The Forgotten Carols movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

I confess…I’m completely biased because I’ve loved this story for many years. It began as a collection of stories on a cassette tape I purchased many years ago at Christmas when my kids were little. Yeah…that long ago…a cassette tape. It came with a lovely storybook that told you when to listen to the next song. I immediately fell in love with the music and story. You can still see my 5-star review on Amazon that I wrote back in 2011!

I even made copies of the ornaments that were mentioned in the story to hang on my own Christmas tree. Each of the “forgotten carols” has an ornament with symbolism and an inspiring message to go with it. I taught an early-morning Bible study class for teenagers at the time and shared parts of the production with them each morning on the days leading up to their Christmas break from school. They all loved it too. If you’d like the CD and book, just click right here!

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The film version and stage play were directed by Christy Summerhays, who also stars in it. When I heard there was going to be a film version, I assumed the story would be turned into a feature film; I didn’t realize it was going to be a movie version of the stage play, so that disappointed me. Even still, the music and story will touch your heart. He has toured with the stage play for 29 years and hoped this film version would give more people the chance to enjoy the story during Covid restrictions. When he saw the stage play of Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)(Edited)(2CD) turned into a film and offered on the Disney+ channel, it gave him the idea to do the same with his musical.

When he watched the footage of last year’s performance, he said it was the very first time he had seen himself in the show! Because he won’t be traveling in the show this year, the film allows him and his family to stay home together for Christmas for the first time in decades!

Christians will especially love how the modern-day story intermingles some of the stories we know from the Bible.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Talk of death and life after death.
No profanity.
Clean content for all ages. Yay!
The stage play manuscript won the “Faith-Friendly” seal by Dove.org

THEMES:

Hope
Kindness
Love
Faith
Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. “Let Him in.”
Sometimes the “veil” can be very thin (the veil between heaven and earth.)

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore Michael McLean. I have for years. His music touches my heart and his lyrics touch my soul. He did a great job, although it would have made more sense to have him play John and someone else play the narrator. I can’t criticize his voice because he readily admits he can’t sing. Neither can I. In fact, there is a wonderful song in the story where he shares his frustration of not being able to sing what’s in his heart. I can completely relate.
Some new songs have been added to the original set.
The story has also been changed a bit from the original with some sweet new additions.
The cast includes Michael McLean, Christy Summerhays, Jeff McLean, Adrien Swenson, Roger Dunbar, Gili Getz, Dave Martin, and Lynne McLean.
A lot of new humor has also been added and updated for today’s audience.
Keep watching after the curtain call to hear another Michael McLean song and heartfelt message. He invites the audience to sing with him. Very sweet.
Michael McLean is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After experiencing a personal struggle with faith, McLean confessed, “I used to think I was given the gift of this story to help someone else. What I realized was the gift was for me!” Other Christians will feel a sweet spirit of love while watching the movie. What a wonderful way to celebrate this Christmas season by watching this lovely musical.
There is some cute humor.
The standout singers in the musical are Jeff McLean, Adrien Swenson, and Dave Martin.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There have been many versions of this soundtrack. Sadly, this isn’t the strongest one I’ve heard. As much as I love Michael McLean and his family, I would love to have seen stronger actors and singers in this film version. I do love that Michael got his wish to perform in his own stage play and movie! Congratulations to him. He’s such an insightful songwriter.
Someone should have put a prettier cover on the back of that piano. Compared to a big Hollywood blockbuster, the film looks extremely amateur; however, it has a lot of heart.
I would love to have seen some pretty rugs or something on the floor rather than the plain stage floor.
The film itself obviously had a low budget, but the rich message still rings loud and clear.
Non-Christians may not understand who John is. The New Testament of the Bible tells us that John the Beloved was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. When asked what he would like, John asked Jesus if he could live and preach the gospel until Christ returned again. Christians believe that John is still alive on the earth doing the Lord’s work until the Second Coming. If you’ve ever wondered what he might be doing, he could very well be helping God’s children, one at a time, to come unto Christ in such a scenario as this story suggests.
There were some young men who sang around a street fire, but their names aren’t included on the IMDB website. They did a great job.