After their first appearance in the 2014 film “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the team has made many appearances in other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies and in their own sequel in 2017, with another on the way in 2023. 

To give the Guardians another moment, James Gunn has presented fans with “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” released Nov. 25. With Marvel’s large range of popularity, using a group of characters like the Guardians provided a fun way to get people ready for the holidays.

Taking place after the events of “Werewolf by Night,” Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still mourning the loss of Gamora, not just from “Infinity War” but also after the events of “Endgame” when he ran into Gamora from another timeline. The fact that it’s the holiday season on Earth is not helping. 

After hearing the story of how Yondu ruined Christmas when Quill was a kid, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) decided to go back to earth in search of the perfect gift for Quill to make him feel better.

Before watching, my expectations for the Holiday Special were pretty low. This was mainly because most holiday specials are not very good in quality and in storytelling. But I will say that Marvel’s “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” definitely exceeded my expectations.

Most holiday specials tend to have a very basic plot that is typically just about celebrating the holidays with friends and family. Even though it did follow that a little bit, it mainly revolved around making Quill feel better about all of the loss that he has had in his life. Watching the Guardians take the role of his family without being directly related to each other was very fun to watch, especially because all of the actors have great chemistry with each other.

The CGI was on par with all of the previous Guardians movies, which is impressive seeing that it had a lower budget than most Marvel films. Additionally, the storyline was pretty decent compared to most holiday specials out on Disney+.

The Holiday Special gave actress Pom Klementieff a turn in the spotlight. She served as the holiday special’s main protagonist. It was nice getting more of another character that has mainly been used in a supporting role for previous productions. A big portion of the story is revolved around digging deeper into Mantis’s relationship with Drax and Quill. I found it enjoyable to see more of that in the Holiday Special. 

I would also say that the story is very unique. It starts off in space which is distinctive on its own. But even when they go down to earth to find Quill’s gift, everything they do there is very individualistic for a holiday special. They go down and party at clubs, there are some small action sequences which is always nice with any MCU project. I also think that what they actually get Quill for his gift is very interesting, it also plays on the classic “Alien abduction” thing a little bit which is fun.

If the MCU hasn’t lost you yet, and you are still invested, I highly recommend watching “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” on Disney+. 

“Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special”: ★★★☆☆