Ludacris, Will Packer, Lil Rel Attend Atlanta Screening of 'Dashing Through The Snow'

We have officially kicked off the holiday season and the festive movies have begun to hit our TVs. One of those films, which is now streaming on Disney+, is Dashing Through the Snow starring Ludacris, Lil Rel and Teyonah Parris.

Dashing Through the Snow follows the journey of Eddie Garrick (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), a good-hearted man who has, over the years, turned his back on Christmas due to a traumatic childhood experience. However, the holiday spirit finds a way back into his life through an unexpected Christmas Eve adventure with his estranged daughter.

The cast of Dashing Through the Snow attended the Atlanta special screening ahead of its release.

Will Packer, executive producer of the film, talks about the importance of having more Black holiday films released to the masses. "I think the imagery is important. I think that it's not about it being for a specific group of people, it's for everybody. But it's about showing images that everybody can consume, right? So, when I was growing up, I watched a lot of Christmas movies. I didn't see anybody that looked like me in the lead roles. But those movies were for me in theory. These movies are for everybody. Dashing Through the Snow is for everybody. It just happens to have a Black father, Black daughter and a Black Santa Claus."

Ludacris shares what it was about the script that had him excited to join the project.

"I'm always trying to find roles that people wouldn't expect me to do and just do something out of the ordinary. I like to keep people guessing. But this particular script, LudaChristmas is what I like to call it in terms of the season and the holiday. But I love what it stood for. I love that there's a Black Santa Claus in this movie played by Lil Rel."

Lil Rel, a father of two, has been Santa for a long time. But he speaks on what it's like being a Santa on screen.

"It's beautiful, especially being a Black Santa, right? Because you know, everybody always thinks it's weird when Black people play anything mystical or fantasy-wise, but this is beautiful. And we put our own twist to it with the music with a look everything. So, man, it's gonna be so much fun. I'm still pinching myself that I got a chance to play Santa.

Madison Skye, who plays Ludacris' daughter in the film, shares what she is excited for everyone to see.

"I'm really excited for them to see the special effects. All the cool sound effects, and everything going on in the movie. The chemistry. I'm just so excited for them to see that."

Tim Story, director of the film, shares his thoughts on his approach to telling this Christmas story. "I just wanted to tell my version and with that, I wanted to have a lot of fun. I wanted to make you laugh. I wanted it to, hopefully, just kind of make you think about old films you've seen and it just kind of make you feel good about Christmas. So I just kind of did my own thing. I love making comedies, I love making family-oriented movies. And this felt like something I can really take home."

Check out the full interview with Will Packer below.

Dashing Through the Snow is now streaming on Disney+.