The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special Review – Nostalgia And Holiday Cheer For The Entire Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special may ruin its big reveal too early, but it's still a heartwarming story that does not need to be taken so seriously.
Marvel does quite well when it goes off script of its usual formula, and when it comes to The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, this is where the MCU truly shines. While the 44-minute short movie (short in comparison to most Marvel movies) is simplistic in its delivery to bring holiday cheer to us, its chock full of nostalgia pulled from the entirety of the franchise to put a smile on every fan’s face.
THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL REVIEW SCORE:
For those who have not seen The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, look away now, as there will be HEAVY SPOILERS:
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special opens with an animated short about Kraglin telling Drax and Mantis about Christmas, and how Yondu had ruined it for a young Peter Quill. The entire sequence is one that begins to hit everyone right in the gut with the return of Michael Rooker as Yondu and shows a younger Peter teaching Kraglin about Christmas and attempting to give Yondu a gift. Yondu does come off as the Grinch of the situation and preaches about the “sentiment” he hates so deeply along with Christmas, which leads to the revelation that Drax and Mantis need to save the holidays for Peter.
This huge and sudden need to save the holidays for Peter comes with a piece of information that Mantis has been holding on to, which is the biggest reveal of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. She reveals for the first time that she is related to Peter Quill, as Ego is also her father.
This bit of information is something that Drax has seemingly known for quite some time and leads us to believe that Drax is a lot more loyal than we give him credit for, as he can keep a secret despite his proclivity to be as forthright with most of the information he is usually given. The delivery of this bombshell is a bit wonky for me, as it would have been better to keep it at the end of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (more on that later).
Drax and Mantis are a wonderful pair in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, but I am also curious about the direction that James Gunn has decided to take with Mantis. Throughout most of the interactions between the pair, Mantis has become far more abrasive in her tone. While that could be chalked up to her hanging out with Drax, I feel it is a bit misplaced for her usually gentle character.
Still, Drax and Mantis set off to get Peter the best present ever: Kevin Bacon. Drax and Mantis head to Earth and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special offers one of the best jokes of the special, as Drax forgets to put on the cloaking device on their ship, which horrifies the onlookers in Los Angeles. As one could imagine, things begin to go off the rails from this moment on.
Drax and Mantis head to Hollywood Boulevard and the famous TCL Chinese Theater, where a lot of costumed actors hang out to collect money for taking pictures with people. Here is where some of the best jokes happen in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, as an excited Mantis jumps on a man dressed as Captain America, thinking it is the real Steve Rogers. Unfortunately, it is not, and he runs away in horror.
We get a good montage of Drax and Mantis getting distracted (and drunk), while they stumble upon the obvious Star Maps that are popular in Hollywood. Finally, we get to one of the best sequences in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, as the pair track down and attempt to kidnap Kevin Bacon. Naturally, the cops are called but are no match for Mantis and Drax’s alien abilities, as Drax flips a cop car over with ease.
Drax, Mantis, and Kevin Bacon are finally on The Bowie, where Drax and Mantis discover that Bacon is only but an actor, and not the hero they heard so much about from Peter. Naturally, Mantis uses her powers to trick Bacon into thinking he is a warrior and also a fan of being abducted. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special adding Kevin Bacon is one of the better cameo ideas in the entirety of the MCU.
Once back on Nowhere, Drax and Mantis unveil their huge plan, revealing a Christmas wonderland for Peter, which is where The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special kicks into its most touching moments. Anyone with a Grinch-level heart, Yondu included, would see it grow five times its size at the lights, snow machine, and ugly sweaters that everyone is wearing. Peter is horrified by the abduction of Kevin Bacon and demands that he is returned and taken out of his trance.
Arguably one of my favorite moments is when Kraglin speaks to Kevin Bacon about what Christmas means to Peter, how he was abducted, and how he saved the world by dancing (just like Kevin Bacon in Footloose). We are then gifted with one of the many Christmas songs in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, but with Bacon on lead vocals.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday crescendos into two big moments, that showcase why this MCU entry was made in the first place, which is filled with everyone embracing gift-giving and Christmas. Peter asks Mantis why she and Drax had gone through this trouble for him, leaving Mantis to talk about Kraglin’s Christmas story. Peter reveals the end of that story, which gives everyone another reason to love Yondu.
We return to the animated story in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special where Yondu opens the present Peter attempted to give him before, which is the frog figurine he held so dearly on his dashboard, along with giving us a bigger reason as to why he collects them.
Peter opens a gift of his own, which are his iconic Element Pistols. The small origin story fills us in about how Star-Lord became Star-Lord, while also reminding us of the special bond and “sentiment” that Yondu truly feels towards Peter. If you didn’t cry when Yondu saved Peter’s life, this moment might just do the trick. This leads to the second biggest moment in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is where Mantis tells Peter she is his sister.
The big Mantis reveal should have honestly stayed at the end, and not been tossed in so early with Drax. It would have hit a lot hard on the emotional notes had it been showcased at the end of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, along with the final moment of Yondu and a young Peter enjoying their gifts.
Another head-scratching moment occurs in the gift-giving montage when Nebula gifts Rocket the arm of Bucky Barnes. While the Winter Solider’s arm could hold importance in the MCU future, it could also simply be adding to the running gag that Rocket is obsessed with people’s robotic arms. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special might be cleverly telling us that Bucky could be joining the team, or not, depending on how you want to take that moment.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special feels like a prologue for Vol. 3, but also exists to remind everyone we don’t have to take all Marvel entries so seriously. The special is a healthy offering of Christmas cheer, but tugs on the heartstrings one final time (in Yondu’s case) to help cure the would-be “fatigue” from the cavalcade of MCU properties in existence. The choice to have Mantis reveal her truth twice bugged me a bit, as did her abrasive personality, but not enough to ruin this heartwarming and fun Marvel adventure.
