Nickelodeon has left its mark on me forever; I spent a lot of time when I was just a bit younger watching shows on that channel.  The list of shows I watched in that early to mid 2000’s era ranged from the ones people remember, like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Spongebob , to the ones everyone forgot, like The Xs and Catscratch.  One of the Nick shows from that era that has stuck with me is definitely Drake and Josh, with its truly funny and creative dialogue.   It is a perfect example of the “children’s sitcom”, with clever situations and dialogue like in other sitcoms, but a more child friendly feel.  I still quote it all the time.

So, a solid fifteen months after the show was cancelled, it was decided that the goofy characters should have a fun, Christmas adventure.  Thus, Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh was born.  In this special TV movie, we follow Drake and Josh’s attempt to give a family of foster children the best Christmas they have ever had, which is given as punishment for throwing a Christmas party on the roof of the movie theatre.  At first, they believe that presents and material items will create a great season, until they realize that the only thing the kids, and they, are missing is Christmas spirit.

The movie, though it was made over a year after the original show was cancelled, still keeps the comedic energy of the original program, mostly through its two lead actors.  Drake Bell and Josh Peck have great charisma with one another, to the point at which I’m shocked that they aren’t actually brothers.  Josh Peck is especially funny, his over-dramatic delivery of his dialogue and emphasis is hilarious, and so are Drake Bell’s charming unintelligent remarks.  Miranda Cosgrove as their evil sister Megan is also great, but my problems start to crop up when it comes to the new characters.  The kids who Drake and Josh must entertain are dull, and in the case of the main girl, fairly annoying.  And the Christmas-hating police officer who follows them around is simply cruel, without any kind of charisma or comedy to make him even remotely likeable.

And the message is kind of odd, in the sense that the brother don’t actually care about the kids until they are forced to.  Sure, they grow to care later, and there is the obvious part where the kids find out that they were only helping because they had to, and are mad for like five minutes.  But, for a majority of the movie, the two don’t actually care about these kids having a good Christmas, which makes the portion where they do care seem a bit rushed.  The redemption back-story for the cop is pretty odd too, involving a Christmas present n the past gone horribly wrong, but it is what one would come to expect from Drake and Josh.

Overall, if you are an fan of the original show, check it out.  It has everything the show had to offer.  Others may want to try it out, but be warned, it is very zany.