Would you be surprised if you celebrated Christmas with your favourite superheroes? Yes, Marvel has brought you one such movie where you would see members of the Guardians of the Galaxy celebrate Christmas with their favourites. Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special is the perfect musical gift for young ones during the upcoming holidays.

Way back in the 80s, holiday and Christmas specials were a ‘regular fixture’ on television, from Star Wars to He-Man and Shera, your parents must have watched them, but such specials became extinct with the passage of time. Marvel’s latest offering is the first of its kind for any superhero franchise. Not to forget, there is a very special celebrity too.

Guardians of the Galaxy have just purchased planet ‘Knowhere’ from the Collector, but Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is not his usual self. He is still affected by the death of Gamora and his friends want him to be the ‘Star Lord’.

To cheer Peter up, the Old 97’s music band suits up as rock n’ roll aliens and performs, “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is but Christmastime Is Here”. The famous band of the 90s also happened to be the favourite of director James Gunn, and it was shocking to see members of the old group disguised as aliens. There is another shock in store for the viewers and it is related to a very famous movie from the same era.

It’s here that Kraglin revealed to the Guardians how Peter’s first Christmas with them was ruined by Yondo. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) travel to earth to get a memorable present for their friend. The only problem is that they don’t fully grasp anything about the holiday in the first place. They wreak havoc on Earth, but managed to get what they came for. The movie is centred on the expedition of Mantis and Drax, and others like Rocket, Kraglin and Groot have a very limited presence.

The movie is colourful and has a sentimental holiday theme, with lots of gifts and space traveling. Of course, looking at your favourite characters dancing instead of fighting has its pros too. Peter Quill loved the gifts and the festivities changed the mood of everyone. The movie is fun all along and has in it all that is required for a family to enjoy.

It is just a little over 40 minutes in duration, yet it has all the ingredients of a proper GoG movie.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 10th, 2022