This family film contains many useful lessons for little ones but could have done with more loveable heroes, boo-hissable villains and witty dialogue

A wholesome and progressive reworking of the themes of The Lion King, this Finnish/Irish animation can’t however compete with the likes of Disney, Pixar, or even smaller outfits like Laika in terms of the look and feel of the animation – but it does a decent job of exploring traditional fairytale dilemmas from a more modern angle. In the third in a series of film adventures, Niko is a young adolescent flying reindeer, desperate to join the elite team that pulls Santa’s sleigh; he’s also a nepo baby, with dad Prancer depending on him to uphold the family rep. Niko is expecting to waltz right into basic training with the squad, but the one spot available turns out to be contested by an outsider called Stella, whose own father turns out to have generational beef to settle.

This film contains many potentially useful lessons: fathers can be disappointing, friendship is more important than winning, mutual collaboration is better than a hidebound adherence to tradition. It’s an object lesson in the fact that the fine moral values one might want instil in the next generation are not necessarily the same thing as compelling dramatic conflict. If you have children, a conclusion involving forgiveness, reform and progress may be morally preferable to one involving bloodshed, vengeance and the divine right of kings – see Scar getting eaten by hyenas in The Lion King – but it may not knock too many kids’ socks off.