---
title: "Get Santa"
year: 2014
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/get-santa"
fi1m_id: "get-santa"
imdb_id: "tt1935940"
tmdb_id: 250535
wikidata_id: "Q16838897"
fi1m_score: 66
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-25T00:40:15.778704+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T00:40:27.226483+00:00"
region: "BE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Get Santa (2014)

Directed by Christopher Smith · 1h 42m · Comedy, Family

## Identity

Get Santa

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/get-santa
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** get-santa
- **IMDb ID:** tt1935940
- **TMDB ID:** 250535
- **Wikidata ID:** Q16838897
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935940/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/250535, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16838897

**Fi1m score: 66** · Critics 64 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* Jim Broadbent makes a convincing Santa even when the reindeer are doing their own sound effects

> *Get Santa* has warm, believable leads in Jim Broadbent and Rafe Spall, but its rescue caper drags. The prison comedy is funnier than the repeated reindeer jokes, which require some seasonal goodwill.

## Synopsis

In London at Christmas, Steve (Rafe Spall) is an ex-con trying to rebuild his relationship with his son, Tom (Kit Connor). Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent), meanwhile, is in prison, where the inmates take some persuading that their fellow prisoner is the real thing. Steve’s attempt to make a fresh start as a father becomes caught up in the business of getting Santa out of custody. There are reindeer to contend with as well as prisoners, and a father and son have a Christmas rescue to organise.

## Review

*Get Santa* works best when it lets its actors get on with making a Christmas film about an ex-con and prisoners. Christopher Smith, who writes and directs, finds some warmth in that combination without scrubbing everyone clean for family viewing. We found it an amiable but uneven choice, worth considering for the cast rather than the rescue plot. The jokes and the pace are too unreliable to give it an unqualified recommendation.

Rafe Spall gives Steve’s efforts to reconnect with his son more weight than a seasonal caper strictly needs. He is dryly funny without making the father’s predicament into a running joke, and the wish to put things right remains believable. We were moved by those attempts at reconciliation, because the performance allows Steve to seem fallible without asking us to write him off. That concern for the relationship with Tom gives the film something worth returning to whenever the running about begins to wear.

Jim Broadbent is equally important as Santa Claus, playing the part with a conviction the surrounding bustle does not always deserve. The prison scenes give him a useful audience of sceptics, and watching his warmth work on the inmates supplies much of the comedy. He does not need the film to keep reminding us that Santa is special; he makes the man’s company pleasant enough on its own. We would happily exchange some of the chase business for longer in his company.

Christopher Ross’s cinematography helps by keeping London recognisable, giving the impossible visitor somewhere ordinary to belong. John Frankish’s production design provides solid settings for the prison comedy, and the care taken over the sets makes the weaker effects more conspicuous. The real reindeer are useful for much the same reason: there is pleasure in having something substantial in front of the camera. When the effects have to supply the wonder, the picture looks less convincing, and Jim Broadbent has to do more of the persuading.

The writing is less dependable than the performances, particularly when it reaches for another reindeer fart. Such jokes have an audience, and a family comedy need not apologise for bodily functions, but repetition does not make them funnier. Christopher Smith’s rougher touches are more welcome when they complicate the usual Christmas sweetness rather than merely interrupt it. The prison scenes are funnier, and they already provide enough disruption of the usual Christmas good manners.

Stuart Gazzard’s editing keeps the action busy, but the prolonged escape and chase passages still drag. Too much time goes on getting from one predicament to the next, while the better comic exchanges feel short-changed. Ilan Eshkeri’s score supplies the expected warmth, though the moments between father and son need less assistance than the music gives them. At 102 minutes, the film allows its less interesting business to occupy too much of the evening.

As a family Christmas comedy, it deserves some credit for allowing an imperfect father and a prison population into the festivities. Its goodwill is easier to accept because the cast give these people a little roughness, and the film does not insist on being tasteful. The result will suit those who like their seasonal viewing a bit scruffy and can forgive a sluggish middle. Choose it for Jim Broadbent and Rafe Spall; a tolerance for reindeer wind will help.

*Fi1m score 66, published 25 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards qualified goodwill for Get Santa, with praise clustering around the cast rather than the plotting. Jim Broadbent’s warm, committed Santa wins approval even from critics who dislike the film, while Rafe Spall earns praise for the tenderness and dry wit of his father trying to reconnect with his son. Several critics welcome the rougher comic edge, finding that the crime-caper elements keep the Christmas sentiment from becoming too sugary.

Reservations centre on unreliable jokes, uneven pacing and cheap-looking visual effects. Some find the middle sluggish; others tire of the extended action or frantic delivery. The spread is wide: HeyUGuys finds an accomplished family film whose performances and familiar London setting make the fantasy convincing, while Empire finds too little cheer beneath the reindeer flatulence. Eye for Film is similarly dismissive of the muddled storytelling, though it shares the broader admiration for Broadbent.

## Straight answers

**Is Get Santa worth watching?**

*Get Santa* is worth considering for a scruffy family Christmas evening, though we score its amiable, uneven comedy 66 out of 100. Jim Broadbent’s convincing Santa and Rafe Spall’s believable efforts at fatherhood give it warmth; the rescue caper drags, and the repeated reindeer fart jokes need more goodwill than the prison comedy.

**How long is Get Santa, and what is it rated?**

*Get Santa* runs 1h 42m. It is a comedy and family film.

**Where can I watch Get Santa in Belgium?**

*Get Santa* is available to rent from Apple TV from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Get Santa compare to Tokyo Godfathers?**

*Get Santa* is the more family-oriented Christmas comedy; we recommend [*Tokyo Godfathers*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers) for its more affecting warmth and adult sensibility. Both find humour and feeling in people seasonal stories might leave out, but the animated tale of three homeless people and an abandoned baby moves us more, despite its contrived plotting.

**What should I watch after Get Santa?**

After *Get Santa*, try [*Tokyo Godfathers*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers) (2003, Fi1m 82): An animated Christmas tale with rough sleepers, earned warmth and an adult sensibility. Then [*The Bishop's Wife*](https://film.one/film/the-bishops-wife) (1947, Fi1m 74): A seasonal visitor disrupts domestic life, with charm doing more work than spectacle; and [*The Kid*](https://film.one/film/the-kid) (1921, Fi1m 84): A child and an improvised father figure make comedy out of getting by.

### Reviews we read (12)

- **Radio Times**, Stella Papamichael (4/5): Papamichael gives the film a positive assessment as a Christmas tale with a rougher edge but plenty of goodwill. She praises Rafe Spall’s touching, dry-witted performance as an ex-con trying to reconnect with his son. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-4f75lr/get-santa/)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (70/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film a moderately likable, sweet-natured Christmas comedy, though not a classic. He particularly praises Jim Broadbent’s performance and the film’s spirited comic energy. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/07/get-santa-review-jim-broadbent-rafe-spall)
- **Variety**, Charles Gant (70/100, inferred): Gant finds the comedy amiable and well suited to family holiday viewing, despite a plot that bogs down midway. He praises Jim Broadbent’s committed performance as Santa, while noting that the visual effects look under-resourced. [Read](https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-get-santa-1201375759/)
- **The Independent**, Geoffrey Macnab (65/100, inferred): The review finds that Christopher Smith gives the Christmas film some welcome grit, though the humor is often feeble. It praises Jim Broadbent’s warmly playful performance as Santa and the action and grotesquerie that temper the sentimentality. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/get-santa-film-review-christopher-smith-adds-some-grit-to-the-typical-christmas-film-9904545.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Mark Adams (64/100, inferred): The critic's verdict is unavailable because the article text is behind a paywall. No specific praise or complaint is visible in the accessible page. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/get-santa/5080471.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Leslie Felperin (60/100, inferred): Felperin finds the film uneven but ultimately enjoyable, with enough charm to offset its weaker stretches. She praises the cast and especially the funny prison scenes, while criticizing the drawn-out escape and chase sequences. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/get-santa-film-review-754371/)
- **Time Out**, Trevor Johnston (3/5): The page's three-out-of-five rating suggests a middling verdict. The available metadata gives the premise but does not reveal what Johnston praised or criticized. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/get-santa)
- **Empire**, Nick de Semlyen (30/100, inferred): The review finds the film short on cheer, despite Jim Broadbent’s twinkly performance. It criticizes the cheap-looking effects and copious reindeer farting. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/get-santa-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Stefan Pape (95/100, inferred): Pape calls the film an enchanting, accomplished Christmas movie that works for children and parents alike. He particularly praises the sincere performances and the way the familiar London setting makes Santa’s adventure feel believable. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/get-santa-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a warm, witty family caper and ultimately a Christmas classic. Broadbent’s performance as Santa is singled out as a delight, especially as he wins over the cynical prison inmates. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a613148/get-santa-review-jim-broadbent-is-santa-in-the-slammer/)
- **Den of Geek**, Mark Harrison (3/5): The review finds Get Santa a very good crime caper for kids, though its jokes often miss and its pacing is frantic. It praises the live-action production and care put into the sets, script, and real reindeer. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/get-santa-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (35/100, inferred): The review finds the film muddled and dull, despite its festive potential. It praises Jim Broadbent for saving the film with a convincing performance as Santa. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/get-santa-2014-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

## Details

- **Director:** Christopher Smith
- **Director:** Christopher Smith
- **Writer:** Christopher Smith
- **Cinematography:** Christopher Ross
- **Editor:** Stuart Gazzard
- **Music:** Ilan Eshkeri
- **Production design:** John Frankish
- **Costume design:** Stephen Noble
- **Producer:** Liza Marshall, Jack Arbuthnott, Andrew Litvin
- **Cast:** Jim Broadbent as Santa Claus; Rafe Spall as Steve; Warwick Davis as Sally; Jodie Whittaker as Alison; Stephen Graham as Barber; Joanna Scanlan as Ruth; Kit Connor as Tom; Joshua McGuire as Tony
- **Runtime:** 1h 42m
- **First release (the UK):** 5 December 2014
- **Genres:** Comedy, Family

## Where to watch in Belgium

- Apple TV: rent €3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy €7.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-25.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Tokyo Godfathers* (2003), Fi1m 82: An animated Christmas tale with rough sleepers, earned warmth and an adult sensibility. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers.md)
- *Millions* (2004): Money, faith and childhood collide in a family comedy with room for awkward questions.
- *The Bishop's Wife* (1947), Fi1m 74: A seasonal visitor disrupts domestic life, with charm doing more work than spectacle. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bishops-wife.md)
- *The Kid* (1921), Fi1m 84: A child and an improvised father figure make comedy out of getting by. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-kid.md)
- *Ernest & Celestine* (2012), Fi1m 84: Outcasts, petty crime and an unlikely friendship, told with warmth and a light touch. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ernest-and-celestine.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/get-santa