Every 178 years Father Christmas has to find a young apprentice and train him. Who is going to be his successor, the chosen one initiated into Santa’s secrets and talents, with which he has been delighting the children the world over?
Santa doesn't want to retire, but rules are the rules and he must train someone to replace him. He has to find a boy called Nicholas, an orphan with a pure heart. The lucky winner, to be chosen from among millions of children, loves Christmas more than anything and lives in an orphanage on the other side of the planet, in Australia. The training requires serious diligence; one has to shoulder tremendous responsibility, which would discourage even the bravest of boys. And Nicholas is only a small boy who’s afraid of heights, dislikes the cold and finds making toys extremely arduous. Just as well that he has friends who will come to his aid. The screenplay was written by Alexandre Révérend who also co-scripted the animated film Kérity la maison des contes.
"I remember that as a child I loved spending hours looking at books that depicted Santas' workshop. These interiors have been worked on elaborately. The small viewers discover them together with Nicolas. /... / Art Director Richard Despres and I we have defined the atmospheres, taking inspiration from the Alsatian Christmas markets and the beautiful Yuletide windows on the great boulevards.” (Luc Vinciguerra)
