As said in my review for the predecessor 'The Flight Before Christmas' (which to me was surprisingly enjoyable), love Christmas films, and Christmas is my favourite time of year. Am also a fan of animation, always have been since 2 years old getting into the Disney classics and always will be. So would see anything that are a mix of both, especially when this mix has seen films and specials that are good to classic (notably the best of the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials).Its sequel 'The Magic Reindeer' (the UK title) isn't quite as good, rated them about the same but 'The Flight Before Christmas' gets the slight edge, but comes close. There is nothing here that will blow the mind, but it is an easily likable watch and passes the time effectively. Like 'The Flight Before Christmas', 'The Magic Reindeer' is not perfect, not many films are in retrospect, but to me as a family film it ticks most of the right boxes with room for improvement.'The Magic Reindeer's' weak point is the story, that it's standard again is not quite as forgivable this time, 'The Flight Before Christmas' felt much fresher and livelier in pace whereas there were parts where this felt tired.Some of the dialogue again lacks natural flow and cheesy and there are oddities in the translation.However, the animation is great and actually more even in quality than the previous film with the characters looking better and more consistent quality-wise. It's very lavishly coloured and most of the characters are drawn well particularly the reindeer. Where it scores most highly is in the meticulously imaginative and colourful backgrounds and the attention to detail for the little things as well as the big effects. Another improvement, while still not spectacular, is the voice acting which is hardly amateurish.Music once more has liveliness, atmosphere and nuance, and the film again is successful in appealing to all ages, children and adults alike. The former will lap up the amusing and innocent humour, the cute characters, the easy to relate to themes the film teaches, the exciting adventurous elements and the quirkiness. The latter will be surprised again at the more mature (though not as much as the previous film and may actually may be more to people's tastes) content that appeals to them and how mostly well handled it's done, it's not disturbing or overdone and doesn't feel misplaced or like the film didn't know what it wanted to be or who to aim it at.Parts that are more mature in nature may go over children's heads but they have enough to enjoy anyway elsewhere so it shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile adults will like its cuteness, charm, the family and friendship values (not new but universal, relevant and important) and how sincerely and not patronisingly they're delivered and the universal message, as well as seeing how children are enjoying it. Things are kept simple but with respect. There are dark tense scenes that are likely to scare the very young, but there is nothing traumatising, most viewers will take these scenes well though me thinks.Characters, with charming heroes, funny sidekicks, threatening but never too scary villains and a lovingly neutered family, are easy to warm to (although Niko learnt from his mistakes better before). One will relate to the main character's story (another aspect that both children and adults will like), the action excites and while the pace could have been brisker it's not dull either.Overall, fun and charming sequel, that goes with the first well even though not quite as good, if lacking originality and magic. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The beautifully animated Niko 2: Little Brother, Big Trouble (2012) is a sensational animated feature from Finland. While I cannot compare this film to the first one as I have not seen it, I could proclaim that this animated feature is not your typical Christmas movie!This Christmasy animated feature touches on issues from separated parents and extended family which not many creators would include in family or festive movies, especially those intended for children. In contrary to popular belief, it isn't a negative or depressing theme at all. In fact, it is quite endearing to watch how these characters accept or get along with each other!Niko 2: Little Brother, Big Trouble (2012) is also fun and amusing. In the beginning, it may appear to be childish for those who are not into family films but truly, this animated feature has the ability to charm the hearts of all ages with its lovely characters! Yes, the plot could be a little confusing to those who have not seen the first one as there is no flashbacks or mentions of incidents from the previous movie but the friendship and family values are strong in this film so it is great for family movie time!Most importantly, what we can learn from this animated feature is that there are certain things that we shouldn't take lightly of and we should be honest in serious matters especially one lie can lead to another and it won't be easy to correct it later. Our lives too, are not just about us, it also about people around us and there is a huge responsibility in everything we do. In short, Niko 2: Little Brother, Big Trouble (2012) champions the importance of a happy heart and we should too, always keep ourselves and everyone we love, happy. That is the most important and the best present ever one could give to anyone!PS. Super glad that I went for the movie at EUFF and found another one to add into my favorite list. I love this movie because just how many family films intended for children out there that are actually adorable and touches on important life issues and taboo topics? Niko 3 please.

I put this on for my little girl never seeing the first one, and I never paid attention before but wow a lot of movies now a days are really pushing the single parent spotlight or broken home spotlight-is it that hard to believe that two people can stay together that we even make reindeer have broken homes in kids movies?! Never saw the first Niko movie and have no interest in seeing it or ever having my kid see this again. I was expecting a Christmas movie but got a pep talk for kids of broken homes whose parent is dating someone new. Spent so much time on that that I dunno when the Christmas part took place aside from the beginning when the reindeer were doing practice runs for Christmas eve-only thing Christmas like I saw-course eventually I cheered inside for bath time so I could turn this movie off (before it was over) so I don't know if they ever got to Christmas stuff after they were done pushing their broken home agenda.

I quite liked the first Niko movie. It had decent animation, great characters, original idea and a storyline that managed to keep me invested and then some. I've seen it once or twice since and solidified my opinion: it's more than decent Christmas movie, not a classic, but still enjoyable and kid-friendly. I'd happily recommend it to all families.And then there's the sequel, which follows the traditional way of offering more of the same, sans the novelty. In this case Niko is once again being forced to play the rule of a headstrong child with short temper and no patience whatsoever. It's a common cliché that the main character in a sequel seems to have learned nothing from his previous adventure, and this is true here as well, which is immensely aggravating. And when the storyline pretty much mirrors the previous film, this film can pretty much kiss goodbye to being as good as the original.Luckily the film makers got a few things right. I complain about Niko having learnt nothing, but there's the mitigating factor that he's still a kid, so he still has lots of learning to do. He should have learnt at least something, though. The rest of the cast though remains pretty much the same. They're not amazing, but they're solid. The same with animation. Nothing groundbreaking, but it looks good, though a bit uneven, as numerous studios were involved in the process, so the quality wavers a bit from time to time.The biggest problem is the story. It's just not as good as the first one, mostly because they tried to recycle the same plot, but with different enemies, which rarely works. There's a subplot concerning Niko's new stepbrother, but it's also very tired and clichéd. Not horrible, per se, but not very good either. You can pretty much guess how it'll go from the first minute of it.So that's this film. It's nothing spectacular, if anything it's a bit below average, but it's harmless fun and it's not going to hurt or upset your kids. It's over an hour's worth of semi-decent family entertainment. If you can, watch the first one, as it is much better, but this will do in a pinch.