As the name suggests, Dashing through the Snow is another addition to the 2023 Christmas film list, and it is as disappointing and confusing as it can get. Lil Rel Howery as Black Santa is a welcome change, but unfortunately, it does not help save the film. We are introduced to little Eddie Garrick, who was hopeful that Santa would help him mend the relationship between his parents. Eddie walked up to Santa Claus at the mall and offered him an idea that would bring his parents close, but things did not go according to his plan. As it turned out, after getting Eddie’s house address, the mall Santa, who also happened to be a petty thief, slyly entered his house. His father managed to tackle the intruder, and he was handed over to the police. His parents eventually separated, and from that day on, Eddie firmly believed that Santa Claus was not real.
Spoiler Alert
What was Santa Claus running away from?
Eddie grew up to hate Christmas, but his daughter, Charlotte, was excited to spend the evening with him. Eddie and his wife, Allison, were living apart, and while Allison got her last-minute Christmas shopping done, she wanted Eddie to look after Charlotte. Eddie’s neighbor was in Cancun for Christmas, and he was asked to feed their cats. Eddie walked into the empty house and was surprised to see a man hanging from the chimney. Eddie released the man from the awkward position, and he demanded to know what he was doing inside the locked house. Dressed in red clothes and sporting a salt-and-pepper beard, the man claimed to be Nicholas Sinter-Claus. He had a tablet in his hand, which apparently had the naughty and nice list, but for some reason, he was having trouble unlocking it. Eddie was convinced that the man was delusional and needed help, but Charlotte believed that he was Santa Claus. Even though the man had answers to every Santa-related question, Eddie refused to believe him.
As a social worker, Eddie thought it was his duty to hand the man over to the Atlanta Police and find a program that could be of help to him. Charlotte managed to convince her father to take her along, and the more Charlotte talked to Nicholas, the more she fell in love with him. He knew what she had wished from Santa, which in a way surprised Eddie as well, but he assumed her list was pretty similar to any other eight-year-old. Eddie believed that the man had an identity crisis, and it was his duty to offer him support. But things soon got crazier in Dashing through the Snow when a car started to chase them. Dressed as a snowman, a nutcracker, and an elf, three people in a black car were after Santa Claus. As it turned out, the bad guys worked for Congressman Conrad Harf, whose tablet happened to be with Santa Claus. The tablet consisted of vital information that could incriminate him, which was why they were chasing Nicholas.
Santa was determined to cover all the houses on his list because, without gifts, it would not be Christmas. Eddie was left extremely confused; he could not digest the fact that Santa was real, and moreover, he had three people wanting to take him down. Eddie and Charlotte joined Nicholas on his adventure, and Eddie did not know what to believe anymore.
Who were the Truckles?
When Nicholas had nowhere to hide, the Truckles came to his rescue. They were a family of four obsessed with finding Santa Claus. Sonia and Martin, and their children, Kayleigh and Diego, had been tracking Santa’s movement over the years. Kayleigh was a tech genius, and she had designed a device that could read Santa’s location. They had been going around the town trying to find him. They called themselves the Santa Seekers, and that had pretty much become their sole profession. From discussing the skillsets of reindeer that no one knew about to the kids going gaga over Eddie’s bedazzled phone (all thanks to Santa), it was time for Nicholas to make his next stop. The Truckles wondered if they had offended Saint Nicholas, but Eddie assured them that the man was not who they thought he was. The Truckles were offended by Eddie’s remark, and his name was added to their naughty list. While Eddie assumed he would not have anything to do with the crazy Santa-obsessed family, eventually, in Dashing through the Snow, he would find himself seeking their help to locate Santa.
What convinced Eddie to believe in Santa?
We gradually find out in Dashing through the Snow that Nicholas got himself into trouble when he went to deliver gifts at Harf’s house. According to the information he had, the Harf family was supposed to be away for Christmas, which is why he did not care to hide. However, upon arriving, he realized that Conrad Harf had not left and that he was being bribed by big companies to shut down the Moonlight Mission, a program designed to provide transitional housing and care to the less fortunate. Conrad took pride in the fact that he was the bad guy, and he did not feel guilty for the harm he was about to bring.
Nicholas was playing loud music when he arrived, and Conrad and his team walked into the room. They doubted that the man dressed like Santa was spying on them, and they tried to get hold of him. In all the confusion, Santa took the tablet that had belonged to Harf and left his tablet behind. When Eddie heard the story, he was convinced that the man had tried to rob Congressman Harf, and he immediately reported him to the Atlanta Police Department. Nicholas tried to escape on his reindeer sleigh, but he realized that the magical creatures were not responding because Eddie did not believe in him. The police arrived at the scene and arrested Nicholas. Conrad Harf got his men to find the tablet. He decided not to let go of Nicholas unless he returned it. The device happened to be with Eddie, and he decided to use ‘Harf’ as the passcode to check if Nicholas was indeed telling the truth. After unlocking the tablet, Eddie found proof against the Congressman. He also found a letter that Nicholas had handed over to him. Upon opening it, he realized it was the letter he had written to Santa when he was a child, asking him to find a way to make his parents stay together. This was enough proof for Eddie to admit that the man he met was the one and only Santa Claus.
How did Eddie and Charlotte save Christmas for everyone?
Eddie and Charlotte, with the help of the Truckles family, were finally able to locate Nicholas. He was found to be somewhere close to the mayor’s mansion, and Eddie crossed the gates to rescue Santa. Charlotte was asked to stay back, but she was too invested in the rescue mission to not join her father. Eddie found Nicholas right after he managed to sneak out of the car he was locked in. Eventually, Conrad and his associates confronted Nicholas, and they found it ridiculous to believe that the man standing before them was Santa Claus. Nicholas was over the moon when he realized that Eddie no longer doubted him. He also remembered that Conrad had asked for an action figure when he was a child, and he believed that because he never got it as a Christmas present, he became a villain. As Conrad threatened to destroy Santa, Eddie decided to return the tablet. Nicholas handed the reindeer device to Eddie, and because Eddie believed in the magical creatures now, they showed up.
The film ends with the reindeer taking care of Conrad and his associates. The police eventually arrested them, and the bribery case became public. Charlotte did not expect her Christmas Eve to turn out as exciting as it did, and she even got to pet the reindeer! Before leaving in his sleigh, Santa advised Eddie to always prioritize Charlotte and to start believing in magic again. He handed Harf a gift, and this time, it was the action figure he wanted as a child. Conrad’s joy knew no bounds after he received the gift, and even though he was arrested, he finally had the one thing he always wanted. Allison refused to believe a word Eddie said after he and Charlotte returned home. But, thankfully, Santa showed up to support his story. As expected, Allison thought it was another grand joke. But when Nicholas mentioned how happy she was as a seven-year-old when she received the Mr. and Mrs. Seahorse Family playset, she knew he was not lying. No one could have known about it except for Santa.
During Dashing through the Snow‘s ending, Nicholas encourages Eddie to have a word with Allison. With Charlotte turning eight, Eddie was reminded of the time his parents separated, and he had trouble dealing with his own marriage. Instead of trying to save their marriage, he chose to detach himself because it was an easier option. But Nicholas helped him realize that he was making a terrible decision. He could not imagine his life without Allison and Charlotte, and he was ready to try and make their marriage work. To bring more joy, Santa gifted them a puppy, and Eddie was simply glad to watch Allison and Charlotte happy. Even though Santa could not fulfill his wish as a little boy, he made up for it years later. Santa taught him to never stop believing. Christmas ends on a happy note for the Garricks, and to add more to the fun, the Truckles come to meet them in the end. Eddie and Charlotte ended up saving Christmas, and Santa finally got on his sleigh and traveled the world to spread happiness.
