Jingle All the Way art shows why the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas movie wouldn’t work if set in today’s world. Released in 1996, Schwarzenegger’s attempt at a wholesome holiday comedy starred the famed action hero as a regular dad trying to get his son his dream present: a Turbo-Man action figure. Unfortunately, everyone else’s kid also wants a Turbo-Man, turning Schwarzenegger’s efforts into a madcap Christmas Eve quest to land one of the coveted toys.
Jingle All the Way is not considered a Christmas movie classic, as shown by its 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and in fact its premise wouldn’t even work in today’s world, as illustrated by funny new art created by @thisjenlewis (via @officialflashback90s). Check out the art below:
In just four quick panels, @thisjenlewis succinctly demonstrates how, if Schwarzenegger’s character lived in 2023, he could easily order his son a Turbo-Man before it was even released, negating the entire central comedic concept of Jingle All the Way.
Jingle All the Way Was Schwarzenegger’s One Try At Truly Family-Friendly Comedy (And It Didn’t Work)
Budgeted at $75 million, Jingle All the Way went on to gross $129 million, making it a modest hit. Despite that respectable box office take, the film was considered a failure for Schwarzenegger, who was ripped by critics for putting aside his massively popular action-hero image and attempting to make a fluffy, family-friendly holiday comedy movie.
Jingle All the Way was not Schwarzenegger’s first comedy, as he’d previously made the high-concept Twins and Junior, as well as the PG13 action-comedy Kindergarten Cop. It was his first attempt at starring in a genuinely family-friendly movie, however, and the fact that it was so roundly mocked as a one-joke movie, with Schwarzenegger looking completely out of his element, seemed to convince the star to stick with making action films, as his next few projects were the superhero movie Batman & Robin, the dark thriller End of Days and the traditional action vehicle Eraser.
Schwarzenegger has, perhaps tellingly, not returned to the family movie arena since Jingle All the Way, outside brief cameos. The movie stands as a weird one-off in the Schwarzenegger filmography, a failed attempt at expanding his appeal beyond his core fanbase, before he pulled a U-turn and returned to his familiar lane (before abandoning acting altogether to pursue politics).
Jingle All the Way
Jingle All The Way is a Christmas-themed comedy film by director Brian Levant, released in 1996. After a business-focused father fails to procure a wildly popular toy for his son before Christmas, he must head on a city-wide hunt to find one. His hunt is complicated further when he’s forced to go head-to-head with a postal worker on the same quest, leading to a series of ever-escalating events during the holiday season.
- Release Date
- November 22, 1996
- Director
- Brian Levant
- Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sinbad , Phil Hartman , Rita Wilson , Robert Conrad , Jake Lloyd , Jim Belushi
- Rating
- PG
- Runtime
- 89 Minutes
- Genres
- Adventure , Comedy , Family , Holiday
- Writers
- Randy Kornfield
- Budget
- $75 Million
- Studio(s)
- 1492 Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- 20th Century Fox
