| 'Twas the Night | |
|---|---|
 'Twas the Night promotional advertisement | |
| Directed by | Nick Castle |
| Produced by | Kevin Lafferty |
| Written by | Jim Lincoln Dan Studney Jenny Tripp |
| Starring | Josh Zuckerman Brenda Grate Bryan Cranston Jefferson Mappin |
| Music Composer(s) | Craig Safan |
| Distributed by | Disney Channel |
| Release date(s) | December 7, 2001 |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
'Twas the Night is a Disney Channel Original Movie that was released in the winter of 2001. The film was released in December to correspond with the Christmas holiday. The Disney Channel airs this every year sometime in December.
Plot[]
A troubled and irresponsible man, Nick Wrigley (Bryan Cranston) was hacked by a group of criminals who are looking for a bank account code to his boss. They manage to find his apartment and start beating him. They tell him they want their money by Christmas. They leave and he decides to run away. He is leaving the building when the biggest member of the gang sees him leaving and chases him. He manages to escape when he runs to a North Pole stage where kids meet Santa Claus. He steals Santa's suit, walks to the bus stop in disguise, and goes to his brother's house.
Mischievous 14-year-old Danny Wrigley (Josh Zuckerman) welcomes his uncle because he has a better relationship with him than any other person in his family. Danny's father John (Barclay Hope) however is less than thrilled to see his older brother, while his wife Abby (Torri Higginson) welcomes him. John and Abby, both doctors, are called into the hospital and reluctantly leave him to look after the three children. On Christmas Eve, Santa comes to the house with a device that can freeze time, in order to put presents under the tree unnoticed. An object hits the device, time goes back to normal, and Nick knocks him unconscious. He and Danny decide to deliver Santa's presents.
While they are doing so, unbeknown to Danny, Nick is stealing from the houses. When Danny finds out he feels betrayed and goes back home in Santa's sleigh. Meanwhile, his younger siblings, Kaitlyn (Brenda Grate) and Peter (Rhys Williams) found an unconsious Santa (Jefferson Mappin) on the living room floor. He wakes up and convinces them that he is Santa. They find out that Danny and Nick stole the sleigh and presents and he says that Danny will be on the naughty list forever. When he comes back he apologizes to him, but the sleigh is broken. Nick is sitting at a bus stop when he sees the three men who had been threatening him earlier in the movie. They ask him what his brother's address is (they don't recognize him because he is wearing a Santa suit). He doesn't answer them and they drive off. He realizes a second later that they are going to John's house, which means that he and his family is in trouble. Nick, who still has Santa's device, races back there and arrives just in time. He saves the family from the men using the device and they drive away terrified. He returns it to Santa and then gives him his beloved laptop to fix the sleigh and save Christmas. The next morning, he wakes up and sees that Santa has given him the guitar that he wanted since childhood, but never got for Christmas because he was always on the naughty list.
Cast[]
- Josh Zuckerman - Danny Wrigley
- Brenda Grate - Kaitlin Wrigley
- Bryan Cranston - Nick Wrigley
- Jefferson Mappin - Santa
- Rhys Williams - Peter Wrigley
- Barclay Hope - John Wrigley
- Torri Higginson - Abby Wrigley
External links[]
- 'Twas the Night on Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge |
Disney Channel Original Movies | Succeeded by Double Teamed |