Rating: TV-14 | Runtime: 42 minutes
Release Date: November 25th, 2022 (USA)
Studio: Marvel Studios / Disney+
Director(s): James Gunn
Writer(s): James Gunn / Jim Starlin (Drax); Stan Lee & Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby (Groot); Steve Englehart and Don Heck (Mantis); Roger Stern & John Buscema and Sal Buscema (Nebula); Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen (Rocket Raccoon); Steve Englehart and Steve Gan (Star-Lord)

I left my little funny man back in the house.

In the grand tradition of my childhood wherein Christmas Specials were a staple in our house—we had a VHS of all our favorites recorded from TV—James Gunn’s “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” arrives to bring some laughs, heart, and, of course, built-in marketing for the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

It’s a fun premise that springboards off an animated memory told by Sean Gunn’s Kraglin about the time Yondu (Michael Rooker) ruined the yuletide spirit a young Peter (Chris Pratt) strove to instill aboard their spaceship. Hoping to bring a smile to the now tired and sad Star-Lord (post-Gamora’s death and post-purchasing Nowhere to operate), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) decide to fly to Earth and get him his hero as a gift: Kevin Bacon.

The whole is about what you would expect from letting Mantis and Drax loose on unsuspecting humans. Bacon is game to play along and the show even delivers a couple new Christmas songs to pair with the underrated “Christmastime” as sung by The Smashing Pumpkins during a climactic reveal. And while this adventure with familiar MCU characters may not add to the franchise in any real sense, it provides a sweet little PG-13, family-friendly distraction.

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(L-R): Dave Bautista as Drax, Kevin Bacon as himself, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis in Marvel Studios’ THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: HOLIDAY SPECIAL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Jessica Miglio. © 2022 MARVEL.