''Twas the Night'' is a 2001 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

that was released as a

Disney Channel Original Movie Since its launch on April 18, 1983, American cable and satellite pay television channel Disney Channel airs and/or releases/distributes original first-run television films under the banner names of Disney Channel Premiere Films until October 1 ...

. It was directed by

Nick Castle Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween (1978 film), H ...

and stars

Josh Zuckerman Joshua Ryan Zuckerman (born April 1, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role in ''Sex Drive'' (2008), as well as for playing Mark Cullin in the science fiction TV series ''Kyle XY'', Eddie Orlofsky in ''Desperate Housew ...

, Brenda Grate,

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

and Jefferson Mappin. It was first aired on December 7, 2001 on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

for the

holiday.

Plot

A troubled and irresponsible man named Nick Wrigley (

) is hacked by criminals who are looking for a bank account code to Nick's boss. The criminals Bill (

Jeff Geddis James Jeffrey Hamilton Geddis (born June 28, 1975Jeff Geddis' bio
at www.northernstars.ca) is ...

) and Harry ( Sandy Robson) manage to find his apartment and start deriding him for the Internet scam he has pulled on them, losing $30,000 in the process. They tell him they want their money by Christmas or else they will have their enforcer Eliot ( Jung-Yul Kim) beat him up. Bill and Harry leave and Nick decides to run away. Nick is leaving the building when Eliot sees him leaving and chases him. Nick manages to escape when he runs to a North Pole stage where kids meet Santa Claus. He steals the costume for Santa Claus and walks to the bus stop in disguise and goes to his brother's house. Meanwhile, the house's mischievous 14-year-old Danny Wrigley (

) welcomes his uncle because he has a better relationship with him than any other person in his family. Danny's father, John (

Barclay Hope Barclay Hope (born February 25, 1958) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Clifford and Claudius Blossom on '' Riverdale'', Mike Hayden on '' Street Legal'', Peter Axon on '' PSI Factor'', Col. Lionel Pendergast on ''St ...

) however is less than thrilled to see his older brother, while his wife, Abby (

Torri Higginson Sarah Victoria Higginson (born December 6, 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in the '' TekWar'' movies and series, and for portraying Elizabeth Weir in ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'' (2004–2008), Jordan ...

) welcomes Nick. Danny's parents, both doctors, are called into the hospital and reluctantly leave Nick to look after their three children. After receiving a threatening e-mail from Bill and Harry that they are currently tracking him down to get the money out of him, Nick ends up having to unleash a virus to throw them off his trail. On Christmas Eve, Santa comes to the house with a device that can freeze time, in order to put the family's presents under the tree unnoticed. An object hits the device, time goes back to normal, and Nick hits him unconscious. They decide to deliver Santa's presents. While Nick is delivering the presents, unbeknown to Danny he is stealing from the houses. When Danny finds out that Nick is stealing he feels betrayed and goes back home in Santa's sleigh. Meanwhile, Danny's younger siblings, Kaitlyn (Brenda Grate) and Peter (Rhys Williams) find an unconscious Santa (Jefferson Mappin) on the floor of their living room. He wakes up and convinces them that he is Santa. They find out that Danny and Nick have stolen the sleigh and presents and Santa says that Danny will be on the naughty list forever. When Danny comes back he apologizes to Santa, but the sleigh is broken. Nick is sitting at a bus stop when he sees Bill, Harry, and Eliot. They ask him where the address to his brother's house is as they don't recognize him because he is wearing a Santa costume. Nick doesn't answer them and they drive off. Nick realizes a second later they are going to his brother's house, which means that his family is in trouble. Nick, who still has Santa's device, races back to the house and get there just in time. He saves his family from the men using the device to shrink Eliot. This causes Bill, Harry, and Eliot to drive away terrified. Nick returns the device to Santa and then gives Santa his beloved laptop to fix Santa's sleigh and save Christmas. The next morning, Nick wakes up and sees Santa has given him the guitar that he has wanted since childhood, but never got for Christmas because he was on the naughty list. He agrees to sell the guitar to pay off his debts but entertains the family by playing it first.

Cast

as Danny Wrigley * Brenda Grate as Kaitlin Wrigley * Jefferson Mappin as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

* Rhys Williams as Peter Wrigley *

as Nick Wrigley *

as John Wrigley *

as Abby Wrigley *

Jeff Geddis James Jeffrey Hamilton Geddis (born June 28, 1975Jeff Geddis' bio
at www.northernstars.ca) is ...

as Bill * Sandy Robson as Harry * Jung-Yul Kim as Eliot

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Twas The Night Disney Channel Original Movie films Films directed by Nick Castle 2000s English-language films 2001 television films 2001 films Films about size change Films scored by Craig Safan American Christmas films Santa Claus in television Christmas television films 2000s Christmas films 2000s American films Santa Claus in film English-language Christmas films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links