This film is a short claymation piece, definitely geared toward children. It takes place on Christmas Eve in a make-believe town, with characters that would probably be appealing to children. The film is not without a few adult references too – Van Gogh’s painting “Starry, Starry Night” is used as a backdrop for the sky, and music from Tchaikovsky’s famous “Nutcracker Suite” provides the soundtrack.
It was a very short film – as claymation movies often are, since there is so much time and effort that must go into making them. Although, I would have liked to see a bit more going on in the way of character development – such as what happened to Mr. Duckett, which could have been done minimally with a series of quick flashbacks. In addition, it was only Mrs. Duckett’s children who expressed a disbelief in Santa Claus, so it was a bit confusing when she told the other adults that all the children had lost their faith. Either way this ought to be addressed somehow – whether by scenes that show her overhearing other children, a conversation with other adults whose children are expressing similar sentiments, or even some sort of montage.
Even for a claymation film, The Christmas Conspiracy had a nice visual look. There was a nice “smoke” effect made for one of the characters who always had a cigarette in his mouth, the opening credits sequence with snow falling in the background while the credits themselves also fell like snow, as well as the use of rack focus and split screen effects.
