How to Watch Eloise at Christmastime

In this made-for-TV Christmas movie, Eloise takes center stage once again to help a hotel owner’s daughter find true love. Julie Andrews and Sofia Vassilieva play their roles well, with a winning chemistry between the two that helps to make this film resonate.

Eloise is a precocious six-year-old girl who lives in New York City's Plaza Hotel with her "mostly companion," a rawther British Nanny (Julie Andrews). This time, she tries to disrupt a wedding planned for the owner’s daughter by bringing the attention of the hotel staff to the groom’s criminal past.

1. Turn on the TV

Whether you’re a fan of the original books by Kay Thompson or a first timer to this series, there’s sure to be something in Eloise at Christmastime that’s right up your alley. It’s an adventurous tale that features a six-year-old Eloise (Sofia Vassilieva) who lives in the penthouse of the Plaza Hotel with her nanny, Nanny (Julie Andrews).

One day, she goes out to the lobby and discovers a large pink gift box sitting on a table. It’s too heavy for any staff member to carry and so they take it to the package room.

As they walk to the package room, Eloise sees that it is filled with presents from her mother who travels all over the world for Christmas. She is very excited and can’t wait to open the gifts.

However, before she can do so, she comes across Mrs. Thornton, the owner of the Plaza hotel who scolds her for her pet turtle, Skipperdy’s recent behavior with her dog Mona and threatens to have her turtle turned into a turtle soup.

She tells her nanny about her encounter with Mrs. Thornton, but Nanny doesn’t believe her and warns her to be careful.

After a while, Eloise decides that she is going to help her nanny find out more information about her mother and then go to see her in person. She also helps her nanny get the best deals on Christmas presents and finds a special way to bring happiness to other people in her community.

She tries her hand at matchmaking and also helps a friend save her home from a nasty landlord. This is a fun film to watch with your family and friends this holiday season.

2. Turn on the sound

Kay Thompson’s popular picture book Eloise gets a holiday makeover in this sequel, starring Sofia Vassilieva as the precocious six-year-old who lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. This time around she’s more determined than ever to celebrate Christmas in style and a few other festive traditions along the way.

During the holidays, she gets to play matchmaker for her favorite waiter and help save an elderly neighbor from a bad deal. She also gets to show off her snazzy Christmas tree and nifty new electric scooter. But her most awe-inspiring moment is probably when she finally pays her room service bill and helps the Plaza’s drab event planner (Christine Baranski) get her swagger back.

Like its predecessor, Eloise at Christmastime is a fun family movie that can be enjoyed year-round. The movie has some great special effects and a lot of humor to boot. And the DVD isn’t short on extras, including two featurettes.

3. Set the volume to a low level

One of the best ways to enjoy a quality televised performance is to set the volume to a low level, and leave the audio on. While it may seem counterintuitive, this will not only allow you to experience your movie on a much smaller screen than the TV set it is intended for, it will also give you a chance to appreciate the finer details of the film before it reaches your eyes. The result is a more enjoyable viewing experience for all involved. In a pinch, you can even turn on the TV and have the movie play in your bedroom as well, so you can actually get some shut eye in between visits to the bathroom.

4. Set the volume to a high level

If you are looking for a good holiday movie to watch this season, then Eloise at Christmastime is worth checking out. It’s a fun tale that explores the joys of the holiday season in New York City. It follows the plucky six-year-old heroine as she tries to find ways to make the most of Christmas in her hotel penthouse with her nanny (Julie Andrews).

The film is available on DVD and can be streamed on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. It features a variety of Christmas-themed scenes, including a visit to the Plaza Hotel and Eloise’s role as Santa Claus.

Kids will love the cartoon-like drawings by Hilary Knight, which provide a lot of details to keep them entertained. They’ll also enjoy learning about the various holidays that occur during the year, such as Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Fans of the book series will love watching this holiday adaptation. It features several of the same characters that have made their way into the story, including the nanny and Eloise’s pets.

Aside from a good story, the DVD includes plenty of extras. For starters, there is a featurette called “Making Eloise at Christmastime,” which includes commentary from the cast and filmmakers. It’s a helpful piece that covers the challenges of adapting the book into a film, including deciding which of the various passingly referenced characters to focus on.

There’s also a good discussion about the film’s music and score, which is scored by Bruce Broughton. The composer provides a few musical selections during the course of the film, and they’re all excellent. The sound quality is clear and pleasant, especially the acoustic guitar music played by Julie Andrews during one scene.

5. Turn off the sound

Eloise at Christmastime, the second Wonderful World of Disney film adapted from Kay Thompson's popular picture book series, is again a delightful treat for kids. This made-for-TV sequel stars Sofia Vassilieva as the precocious six-year-old Manhattanite who lives at the swanky Plaza Hotel in New York City while her globetrotting mother is away.

When Eloise's mother (Julie Andrews) finally arrives for her daughter's birthday, the pair are happy to have each other again. But when Eloise discovers that the daughter of the hotel's owner is about to marry a handsome Harvard graduate, she becomes embroiled in the wedding. She tries to help Rachel (Sara Topham) fall for Bill, a nice waiter at the hotel's restaurant.

In other scenes, she annoys the grumpy old waiter at the front desk (Jeffrey Tambor), makes a nuisance of herself to the imperious event planner (Christine Baranski), and tries to save an elderly woman from eviction. But as the festive season approaches, Eloise learns that sometimes it is best to let people deal with their own problems rather than try to interfere.

The sound is another positive for this DVD, which features a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack. This time, the music matches the tone of the movie well and includes a few traditional Christmas instrumentals.

As with the first Eloise movie, Disney has given this one an excellent DVD treatment. The video and audio are crisp and clear, and the disc also includes a couple of great featurettes.

"Absolutely Kay Thompson" (18:05) is a very informative and enlightening featurette that focuses on the writer's process of bringing Eloise to the screen. The story is accompanied by black-and-white photographs and interviews with friends and colleagues of Thompson.