TV Show Info
TV Show Name: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Studio: Marvel Studios/Troll Court Entertainment
Genre(s): Comic Book/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Comedy/Seasonal
Release Date(s): November 25, 2022
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Can Peter find the wonder of Christmas?
It is Christmastime, and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) realizes Yondu (Michael Rooker) ruined Christmas for Peter (Chris Pratt) when he was young. In a desperate attempt to save Christmas for Peter, Drax and Mantis head to Earth to get the hero that inspired Peter…Kevin Bacon. Unfortunately, Kevin Bacon isn’t keen on heading to space, and Drax and Mantis might have to “inspire” him to join them.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a Marvel Comics special. Following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, it is the final part of the MCU Phase Four films and TV shows and the second special following Werewolf by Night also released in 2022.
He’s an…ACTOR!!!!
The Guardians of the Galaxy film is in my top tier MCU films, and the Guardians (at least the original team) is one of my favorite comic book teams…so more Guardians is always welcomed. Add in a Christmas theme, and the special is light and fluffy.
The story is relatively non-existent. It is really just Drax and Mantis going to capture Kevin Bacon. It has humor, a few minor fights, and some music (provided by Kevin Bacon and the Old ’97s). It would have been nice if it had been a bit more story driven or possibly stylized.
With The Star Wars Holiday Special so largely panned, I would have loved this special to be a bit of a throwback to it (there is an animated sequence…which I do love the almost rotoscoped animation). I feel that it is the spiritual basis for this special, and I would have loved it to be a little schlockier in that sense. While the Star Wars Holiday Special is widely known among fans, it is maybe too niche to build a special around it (at least we do get a Go-Bots reference…meaning Go-Bots exist in the MCU!),
I Am Christmas?
Fortunately, the series does bring in the actors from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and allows them to expand on their character. The Mantis and Drax relationship was one of the joys of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and it is good to see Mantis fall into her own (and her relationship with Peter is also fleshed out).
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a quick watch, but it does have the fun you’d expect. The idea of specials still is a great way to test out new Marvel characters, but it is also a good way to explore other existing characters (but I’d prefer new). The special serves as a bit of a lead in for the team’s next MCU outing with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 released in 2023, and the special is followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023 which kicks off the Phase Five films.
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