I think we might, just might, have been here before. Well almost, but that's not quite true. At first glance, this is just A Christmas Carol adorned with catchy tunes and dancing multi-cultural, ethnically-cleansed elves. A modern re-telling of the famous Dicken's tale with an out of the ordinary twist, starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
To be fair, what you are actually getting, despite the furtive sideways glances at the original story is a rather predictable stab at parting you with your monthly subscription and if we're equally honest, it is as good a stab as any other Apple has come up with in this regard. Feature length, at least.
Whilst far from irredeemable, I am not exactly the first in the queue either, the minute Tesco's starts assembling their seasonal aisle and unless there is a really good reason for sitting through a Christmas story that's been done many, many times before, then I'm probably going to miss it. Suffice to say, I really like musicals, Ferrell and Reynolds.
Essentially, the whole thing does what it sets out to. It entertains in spades, Reynolds and Ferrell bounce of each other with ease (it helps that Ferrell has been to at least one Wrexham match) and whilst neither of them have outstanding singing voices, they cope admirably with the demands. Supported by Octavia Spencer (who has her own song, in which she absolutely shines), the whole thing screams unbridled festive joy. Yes it's predictable and only half as original as it might be, but really, you can't help but smile.
In a world full of sadness and fear, depression and hate, this is a timely reminder of something much more simple and universally affirming.