Midden in De Winternacht (2013)

After Max’s parents separate, he is left living with his mother and sister Kiki, and he simply can’t believe in Santa Claus anymore or really look forward to Christmas this year. That changes when, in the middle of a winter’s night, one of Santa’s moose crashes through the stable roof at Max’s parents’ house. After the crash landing, the moose has to convince the boy that Santa Claus really exists, because only with Max’s help can he and Santa find each other again. At first, Max feeds the talking moose, whose name is Moose. Since he has nothing else, he makes him peanut butter sandwiches. When the animal also asks for hay, Max tries to get him this treat from their neighbor, Pannemann. But the man doesn’t like children and chases Max off his property. After Max’s annoying, know-it-all sister discovers Moose, she helps Max persuade Pannemann to give them ten bales of hay. Pannemann has long hoped to win Max’s mother over. He thinks his generosity might impress her and, in return, tries to invite her to dinner. After some hesitation, she accepts, though she finds the man downright repulsive. Over the next few days, Max spends a lot of time with Moose, and they talk about their worries. Max is angry with his father for leaving the family for another woman, while Moose dearly wishes that one day he could pull the real Christmas sleigh with its presents himself, instead of being assigned only to test runs. Once Moose is fit enough to go for a walk, he helps Max when two boys from school try to beat him up. For the first time, Max has a true friend who stands up for him. Before long, Max gets the chance to return the favor: Pannemann has spotted the moose and would love to have him as a hunting trophy. With Max’s help, they hide from the amateur hunter and escape. Back home, Max is amazed to find Santa Claus himself sitting on the sofa. On his way to find his moose, Santa had met Max’s grandmother, who was on her way to visit them. His intuition had prompted him to approach her and ask whether she would give him a lift part of the way in her car. Now that Moose’s boss is here, Max will presumably have to say goodbye again. But, disastrously, Moose has lost his stardust, without which the two of them can’t get back to the North Pole, and Christmas would have to be canceled this year. Max, however, saw Pannemann find the tin, and when Santa tries to get the stardust back, the police arrest him. Since he insists emphatically that he is Santa Claus, he is promptly taken to a psychiatric hospital. Max is determined to retrieve the stardust from Pannemann with Moose. While the moose lures Pannemann out of the house and distracts him, Max manages to get the metal tin. To escape, they have to sprinkle Pannemann with some stardust. Then they fly to the hospital, free Santa, and fly away with him. Now Max has to say goodbye to Moose. But he remains in contact with Moose through his walkie-talkie, and this year Moose really is allowed to pull the Christmas sleigh himself on Christmas Eve.