everywhere for them. Randy Kornfield wrote the first script. Later, producer Chris Columbus helped rewrite it. He added parts that made fun of how much Christmas has become about buying things. The movie was filmed in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, including the Mall of America.

When Jingle All the Way was released, it made $129.8 million around the world. Critics had mixed feelings about it. But many people liked the humor and the acting by Sinbad and Schwarzenegger. In 2014, a new movie called Jingle All the Way 2 came out. It had a similar story but was not directly connected to the first film.

Movie Story: A Wild Toy Hunt

Howard Langston is a mattress salesman in Minneapolis. He loves his wife, Liz, and his nine-year-old son, Jamie. But Howard often works too much and misses important family moments. Their neighbor, Ted Maltin, is a divorced dad. He tries to be very friendly with Liz and Jamie.

One day, Howard misses Jamie's karate graduation. To make up for it, he promises to get Jamie the most wanted toy: a Turbo-Man action figure. Liz had actually asked him to buy it weeks ago, but Howard forgot. On Christmas Eve, Howard goes out to buy the toy. But every store has sold out! He soon meets Myron Larabee, a postal worker. Myron is also trying to find a Turbo-Man for his son. They become rivals in this crazy toy hunt.

Howard gets desperate. He tries to buy a Turbo-Man from a group of fake Santas. These Santas are actually con men. This leads to a huge fight in a warehouse. The police break it up. Howard pretends to be an undercover officer to avoid getting arrested.

Later, Howard is tired and his car runs out of gas. He calls home from a diner. He wants to tell Liz the truth. But Jamie answers the phone. Jamie keeps reminding him about his promise to be home for the Holiday Wintertainment Parade. Howard gets frustrated and yells at Jamie. Jamie scolds him for not keeping his promises. Howard feels very guilty and sad.

Howard finds Myron at the same diner. They talk about their problems. Myron shares how his own dad failed to get him a special toy for Christmas once. While they are talking, they hear a radio station advertising a Turbo-Man doll as a prize. They race to the radio station. But the prize is only a gift certificate, not the actual toy! The police arrive, but Howard and Myron escape. Myron threatens the officers with what looks like a fake bomb. It turns out to be a real, small explosion.

When Howard gets back to his car, it's been stripped by thieves. He takes a tow truck home. He sees Ted putting the star on his family's Christmas tree. Howard tries to steal the Turbo-Man doll Ted bought for his son, Johnny. But he can't do it. Liz catches him trying to steal it. Howard is left alone while his family goes to the Christmas parade with Ted and Johnny.

Howard remembers his promise to Jamie about the parade. He decides to go too. He runs into Officer Hummell again, who has been chasing him all day. Howard hides in a storage room. He is mistaken for the actor who plays Turbo-Man! He puts on the cool, high-tech Turbo-Man costume. As Turbo-Man, Howard gets to give a special limited-edition toy to Jamie. But then Myron shows up, dressed as Turbo-Man's enemy, Dementor!

Howard tries to stop Myron, but a long chase begins. It even involves a jetpack flight! Myron grabs the toy from Jamie. But the police corner Myron. Howard saves Jamie. Howard then shows his family who he really is. He says sorry for not being there enough. The police give the toy back to Jamie. Myron is arrested. But Jamie decides to give the Turbo-Man toy to Myron for his son. Jamie says his dad, Howard, is his true hero. The crowd cheers for Howard. Myron, Liz, and Jamie watch happily.

After the credits, Howard finishes decorating their Christmas tree. Liz asks him what he got for her. Howard suddenly realizes he forgot to get Liz a gift!

Meet the Cast

Making the Movie

How the Idea Started

Arnold Schwarzenegger (left) and Sinbad (right) starred in the film as the lead characters.

The movie's idea came from how crazy people got over popular toys. Toys like Cabbage Patch Kids and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were very hard to find. This sometimes led to fights among shoppers. Randy Kornfield wrote the first script after seeing his family rush to a toy store early in the morning. They wanted to get a Power Ranger for his son.

Producer Chris Columbus also had a similar experience. In 1995, he tried to find a Buzz Lightyear toy from Toy Story. Because of this, he rewrote Kornfield's script. Fox studio liked the idea. Columbus wanted to show the "dark side" of Christmas. He wanted to make fun of how much Christmas is about buying things.

Brian Levant was chosen to direct the film. Columbus felt Levant understood the humor. Levant said the most important part of the story was about the father and son. He saw it as a story about love. He also had fun designing the Turbo-Man toy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was quickly cast as Howard. He was available because another movie project was delayed. This was Schwarzenegger's fourth time starring in a comedy film. He liked the idea of playing an "ordinary" dad. Columbus first wanted Joe Pesci to play Myron. But comedian Sinbad was chosen instead. He was a similar height and size to Schwarzenegger. Sinbad also improvised many of his lines. Schwarzenegger improvised his responses too.

Filming the Scenes

Filming for Jingle All the Way took place in Minnesota. It lasted for five weeks, starting in April 1996. It was the biggest movie production in the state at that time. The movie was filmed in the Twin Cities area. Famous spots like the Mall of America and Mickey's Diner were used. Unused shops were decorated to look like Christmas stores.

Filming was sometimes hard because so many people came to watch. But Schwarzenegger said the locals were "well-behaved." Levant spent months getting ready for filming. The movie pretends that Minneapolis and Saint Paul are one city. This made filming easier. The city's real parade was also renamed the Wintertainment Parade for the movie.

The big parade scene was filmed in California. It was shot at Universal Studios Hollywood. This was done for safety reasons. The set was made to look like a street in Minneapolis. It took three weeks to film the parade. About 1,500 extra people were used. Three special floats were also built. Other scenes, like store insides and the warehouse fight, were filmed in Los Angeles, California.

The Turbo-Man toy was made just for the movie. This meant all the commercials and TV show clips for Turbo-Man were filmed by Levant. All the Turbo-Man toys, boxes, and props in the movie were custom-made. They were designed to look very real. The full-size Turbo-Man suit for the end of the movie was also specially created. Filming finished in August. The movie was carefully edited to make sure it was as funny as possible.

Movie Music

TVT Records released the movie's soundtrack album. It came out on CD on November 26, 1996. The album has only two pieces of music by the movie's composer, David Newman. But it includes many other songs by different artists that are in the film. It also has other Christmas songs and new music by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Later, in 2008, a special full version of David Newman's music score was released.

Release and Lawsuit

Getting the Word Out

The movie was filmed very quickly. This meant there wasn't much time to make toys and other products to sell with the movie. Only about 200,000 Turbo-Man toys were made. Some people thought the movie was just made to sell the toy. But the director said this was not true. He said other movies that year had much more merchandise.

The movie came out at the same time as the Tickle Me Elmo toy craze. That toy was also very popular. People rushed to stores to buy it, just like in the movie.

The movie first showed on November 16, 1996, at the Mall of America. This is where some parts of the movie were filmed. There was a special event to celebrate the movie's release. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave some items from the film to the Mall's Planet Hollywood.

Home Video

The movie was released on VHS in October 1997. It came out on DVD in November 1998. An extended "Family Fun Edition" DVD was released in October 2007. It had extra scenes and behind-the-scenes videos. This special edition was later released on Blu-ray Disc in December 2008.

The Lawsuit Story

In 1998, a company called Murray Hill Publishing sued 20th Century Fox. They said the movie's idea was stolen from a script they had bought. This script was called Could This Be Christmas?. They claimed there were many similarities between the two scripts.

In 2001, a court decided that Fox was guilty. They were ordered to pay a large amount of money to Murray Hill. However, this decision was later changed. In 2004, a judge decided that the idea was not stolen. This was because Fox had bought the script for Jingle All the Way before anyone at Fox had read the other script.

Sequel Movie

More than 18 years after the first movie, a new film came out. It was called Jingle All the Way 2. It was released directly to DVD in December 2014. This movie had a similar story to the original. But it was not connected to the first film. None of the original actors or characters were in it. Instead, it starred Larry the Cable Guy and Santino Marella.

See also

• List of Christmas films
• "Jingle Bells", a popular Christmas song