I’m the first to admit that I’m a bit of a grinch when it comes to Christmas movies. I feel like they all follow the same formula and if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen a thousand. When a friend told me to watch Noelle on Disney Plus, I immediately rolled my eyes. Then I heard it starred Anna Kendrick as the titular character and Bill Hader as her older brother so I was in. I’m so glad I gave this movie a shot because I ended up absolutely loving it.

The first thing you need to know about Noelle is that in the movie’s universe, Santa isn’t a person, but a title. Members of the Kringle family take on the title of Santa as if it’s North Pole royalty. After the current Santa dies, his son, Nick, is forced to take on the role but Nick isn’t ready. His younger sister, Noelle, has a much deeper passion for Christmas than he does but because she’s a woman, she’s not considered for the job, which is just fine with her. She’s perfectly happy making glittery Christmas cards and being a glorified cheerleader. When Nick panics over the looming Christmas, Noelle tells him he should take a weekend off and relax and when he does, he disappears completely. Noelle figures out he went to Phoenix, Arizona and follows him accompanied by her longtime nanny and caretaker, Elf Polly.

In Phoenix, Noelle hires a private detective, Jake, who’s able to locate Nick at a yoga studio, where he’s more comfortable working than being the new Santa. Then you have your typical shenanigans where Noelle tries to convince Nick to come back, reveals who she is to Jake, gets in some trouble with the locals until Jake realizes she was telling the truth and helps her get back home with Nick in tow.

Back at the North Pole, Nick apologizes to everyone for leaving and says he’s not meant to be Santa, but Noelle is. There’s this weird council of elves that say she can’t because she’s female but one elf says he just happened to check the rules and nothing says a woman can’t be the new Santa. Noelle becomes the new Santa, unsure of herself at first until she visits a homeless shelter she came across in Phoenix and everyone calls her Santa, giving her confidence and she finishes up the night without any problems.

While parts of the film feel pretty formulaic, Noelle offers just enough fresh ideas that this movie isn’t completely predictable. At the beginning of the movie, Noelle is a naïve, somewhat spoiled person. She loves Christmas for the superficial aspects like presents and carols and fun decorations. When she’s in Phoenix, outside of her isolated bubble of the North Pole, she meets people with real problems, like Jake and the people at the homeless shelter. While there’s an ongoing joke that everyone wants an iPad, Noelle meets people like a deaf child who wants her mother to be able to find a job. When she sees that there are people who want selfless, intangible things rather than just toys, she starts to understand the real meaning of Christmas, which she explains once she returns to the North Pole.

Christmas shouldn’t be about getting the most expensive stuff or getting the most toys. Christmas can’t even solve people’s problems. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about showing other people you care and having hope that things can get better. It’s about enjoying being together and being grateful for what you do have and the people you have. I love that Noelle actually grows as a person and learns what the holiday should really be about, that it’s more than just presents and pretty lights and decorations. Too many people get hung up on the shallow aspects of the holiday so it’s nice to see a character start that way and go through genuine development to see what really matters.

Jake is the other major protagonist of the movie. He’s recently divorced and has a son, Alex. All Alex wants for Christmas is for his entire family to be together even though his mother is remarried. Jake wants his son to be happy but is worried that if he spends Christmas with his ex-wife and her new husband, it will be awkward and uncomfortable, which will end up making it a miserable holiday for Alex. Alex, being a kid, doesn’t understand this kind of complicated dynamic. He just wants to be with his family, which is very sweet. And while he does help Noelle, he’s not filling any type of white knight or Prince Charming trope. He’s just a good guy trying to earn a living and take care of his son. I also appreciate that the movie doesn’t try to couple him up with Noelle. It would have been too easy to have them fall for each other and live happily ever after in the North Pole. I really enjoy that these two likeable and attractive characters of the opposite sex come together, form a friendship, and it doesn’t go further than that. It’s kind of refreshing to see two characters connect in a meaningful but platonic way because normally it turns into falling in love or one falls in love with the other.

There are some additional side characters who are fun. Bill Hader is enjoyable as Nick but his usual level of zany intensity is definitely toned down in this movie. He basically exists to be motivation for Noelle. Elf Polly is the wise and somewhat stern guardian figure for Noelle who gives her advice but lets her make her own decisions. There’s also another character, Gabriel, who is Noelle’s cousin and gets tasked with being the new Santa when Nick vanishes. Gabriel is a tech genius who tries to come up with formulas and calculations to see which children in the world are good enough to earn presents. According to Gabriel’s strict calculations, only about twenty-eight hundred kids are good enough to receive presents this year while all the others get a text message explaining what they need to improve upon for next year. It’s so outlandish and ridiculous that you can’t help but find it cute. Other actors could have definitely made Gabriel come across as a villain but Billy Eichner portrays him in a way that’s not malicious, just out of touch and lacking certain social graces.

Noelle is admittedly a bit predictable. I don’t think anyone watching it becomes surprised when she’s made the new Santa. But thanks to a talented cast and a meaningful message, the movie has enough heart and charm to be worth watching, even for a grinch like me.