Red One made its debut quite early this Christmas season, premiering in theaters worldwide on November 15, 2024. However, the early release is justified, given that the film was initially set to release in December 2023 and was delayed due to the SAF-AFTRA strikes. The film joins a genre which has been gaining increasing popularity in recent times; the Christmas action film genre.
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The film puts its own creative spin on the genre, with the narrative of Red One following a rescue mission after Father Christmas is kidnapped by a fearsome winter witch who is also able to shape-shift. Giving the Christmas film an almost CIA-like quality, Red One has organizations with the most interesting acronyms, code words, high-tech equipment and talented hackers. Supported by a star-studded cast, including Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu and J. K. Simmon, Red One offers all that you can expect from a Christmas action film. However, the storyline of the film is not entirely fictional. The film's antagonist, the fearsome winter witch who kidnaps Santa, has her roots in Icelandic folklore.
3/5 Red One
Release Date November 15, 2024 Cast Dwayne Johnson , Chris Evans , J.K. Simmons , Lucy Liu , Kiernan Shipka , Bonnie Hunt , Kristofer Hivju , Nick Kroll , Wesley Kimmel , Mary Elizabeth Ellis , Wyatt Hunt , Lanz Duffy , Marc Evan Jackson , Ashleigh Domangue , Cody Easterbrook , Jon Rudnitsky , Morla Gorrondona , Jenna Kanell , Rod Maxwell , Fedor Steer , Octavia Grace , Matthew Zuk , Cora Kass , Ahmad Ghafouri , Jeff Chase Runtime 123 Minutes Main Genre Action Expand ✕ Remove Ads Grýla's Role in 'Red One' Close
Grýla is the main antagonist in Red One. Played by Kiernan Shipka, Grýla kidnaps Santa at the beginning of the film and risks ruining Christmas for all humankind. She breaks into the North Pole, tricks Callum Drift, Santa's head of security, and rides away with Santa, or at least appears to do so. It is later revealed that the detailed kidnapping and getaway was simply a ruse. The purpose behind her elaborate, devious and well-executed plan? She is frustrated with how wicked society has become and wishes to take matters into her own hands.
Grýla is not simply the winter witch in Red One. She is an ancient troll with shape-shifting abilities. Now fed up with society, she wishes to permanently get rid of everyone that has wound up on Santa's Naughty List. After all, they did wind up on the list because they were bad human beings, right? If one delves deep into Grýla's sentiments, it may seem noble in a sense; what is the harm in ensuring that the world is filled only with the best of people?
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Despite this, Grýla's plan is undoubtedly extreme. She, countering the spirit of Christmas, does not believe in redemption or second chances. She kidnaps Santa so that she can get her hands on the 'glaskafig,' a magical snow globe that is able to trap whoever touches it. Her ultimate goal is to duplicate the snow globe and use Santa's sleigh to distribute the globes to everyone on the Naughty List, and thereby execute her plan of getting rid of everyone 'bad' in the world.
Grýla's Mythic Origins Close ✕ Remove Ads
Grýla is not entirely a work of the imagination. She has her roots in Icelandic folklore, where she is known as a fearsome Ogress with many tails. Her name is noted to have first been documented in Medieval Icelandic literature in the 13th century. Although Grýla has been depicted as a monstrous figure from the inception, not much is known about her origins.
However, during the 17th century, Grýla came to be associated with Christmas. According to Icelandic legend, Grýla observes children throughout the year and punishes the 'naughty' ones during Christmas with the help of her 13 sons, known as the Yule Lads. Living in a remote cave in the mountains, Grýla would stalk Icelandic towns and kidnap naughty, misbehaving children, put them in a sack, and, with the help of the Yule Lads, haul them back to the mountains. The children would then be made into a stew to be eaten until the dawn of next Christmas.
How Does 'Red One's Grýla Compare to the Real Myth? Close ✕ Remove Ads
In terms of appearance, Kiernan Shipka's Grýla is extremely different from the supposedly older, more gruesome looking ogre in Icelandic legend. Shipka's version of the ogre is both young and much more beautiful. She does not look appallingly scary or constantly carry around a sack, unlike the Grýla of Icelandic folklore. This was likely a creative decision taken to ensure that Red One adhered to the tone of the festive Christmas film genre.
In addition to changing Grýla's appearance, the film also changes some of Grýla's powers. While Icelandic myth recognizes Grýla only as an ogre, Red One has made its antagonist an extremely powerful winter witch with shape-shifting abilities. She also has the ability to track people across the globe if they utter her name. In addition, Red One also chooses to move away from portraying Grýla merely as a heartless ogre. She is given a romantic relationship with Santa's estranged brother, Krampus, offering her character some backstory and development. This depiction of Grýla sits in contrast to Icelandic folklore's appalling ogre who lives in a cave only to kindap and eat stewed children.
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Despite their differences, Red One's Grýla and the Icelandic legend's Grýla share at least one thing in common; they both seek to punish naughty children. Anyone who does good is not harmed by the ogre/witch. This is also why Jack and Dylan are able to escape the snow globe that they are trapped in by Grýla. Although at odds with each other when the narrative begins, and thus qualifying as 'naughty', the heartfelt conversation they share makes them 'good' again. This breaks the globes and allows them to escape Grýla's clutches.
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Although Grýla's character has her roots in Icelandic folklore, Red One makes it evident that creative freedom has been taken with the legend to develop and flesh out the antagonist's character. Doing so has allowed the film to relate its antagonist more directly to the plot of the film. Moreover, by changing Grýla's appearance and powers, Red One also makes the character suitable and more interesting to a modern audience. Despite the film choosing to go the light-hearted, fun route in keeping with the Christmas spirit, the fact that it decided to center on a character rooted in Icelandic folklore inadvertently had the positive effect of introducing a previously lesser known Christmas myth to a global audience.
Red One is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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