HBO Max dropped the first trailer for 8-Bit Christmas, a film dedicated to the hype surrounding the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The trailer shows Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) narrating the events of a Christmas in the late 1980s. While he unwraps a new baseball-shaped bookend, Jake's younger self (Winslow Fegley) pines away for the hottest toy on the market: The Nintendo Entertainment System. His family, disapproving of video games as a hobby, insists that he isn't allowed the console, prompting all sorts of hijinks. Battles with bullies, raids on malls and the setup for what appears to be a major heist ensues.
"From New Line Cinema and HBO Max comes “8-Bit Christmas,” a humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood. Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, the story centers on ten-year-old Jake Doyle’s herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas," reads the trailer's official description.
While the trailer for 8-Bit Christmas focuses on Jake's quest to obtain his own Nintendo Entertainment System, it also seemingly pokes fun at the societal perception of video games at the time. A scene set within a mall sees two people protesting video games, one brandishing a sign that simply reads, "Video Game-Over." Jake's mother later says, "Video games have been doing strange things to children," potentially referencing the Satanic Panic of the 1980s which was spurred on by gaming consoles and Dungeons & Dragons.
While the Nintendo Entertainment System was a huge success in the 1980s, the console's reputation is still felt today. Many of the original games for the console, like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda sell for millions of dollars at auction. While these physical versions are certainly difficult to track down, it's never been easier to play most of the NES's library. Most of the system's biggest games are available on the Nintendo Switch via the Switch Online subscription service.
Directed by Michael Dowse (Coffee & Kareem) and written Kevin Jakubowski, 8-Bit Christmas stars Neil Patrick Harris, Winslow Fegley, June Diane Raphael, David Cross and Steve Zahn. Special mention should be made for Zahn; while roughly the same age as Harris, his similar appearance makes him an excellent choice to play Jake's father. The film will debut exclusively on HBO Max on Nov. 24.
Source: HBO Max