Released by Disney in 1985, One Magic Christmas is a festive favourite of mine, although it garnered little by way of critical or box-office attention at the time. I believe it eventually found more of a following on video and TV - that's certainly where I first saw it.
It stars the lovely Mary Steenburgen as hard-up working mom Ginnie Granger, whose Christmas spirit and lust for life have been lost during a particularly difficult year for her family. Her husband (Gary Basaraba) has lost his job at the local radio station, and the Grangers are soon to be evicted from the company home. There's little money left for Christmas, and Ginnie can find little to be merry about as the festive season approaches.
But Ginnie's six-year-old daughter, Abby (a cute-as-a-button Elisabeth Harnois), has met Gideon the Christmas angel (Harry Dean Stanton, in what first seems unlikely casting but proves a real boon). Together, they're conspiring to show Ginnie the true meaning of Christmas - and what she has to be thankful for.
**SPOILER ALERT!** Ginnie is forced to live an alternate-reality Christmas Eve, in which her husband and children are killed as a result of a bungled bank robbery. Only her renewed faith and newfound appreciation for the ones she loves will restore the family and guarantee a magic Christmas. **SPOILERS OVER!**
At first glance, the premise seems unfeasibly bleak for the house of mouse and a yuletide family film, but it's no bleaker than It's a Wonderful Life in its darkest hour and sends the audience on a similarly emotional roller-coaster ride that only serves to underline its heart-warming message. The result is very touching, thanks to the ever-reliable Steenburgen's winning performance and the score by Canadian composer Michael Conway Baker. It's a full-blooded score that makes you sit up and take notice, for sure ... very much the sort of thing you rarely hear these days ... but never intrusive or cloying. It earns its emotional pay-offs, working its way from a strangely melancholy interpretation of 'O Christmas Tree', through the show-stopping centrepiece for 'Ginnie's Lesson' and giving way to unreservedly merry in its 'happily ever after' finale.
Some Christmases ago, I sent an email to composer to express my fondness for his score, and he was kind enough to take the time to reply. Here's what he said:
"Thank you so much for writing about the music for One Magic Christmas. I have always felt this was my best film score ... The score did impress a Los Angeles agent who "tracked" me down. He wanted me to move to L.A. ... [but] I love living here in North Vancouver. Despite the fact that Disney gave me a "rave" review for the score, they did not want to release a soundtrack album."
I think this would make an excellent candidate for the Intrada treatment, given the great work you guys have done collaborating with Disney on other releases. I think it would make a *great* Christmas release, and am mentioning it now so you might have plenty of time to work on it!
P.S. If anyone hasn't seen the film, I wholeheartedly recommend it!
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