HBO Max’s 8-Bit Christmas turns getting ‘a Nintendo’ into an epic quest

In the late 1980s, the ultimate Christmas gift was a Nintendo Entertainment System — at least, that’s what the trailer for HBO Max’s upcoming holiday movie 8-Bit ChristmasYou will be convinced. Based on Kevin Jakubowski’s book, 8-Bit Christmas takes place in an idyllic Chicago suburb in the ’80s, and centers around one young boy named Jake Doyle and his quest for that elusive “Nintendo.”

Trailer shows Jake Doyle as an adult, played by How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris, telling his daughter about that one unforgettable Christmas, and the lengths he and his friends went to in order to get their hands on the video game console. The movie slides back and forth between the present-day narration and the late ’80s, as Jake relates the epic tale, with some larger-than-life details.

“It was the ’80s!” says Jake, after his daughter reacts skeptically to his account of a kid jump-kicking a television. “Stuff got real!”

8-Bit Christmas Just in time to enjoy a cozy Thanksgiving movie watching before you pull out your Nintendo Switch, HBO Max will be available Nov. 24.

HBO Max

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HBO Max is an addition to the new WB films in 2021. It combines HBO and DC with Cartoon Network and Criterion libraries.

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