“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” came out on November 25, 2022. It was a Christmas-themed action short film, streaming on Disney Plus with a watch time of 42 minutes.

  I watched this movie full of holiday fun recently and had a few thoughts. First off, the movie starts off with a story about how Starlord, a main character in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies,  has a bad view of Christmas because of his childhood. The main protagonist of the show, Mantis, his secret sister, feels it is her duty to cheer him up. Mantis teams up with another popular character from the series, Drax, an alien, and they set out to Earth to get the perfect present for Starlord: the great hero, Nathaniel Bacon. 

Once they get to Earth, they set out looking for him, and do not have luck in the beginning. I think this scene is really funny because people think that they are in costumes, so they take pictures with them and give them cash.

  Mantis and Drax think that Nathaniel Bacon is a hero, not an actor. I also enjoy this use of irony, and it makes sense for the goofy nature of the movies. They go to a bar and dance, which is another funny moment. Eventually, they find Nathaniel Bacon’s house, but he does not let them in. The duo instead decides to break in. Drax throws Mantis over the Hollywood mansion’s gate, and they then break into the home through a window. 

Nathaniel Bacon, scared due to the break in, runs away and calls the police. Drax and Mantis get to fight off the police, and since the audience has never seen them fight this close before, it was really cool to see their powers. Eventually, they get a hold of Nathaniel and figure out he is not a hero, just an actor, and Mantis uses her mind control powers to make him act like a hero so Starlord is not sad about his gift. 

I think Mantis’ powers are so cool; she is kind of overpowered, but it works in this context. After this, we get to see Starlord’s reaction to his presents. Mantis and Drax put up lots of beautiful decorations. I love this scene because it is very cinematic. 

All of the other aliens who helped plan the party come out, and Starlord has a huge grin. Mantis wheels out a huge present box, but it is moving. We see a tense moment. I really like how it builds suspense. When they open the box to reveal Nathaniel Bacon, Starlord freaks out because they kidnapped a human. Nathaniel Bacon is still in Mantis’ trance. Once Mantis removes the trance, he freaks out and runs away. 

After some consideration, and in the Christamas spirit, he decides to stay and teach the aliens about Christmas, and then goes home.

Overall, I think it was fun. Not the best Marvel movie, but some of the Christmas shots are very cinematic. I think a non-Marvel fan can enjoy this without knowing the many layers of lore. I would give this movie a 7/10.