‘8-Bit Christmas’ stars Neil Patrick Harris recounting childhood quest to own a Nintendo
A classic Christmas story for all kids of the eighties is coming to the small screen this month.
Neil Patrick Harris narrates a childhood story to his daughter about one unforgettable Christmas and his epic quest to own a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the upcoming HBO Max film 8-Bit Christmas.
An all new Christmas classic, coming your way. Watch the #8BitXmas Trailer NOW. Streaming exclusively on @HBOMax November 24. pic.twitter.com/SRSDveaJwd
— Warner Bros. Pictures (@wbpictures) November 4, 2021
Based on the screenplay and book of the same name by Kevin Jakubowski, the nostalgic story set in an idyllic Chicago suburb recounts the video game mania that gripped children everywhere during the late 1980s. The film centers around 11-year old Jake Doyle and the lengths he and his friends go to just to get their hands on the elusive Nintendo video game console.
Dubbed the "next great Christmas story," the lighthearted film comes from New Line Cinema, the same studio behind Elf and Four Christmases, and is set to stream on Nov. 24 on HBO Max.
The trailer sees an adult Jake Doyle, played by How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris, recounting the story to his daughter (Winslow Fegley) in The Wonder Years style of present day narration and flashbacks to the late ’80s, with some embellishments and larger-than-life details in his “Christmas miracle” story.
“It was the ’80s!” says Jake, after his daughter reacts to his account of a kid jump-kicking a television in the trailer. “Stuff got real!”
The family-friendly film rated PG also stars June Diane Raphael (Long Shot, Grace and Frankie), with David Cross (Arrested Development, Kung Fu Panda), and Steve Zahn (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The White Lotus) as Jake's dad.
Check out the official trailer below.
8-Bit Christmas hits HBO Max on Nov. 24, just in time to get into the Christmas spirit and give parents another reason to buy that Nintendo Switch.