The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - General Discussion

[tv echo]

James Gunn on 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' and the 'Holiday Special'; Says Sequel Is "Different Than What People Are Going to Expect"
BY JACK KING    JAN 11, 2022
https://collider.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-holiday-special-james-gunn-comments/ 

Quote

Gunn also had some words on the upcoming Guardians Holiday Special, which is set to hit Disney+ in December 2022. But this might surprise you: although the show is out in less than twelve months, they haven't even started filming the thing yet. Gunn says:

"It's still upcoming in the shoot. We were supposed to shoot one day in LA, and there's too much Omicron around, so we couldn't do it. We're going to have to fit it in. I haven't started yet. I'm excited to. It's fun. The holiday special is... I'm almost jealous of it, even though I wrote it because people freak out so much on how much they love the script for the holiday special that I'm almost like, 'Well, wait. I've got this movie here I've been working on for two years. You love the holiday special that I literally wrote in a very short amount of time.' But, it is really funny and really good."

(Collider Interviews)

Edited January 12, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Edited March 26, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

New Guardians of the Galaxy Set Photos Reveal Holiday Action (Exclusive)
By Sam Hargrave    March 28, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-photos-set-exclusive 

Quote

The Disney+ holiday spectacular and the big-screen blockbuster threequel will be filmed back to back, setting up the streaming special for a festive season release before the Guardians return to theaters in May 2023.

James Gunn has remained cryptic about what to expect from the holiday special but has indicated it will come in under the 40-minute mark. Despite the short run time, the director has called it critical viewing before Vol. 3, along with rumors pointing to some surprising celebrity guest stars.
*  *  *
The Direct has exclusively obtained new set photos from James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy production in Atlanta revealing a peek into a festive action sequence on Earth.

The Atlanta neighborhood has been coated with holiday decorations for the scene, with a Beverly Hills police car parked neatly outside (for now).
 

A police car appears once again outside another festive home directly across the street from the other, this time having been flipped upside down.
 
*  *  *
Fans can get a better look at the retro-looking decorations placed outside the Atlanta home, which almost certainly doubles for another location.

*  *  *
Previous reports indicate the Atlanta Country Club set was intended to resemble a Beverly Hills, California, neighborhood which is supported by the reveal of a police car from the city. 
*  *  *
Given the festive decorations coating the neighborhood, the newly-discovered set photos almost certainly come from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, as opposed to Vol 3. The Disney+ special is currently shooting in Atlanta alongside the big-screen blockbuster under James Gunn.
*  *  *
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will release this festive season, exclusively on Disney+.

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

 

GOTG Holiday Special Is Extremely Funny, Says Karen Gillan
BY GRANT HERMANNS    APRIL 15, 2022
https://screenrant.com/guardians-galaxy-holiday-special-karen-gillan-response/ 

Quote

Star Karen Gillan says she thinks The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is "extremely funny" though notes she hasn't seen it yet. Gillan is returning for the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ special alongside fellow Guardians Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Pom Klementieff as Mantis. James Gunn is also back at the helm for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special with a script he penned.

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

 

Close-up of Groot ornament:

(close-up pic source)

[tv echo]

Edited April 29, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Edited May 2, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Edited May 16, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

[Spartan Girl]

And just like that, this became a must watch for me!!!!

[tv echo]

Premiering on Disney+ on November 25...

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

[AnimeMania]

[tv echo]

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL Reactions Declare It A Joyous Christmas Miracle
Josh Wilding    Novembet 17, 2022
https://comicbookmovie.com/guardians_of_the_galaxy/the-guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-reactions-declare-it-a-joyous-christmas-miracle-a197883#gs.ijs6lz 

Quote

A handful of critics have been given the go-ahead to weigh in on The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and it sounds like filmmaker James Gunn has done it again!

As you can see below, it's being praised as "a new Christmas classic," and another emotional addition to the MCU. Gunn has managed to tug on our heartstrings with both of his Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that we'll need to reach for the tissues this holiday season.

It also sounds like Cosmo steals the show, with Maria Bakalova clearly making her mark as the character. As expected, though, this Marvel Studios Special Presentation will primarily focus on Drax and Mantis as they visit Earth to acquire Kevin Bacon for their pal, Star-Lord.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vet: Disney+ Holiday Special Is Both 'Goofy' and 'Heartfelt' (and Has a Big Reveal)
By Matt Webb Mitovich / November 17 2022
https://tvline.com/2022/11/17/guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-preview-pom-klementieff-mantis/ 

Quote

Speaking with TVLine on Thursday, veteran Guardian Pom Klementieff said that as Mantix and Drax hunt down Kevin Bacon — and along the way, experience all that Hollywood has to offer (and collect lotsa singles from tourists) — the holiday special “can be very goofy and very funny and cute.”

And yet the Marvel special presentation is “also very rooted in something much, much deeper and more beautiful and heartfelt,” the French actress added. “It’s a great mix, for sure.”
*  *  *
“It was really funny because I would do things and then ask James [Gunn], ‘Am I doing too much…? Am I over the top?’ And he was like, ‘No, no, no! It’s the holiday special, go crazy.’

“So I was like, ‘OK let me know if I overdo it, because I can go 300 percent and burn everything down comedy-wise!'” she recalled with a laugh.
*  *  *
“It felt really freeing, to just go for it,” Klementieff said. “But while there are these moments of comedy, there is also this layer of something real, like, ‘It’s all about love and connection’ and ‘I need to get this Christmas gift [for Quill]’…. It’s beautiful and deeper than just a comedy.”

Plus, as James Gunn himself attested a while back, this Disney+ holiday lark will also gift MCU fans with “a lot of big information” that is canon. (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters May 5, 2023.)

“Yes,” Klementieff teased, “there’s a big reveal that you need to watch….”

[tv echo]

Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special | Featurette
Marvel Entertainment    2 days ago

Kevin Bacon Reveals If Joining MCU Makes 'Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon' Easier
Access    2 days ago

 

James Gunn Talks Writing ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ in Just a Few Hours and the Latest on His Final ‘Guardians’ Film
BY BRIAN DAVIDS    NOVEMBER 18, 2022
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/james-gunn-guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-1235265608/ 

Quote

“I’ll be honest, I wrote the screenplay in a few hours, so it just kind of spilled out of me. It was very easy,” Gunn tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Everything about shooting it was easy. Everything about getting the performances out of people was easy, whereas Vol. 3 was torture in every way.”
*  *  *
So was Kevin Bacon the germ of this idea?
Well, the germ of the idea was just doing a holiday special. I love the holidays and I love Christmas cookies and I love getting together with my family and giving presents to each other. It’s my favorite time of the year. When I was a kid, I loved the Star Wars Holiday Special, but I also loved Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I still think [How the Grinch Stole Christmas!] is one of the greatest cartoons of all time. So the idea of doing a holiday special with the Guardians was both a really funny idea to me and also something I really wanted to do. And once I sat down and started trying to figure out what the story was, the Kevin Bacon idea came up very, very quickly, and I wrote the whole story within a few hours. 

“Introducing Kevin Bacon” is such a funny gag in the opening credits. Was there any guild red tape that you had to navigate?
No, I don’t think so. It was just Kevin agreeing to it saying, “Introducing Kevin Bacon.” When we showed him the trailer and it said “introducing Kevin Bacon,” he lost it. He lost it. So we knew that we were probably going to be fine with that. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Warning: if you watch the entire video, there are also some spoilers for GOTG 3...

James Gunn On Guardians Holiday Special And Vol. 3 PLOT!!! - Phase Zero Interview
Phase Zero    4 days ago

Minor spoilers for GOTG3:

Spoiler

-- JG: "I think people should see the Holiday Special. You're obviously going to learn a lot about where the Guardians have been in the past few years... You're gonna see how they now inhabit Knowhere. They've got a new ship called The Bowie. They've got a, you know, um, uh, you know, a dog as part of their crew, now, who's, you know, has telekinesis, named, um, named Cosmos... You get to learn all that. And there's a couple pieces of spoiler-y lore you're gonna learn. All of those things, in a way, the Holiday Special was a Trojan Horse for me to sneak in stuff that becomes important in Volume 3, so I don't have to spend a lot of time at the beginning of that movie explaining it."

[tv echo]

The Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+...

James Gunn on Casting Kevin Bacon in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ and What to Expect From an ‘Emotional’ ‘Vol. 3’
By Brent Lang  November 23, 2022
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/james-gunn-kevin-bacon-guardians-galaxy-holiday-special-1235440674/ 

Quote

You tweeted that you’ve bugged Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige about doing this story for years — did you mean making a holiday special, or having the Guardians kidnap Kevin Bacon?
The holiday special is something that I had been wanting to do before “Vol. 2” was even released. I brought it up to Marvel while we were in post-production on that film. That’s when Kevin [Feige] was like, “Oh, we should actually do that.” I’m a big Christmas guy. I love all the Christmas specials that I saw as a kid and wanted to do something like that. But I also wanted to bring the anarchy of the Guardians to that.

If Kevin Bacon had turned you down, what would you have done?
I would have recast with a different actor, but I’m glad I got my first choice.

How much is the Kevin Bacon we see in “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” like the real Kevin Bacon?
Kevin doesn’t like Christmas. That part was hilarious to me. I have Kevin showing up on set in what is supposed to be his house, and it’s filled with all these enormous inflatables. It looks like Santa Claus vomited all over the Bacon house, which looks nothing like Kevin Bacon’s house in any way. It’s so L.A.-looking, which is just not Kevin. But Kevin is this super nice guy. He’s so talented, so professional, so egoless and just a really kind person. That part of the character is just like him.
*  *  *
A lot of this film plays like a buddy comedy featuring Klementieff’s Mantis and Bautista’s Drax. Was that something you set out to create?
I think of Drax and Mantis as the group Costello and Costello. They are the unintended firehose of the MCU and these forces of nature. I love the two of them together, and I feel like they’ve been really background characters for many movies now. We also really haven’t had a chance to get to know Mantis because she was this beaten character who was enslaved by this Celestial in “Vol. 2.” She was meek, but now she’s been with these characters for a number of years and her personality is coming out. She’s a goofball, but she’s saddled with somebody who’s an even bigger goofball in Drax. I liked the dynamic between the two of them.
*  *  *
Did you set out to make a movie without a villain?
Before I wrote the screenplay, I wrote a treatment, and in the treatment there was this other threat. I just realized that I wasn’t interested in this other thing. There was an action sequence at the end where Kevin Bacon jumped around and was performing action stunts, which would have been pretty cool, but the threat didn’t interest me at all. What interested me was the interaction between the characters. So I just cut that out and made it a story about people.

Edited November 25, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Songs from this Holiday Special...

Here It Is Christmastime (From "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special"/Audio Only)
MarvelMusicVEVO    1 day ago

I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here) (From "The Guardians of the ...
MarvelMusicVEVO    1 day ago

[AimingforYoko]

"This isn't a Christmas present, this is human trafficking!"

Drax and Mantis are the best duo ever. And she's Quill's sister! Nice little Holiday morsel, and some good songs to boot. They had two of the essentials: The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" and the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping".

[AnimeMania]

[Spartan Girl]

I loved the hell out of this. Kevin Bacon might not be the strongest hero in the galaxy, but he sure is the sweetest.

Peter’s joy and wonder at seeing all the Christmas decorations. I think I’ve finally forgiven him for his Infinity Wars screw-up.

5 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Drax and Mantis are the best duo ever.

Indeed. They play off each other so well: partying at the gay bar, taking Bacon’s holiday blow-ups, their disgust and horror that Bacon was really an actor, their hug when she gave him the elf blow-up for his present…I love them so much.

Rocket and Nebula might be the second best duo ever. I love that she got him Bucky’s arm for a gift. We need a stinger just to show how she pulled THAT off.

Holy crap, Groot bulked out!

I still wish we saw Peter visit his grandparents, but finding out Mantis is his sister will do.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Guest]

I’ve been listening to a MCU podcast and during the Guardians episodes they kept talking about how tightly written Gunn’s scripts are and that really stood out for me here. So much information given in addition to a really fun plot. Like the line that the Guardians bought Nowhere. It entertained and built my interest for the third movie. 

56 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Peter’s joy and wonder at seeing all the Christmas decorations.

I’ve never been a big Peter Quill or Chris Pratt fan but he was great here. He’s come so far from the guy in the first movie. The moment of him seeing the decorations was wonderful and he did the quick turn to being appalled once the box started to move so well. 

59 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I still wish we saw Peter visit his grandparents, but finding out Mantis is his sister will do.

If this trilogy ends without Peter spending some time on Earth I am going to be massively disappointed. 

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Holy crap, Groot bulked out!

I found him more than a little creepy. That baby face on that body was all kinds of wrong. 

[Morrigan2575]

I loved this so much. Just cute and funny and sweet. Loved Nebula giving Rocket Bucky's arm. Loved Mantis and Drax team up but, I especially loved Mantis telling Quill she was his sister. 

I really didn't know what to expect except goofy but, this was great. I'm also happy to se Cosmo, I loved that she has a Russian accent.

I liked the teaser, I hope they do make another special. 

ETA: was the opening song The Pogues Fairytale of New York?

Edited November 26, 2022 by Morrigan2575

[Raja]

Swool Grout!

Was this the first time we have seen Drax and Mantis power up on ordinary people? The mini Hulk bounds, and the Beverly Hills Cops bullets bouncing off of them was unexpected. While tourist thought they were cosplayers I wonder how well the aliens are known from the Avengers mansion battle against Thanos

[bettername2come]

57 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Rocket and Nebula might be the second best duo ever. I love that she got him Bucky’s arm for a gift. We need a stinger just to show how she pulled THAT off.

Maybe he got an upgrade from the Wakandans and Nebula got a great deal on the old one. That's what I'm imagining. 

This was so fun to watch. I yelled "Run, Kevin Bacon, run!" far more than is healthy. Love how happy Peter was to learn that Mantis is his sister. Loved how everyone came together to bring Christmas to Peter, love how Drax and Mantis absolutely did not understand that an abducted Terran was the last thing Peter would want as a present. loved the chemistry between Drax and Mantis, loved that Kevin Bacon wanted to stay after talking to Kraglin, and I love how Kraglin seemed to just really admire Peter's heroics. Altogether, it was completely chaotic and heartwarming, just as Guardians of the Galaxy should be. 

I want the soundtrack. 

[thuganomics85]

"Introducing Kevin Bacon."  Good for him!  Maybe this will finally be the role to launch him into the big times!!  In all seriousness, he was great here and I liked how he ended up staying after he had a chance to leave once he realized how important he was to Peter's childhood.  Added bonus of Kevin Bacon in the MCU is that "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" has gotten way easier now due to just how many actors are now a part of this franchise!

Fun little standalone that was funny and entertaining, but also heartfelt as well.  James Gunn sure seems to know how to thread that particular line.  Great seeing more of the Drax/Mantis duo: they've been a surprisingly fun pair.  Dave Bautista continues to be the best wrestler turned actor right now (with respect to John Cena and Dwayne Johnson, although the former showed off some impressive chops in Peacemaker), but Pom Klementieff was the MVP for me.  I really hope this a sign of things to come for the character because she really is great.  Laugh out loud hilarious, but the scene with her telling Peter that they are actually siblings was dramatically well done as well.

The rest of the Guardians had fun moments too.  Jacked up Groot.  Rocket bonding with Cosmo (!)  Nebula's hilariously awkward, angry dancing and disgust with actors (Karen Gillian is the gift that keeps on giving.)  Even Chris Pratt seemed to be at his best during all of Peter's scenes.

Liked the animated flashbacks and seeing that Yondu actually did come around at the end and had even given Peter's his blasters for Christmas.  After-all, as it was already been established, he may not be Peter's father but he's certainly his daddy!

Definitely need a one-off over how Nebula took Bucky's arm.  I'm guessing he got a new one, but I'm already picturing him looking confused and crestfallen as he watches Nebula run off with it.  Along with Sam laughing in the background.

[Raja]

24 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

This was so fun to watch. I yelled "Run, Kevin Bacon, run!" far more than is healthy. Love how happy Peter was to learn that Mantis is his sister. Loved how everyone came together to bring Christmas to Peter, love how Drax and Mantis absolutely did not understand that an abducted Terran was the last thing Peter would want as a present. loved the chemistry between Drax and Mantis, loved that Kevin Bacon wanted to stay after talking to Kraglin, and I love how Kraglin seemed to just really admire Peter's heroics. Altogether, it was completely chaotic and heartwarming, just as Guardians of the Galaxy should be. 

I want the soundtrack. 

Well Kevin Bacon did commit to come back for Easter. Sort of an intergalactic U.S.O tour for Starlord and the Guardians of the Galaxy 

[festivus]

Now I want lights all over my house. That set was just breathtakingly beautiful. This was so cute and fun and my only complaint is that it could have used more Rocket. Kevin Bacon is a good sport.

When Nebula slammed Rocket's gift down I was just sure it was going to be Bucky's big gun from Infinity War. But it was his arm y'all. LOL. I died. I need to see that little story.

[Kel Varnsen]

That was a lot of fun. I think I was smiling the whole time. It was great to actually spend some time with Mantis since she hasn't really gotten much character development and what they did here was really good.

Also over the last few weeks I watched Jurassic World 2 & 3 so my expectations for Chris Pratt as an actor are pretty low, but he did great when he found out Mantis was his sister.

1 hour ago, Dani said:

found him more than a little creepy. That baby face on that body was all kinds of wrong. 

That kind of made sense when I thought about it. Infinity War Groot was like the young teenager Groot like a 13 year old going through puberty. Now he is like late teens Groot and has actually built up and gotten bigger.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I’ve been listening to a MCU podcast and during the Guardians episodes they kept talking about how tightly written Gunn’s scripts are and that really stood out for me here.

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

Fun little standalone that was funny and entertaining, but also heartfelt as well.  James Gunn sure seems to know how to thread that particular line. 

For all these reasons, James Gunn is among the select MCU directors/writers that I respect, let alone like.

[ajsnaves]

Well that was certainly a lot of fun. It has to a record for the number of times the name Kevin Bacon was said in a single episode of television. I particularly like Drunk Mantis repeatedly knocking on his door yelling “Kevin Bacon!”

[Guest]

She had a small part but I loved everything Nebula did. The head shake to Drax at the beginning, “You can’t outrun me, Bacon!”, her dancing, “Wow. I guess all actors aren’t complete pieces of shit.” 

Loved the blink and you miss it Mark Hamill cameo. 

[Morrigan2575]

20 minutes ago, Dani said:

Loved the blink and you miss it Mark Hamill cameo.

Oh, I totally missed it 🤦‍♀️

[Guest]

50 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Oh, I totally missed it 🤦‍♀️

So did I. I saw an article that he is the guy drinking just after Kevin Bacon runs from Peter. I rewatched and it look like Hamill to me but isn’t confirmed. 

[WritinMan]

As a fan of most things that James Gunn does, I wanted to like this more than I did. But I thought it was just OK.

Some things that stuck out for me:

Kevin Bacon is now officially a part of the MCU?

Mantis seemed much bolder and confident than I remember.

Nebula giving Rocket Bucky's metal arm was hilarious (including how she looked a little embarrassed by the whole thing). I would watch a special devoted to how that played out.

Kevin Bacon's Christmas tree was beautiful.

[tkc]

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I love that she got him Bucky’s arm for a gift. We need a stinger just to show how she pulled THAT off.

I see what you did there! 😄

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, tkc said:

I see what you did there! 😄

I swear to God it was unintentional.

I could watch a whole 45 minutes of Mantis and Drax partying together. And lol at him beating the shit out of the dude in the Go-Bot costume.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Enigma X]

I guess I was the only who didn't love it. I love Mantis and really like she got more to do, but...

[arachne]

We'd better see that elf blow-up doll in the next Guardians movie. It may be lying in some corner of the ship, deflated, but let's see it anyway!

All in all, a nice little diversion -- and at 45 minutes, no longer than it needed to be. Kudos for opening and closing with "Fairytale of New York."

Groot only further proves the rule that all babies are cute, but then they grow up. 😒

Edited November 26, 2022 by arachne

[Kel Varnsen]

14 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Kevin Bacon is now officially a part of the MCU?

Wasn't he always? Hasn't Quill talked about Footloose several times?

[Morrigan2575]

4 hours ago, arachne said:

Kudos for opening and closing with "Fairytale of New York.

Oh good, I wasn't certain, knew it was Shane Macgowan, kinda hard to miss his voice but, wasn't 100% certain it was Fairytale of New York.

[Scarlett45]

My dog’s name is Cosmo too- I think I’ll really like this one. 

[Kel Varnsen]

If people are interested the soundtrack is available on music streaming services. My kids and I maybe have listened to "I don't know what Christmas is" at least twice while decorating tbe tree today.

[AnimeMania]

There is a short "Post Credits Scene" after the credits finished playing if you stopped the episode early.

[tv echo]

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Lands One of the MCU’s Highest Rotten Tomatoes Scores
BY ANTHONY LUND   PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO
https://movieweb.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-lands-one-of-the-mcus-highest-rotten-tomatoes-scores/ 

Quote

With the MCU’s average score sitting around 83% across the entire franchise, the Guardians Holiday Special has landed a massive 93% score to put it in some of the top-rated MCU projects ever, tying with Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Looking specifically at Top Critic scores, the special has landed a perfect 100% approval rating to boot. When all taken into consideration, this also makes it the highest-rated Guardians of the Galaxy installment to date, boding well for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 next year.

Every Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show, ranked
By Samantha Nelson, Tasha Robinson, and Zosha Millman  Updated Nov 25, 2022
https://www.polygon.com/tv/22561233/mcu-tv-shows-ranked-marvel-cinematic-universe 

Quote

20. THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL (2022)
...
James Gunn’s Christmas special featuring his take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy team is consciously cheesy, but the self-awareness doesn’t make it any less grating. At feature length, Gunn has much more space to veer between action, silly character bits, and sentiment, but the roughly 40-minute run time here makes all those twists feel rushed and clumsy, and the humor is particularly forced.

Marvel rounded up most of the GOTG regulars (apart from Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, for story-continuity reasons) for this outing, but the story centers on Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) trying to give their buddy Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) a traditional Earth Christmas by giving him a human present: his favorite movie star, Kevin Bacon (Kevin Bacon). So the story directly centers the kind of shallow “non-humans trying to understand human stuff” that’s usually more of a welcome side note in GOTG stories, and the results are pretty dire. All the broad, flat conversations about The Meaning of Christmas, meant as retro callbacks to an earlier era of holiday specials, are probably meant to feel playful and nostalgic, but they aren’t clever enough to feel like commentary instead of copycatting. —TR

Unwrap the Soundtrack in ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’
BY RACHEL PAIGE  November 25, 2022
https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-soundtrack 

Quote

For returning Guardians writer and director James Gunn, he set out to write a brand new Christmas song — and not necessarily an easy task considering the surplus of holiday songs already on the airwaves. He enlisted real-life band, The Old 97’s (who Gunn always says is his favorite band) to help him out with this and lend their musical talents to the special. Dressed head to toe in Knowhere garb (and alien prosthetics), The Old 97’s start the special with a musical number asking just what is Christmas?

“The alien band is played by my favorite band in the world, the Old 97's, I've been a big fan of theirs since the 90s” Gunn tells Marvel.com. “When I was writing the first song in there, ‘I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)’, I needed help. I called up Rhett Miller the lead singer of the Old’s, and we got together and wrote that song. At that point, I'm like, well, I'm actually going to make you guys the band in the show.”

While The Old 97’s kick off the special with this new, original song, it’s one of their other Christmas songs that gets center stage at the end of the special, with Kevin Bacon joining the band to sing “Here It Is Christmas Time.” The legendary actor (and in-world Marvel hero) calls the performance closing out the Holiday Special a “pinch me” moment.

“[James] has got such a great ear for needle drops,” Bacon explains. “I love this song, it's really hard to write a fresh Christmas song at this point. I started playing it, and I really was having a good time playing it and singing it. Then to stand up there with The Old 97’s and they're in makeup and crazy costumes, and to look down at the world and all the Guardians are there, and they're rocking out to this song and so are the rest of that world, community. It was absolutely fun and hilarious, and just a great experience.”
*  *  *
Ready to turn up the volume on holiday cheer? Find the full The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special tracklist below!

• “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime is Here),” The Old 97’s
• “Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues The Pogues with Kristy MacColl
• “Dead by XMas,” Hanoi Rocks
• “Christmas Treat,” Julian Casablancas
• “Is This Christmas?,” The Wombats
• “Just Like Christmas,” LOW
• “I Want An Alien for Christmas,” Fountains of Wayne
• “Christmastime,” The Smashing Pumpkins
• “Christmas Wrapping,” The Waitresses
• “Mrs. Claus,” Little Jackie
• “Here It Is Christmas Time,” Kevin Bacon and The Old 97’s

Edited November 28, 2022 by tv echo

[tennisgurl]

That was a ton of fun, exactly what I wanted from a Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special, I loved it. Silly, funny, great soundtrack, and heartwarming. Kevin Bacon was a great sport, you could tell that he was a lot of fun and it was really nice that he ended up sticking around to help give Peter a nice Christmas, even after he was understandably freaked out about being kidnapped by aliens. Now for the next Christmas special, can Peter please visit Earth to say hi to his grandparents? 

James Gunn really does a great job at mixing humor with sincerity, I love that he can mix something as absurd as Drax and Mantis trying to kidnap Kevin Bacon to give to Peter as a Christmas present with something as sweet as everyone coming together to cheer Peter up while he's sad. Peter's had a pretty rough go of it, both in universe and out of universe where the franchise has played him up more as a useless idiot, so it was really nice to see him get a win. His reaction to finding out that Mantis is his sister was perfect. I also loved all of the animated segments, Yondu you old softie. 

It was great to see Mantis take center stage in this one, she's definitely the Guardian who has been the least focused on so I am really glad to see her get some development. She and Drax make for an amazing comedy duo, I laughed WAY too hard at Mantis trying to keep Drax from beating up a guy dressed like a GoBot. Who are now cannon in the MCU! Mantis trying to find a way to tell Peter she's his biological sister was a really nice thread for the special, I can see why she was nervous about telling him and I loved how happy he ended up being to find out. 

The rest of the Guardians were less focused on but still got a lot of nice moments. Chris Pratt did a great job with his reaction to his Christmas present, going from overwhelmed and touched to seeing Nowhere all decorated, to confused at the giant box being wheeled out, to growing horror as he realizes what is happening. I think that Nebula especially got a lot of great bits, I adore her angry jerky dancing, and she gave Rocket the best present he could ask for, Bucky's arm! He even teared up! I would kill to see how that conversation went, did he ask Bucky for it, did she steal it, is it an older model and Buck currently has a new one, did Sam give it to her while laughing his ass off? We even got to see Cosmo, our favorite talking telepathic Russian cosmonaut dog!

Great soundtrack, as you would expect. Fairytale of New York was a perfect Christmas song for this special. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by tennisgurl

[Scarlett45]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:08 AM, tennisgurl said:

That was a ton of fun, exactly what I wanted from a Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special, I loved it. Silly, funny, great soundtrack, and heartwarming. Kevin Bacon was a great sport, you could tell that he was a lot of fun and it was really nice that he ended up sticking around to help give Peter a nice Christmas, even after he was understandably freaked out about being kidnapped by aliens. Now for the next Christmas special, can Peter please visit Earth to say hi to his grandparents? 

I agree. I have thought about Peter's grandparents, I wonder if they are still alive, he was abducted in the 80s no?

I liked Mantis and Dax together, they had a great chemistry.  I recently rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Disney World, and I wonder if the songs from this special are a part of the Christmas overlay! (I just missed the overlay time). Where did Cosmo come from? Did I miss something? I would like more of Cosmo, Groot and Rocket together. I also want to know how Rocket feels to have everyone back, of the Guardians he is the only one who didnt get snapped.

[Raja]

30 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I agree. I have thought about Peter's grandparents, I wonder if they are still alive, he was abducted in the 80s no?

I liked Mantis and Dax together, they had a great chemistry.  I recently rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Disney World, and I wonder if the songs from this special are a part of the Christmas overlay! (I just missed the overlay time). Where did Cosmo come from? Did I miss something? I would like more of Cosmo, Groot and Rocket together. I also want to know how Rocket feels to have everyone back, of the Guardians he is the only one who didnt get snapped.

The Collector had Cosmo. It was an Easter Egg in the first movie. She came with the moon. 

[Scarlett45]

Just now, Raja said:

The Collector had Cosmo. It was an Easter Egg in the first movie. She came with the moon. 

She did! I remember now- thank you.

[ICantDoThatDave]

I enjoyed it overall, but I didn't like how they changed Mantis - both her personality & her powers.  I didn't enjoy her yelling at people when she always seemed so restrained & hesitant before.  There's gaining confidence through character-growth & then there's becoming a bit of a jerk to your friends & to strangers.  She flat out robbed that map-seller lady, & not just of the map, but all her money.

However, she really shouldn't have been able to do that.  In GotG2, she describes herself as an empath, not a telepath.  She can sense & to some extent affect feelings, as we've seen.  But she's not a mind-controller like Professor X.  So I didn't like how specific her commands were.  She should be able to make people feel things of course, like maybe even friendship towards her.  But even your friends won't just hand you all their money for no reason.

Still, overall I liked it - it's just the fairly drastic changes to Mantis often took me out of the story.