Warning: this article contains spoilers for Red One
Jake Kasdan’sRed Oneis a creative take on a holiday movie that sees an unexpected group team up to find Santa Claus after he has been kidnapped.Red Onefollows the charactersCallum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), the North Pole’s head of Enforcement Logistics and Fortification (ELF) security, and Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), a naughty-list hacker, as they search for Santa and examine their own beliefs about Christmas along the way.
DespiteRed One’s lackluster reviews and box office returns, it does introduce several Christmas characters that audiences may not be familiar with. Similar to Santa’s original mythic origins, othercharacters inRed Onecome from folklore from around the globe, including Gryla,Red One’s witchy villain responsible for kidnapping Santa Claus. While it is interesting to see howRed Onehas incorporated this legend into its story, her real origins are slightly different from what is presented in the movie.
Gryla’s Backstory & Plan In Red One Explained
She Hopes To End Christmas
InRed One, Gryla is the villain who kidnaps Santa in the hopes of ruining Christmas. After kidnapping Santa at the beginning of the movie, she steals a toy duplicating machine from Santa’s workshop along with a magical artifact, a snow globe, that will help her accomplish her evil plan. The magic of the snow globe will allow her to trap someone inside, andRed Oneoutlines thatGryla hopes to trap every naughty child in the world using the duplicating device.
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ThroughoutRed One, the audience learns various pieces of Gryla’s backstory as the winter witch. Though Gryla appears as a young woman throughout the film,it is revealed that she is actually an ogress who has the ability to shape-shift. Likewise, Gryla is seen ordering her sons, who are also shape-shifters, around throughout the movie.Red Onealso connects Gryla and Krampus, another mythical creature, as ex-love interests, though Callum and Jack learn that Krampus did not help kidnap Santa.ByRed One’s ending, Gryla has her plan in place, and Callum and Jack must fight to stop her.
Gryla Is An Ogress From Icelandic Folklore
The Name First Appears in a 13th-Century Work
The name Gryla first appeared in Medieval Icelandic literature in the 13th century. While it seems like Gryla was always some variation of a monster, little else is known about the figure from that time.Gryla first became associated with Christmas during the 17th centurywhen several poems outlined her description, her goals, and her husbands and children. From the 17th century onward, Gryla was described as an ugly and mean ogress who stalks towns during the winter asking for charity.
Icelandic legend states that Gryla has 13 sons, also known as the Yule Lads, who each have their own pranks (such as slamming doors or stealing different foods) that they pull on people during the Christmas season.
According to the myths, Gryla went through Icelandic towns to find naughty children whom she would kidnap in a sack she was depicted carrying. The naughty children would be taken back to the remote cave, where Gryla supposedly lived with her husband and many children, to be made into a stew. The myth states that to get rid of Gryla, she must be chased away or given another source of food. Stories of Gryla continue to be told in Iceland today, though less commonly and with less emphasis on the more violent details.
Gryla’s Powers & Appearance In Red One Compared To The Myths
Her Appearance Is Much Scarier In Folklore
Gryla inRed Oneis played by 25-year-old actor Kiernan Shipka and looks very different than she is depicted in Icelandic myths.Red One’s Gryla is young and beautiful and uses her magic powers to her advantage. In contrast, the Gryla of Icelandic myth is older and uglier. The mythic Gryla is said to be appalling to look at and very greedy when it comes to asking for charity and stealing children. The legend has it that she is never satisfied and always carries a sack on her back to haul away as many children as possible.
…in both the myths andRed One, Gryla’s primary goal remains the same: punishing naughty children.
Additionally,Red Onechanges Gryla’s powers and backstory to better fit with the plot of the movie. InRed One, Gryla is a very powerful witch whose abilities are associated with winter. She is able to shape-shift into any figure that she desires and can easily track people across the globe. In contrast,in the myths, Gryla does not seem to be a witch at all. She is only referred to as an ogress who attempts to steal naughty children and lives in a remote cave. However, in both the myths andRed One, Gryla’s primary goal remains the same: punishing naughty children.
Are Gryla & Krampus Connected In Real Myths?
Their Myths Originated in Different Locations
In order to find Gryla, Callum and Jack decide to talk toKrampus (Kristofer Hivju), another Christmas monster who they believe might be helping her. In folklore,Krampus is a creature who is a demonic counterpart to St. Nicholas and punishes childrenon the eve before the feast of St. Nicholas. He is often depicted as a goat-like demon with horns, a long pointed tongue, and sometimes cloven hooves. In some legends, Krampus punishes bad children with birch rods, by stealing their presents, or by kidnapping the children themselves.
Several places throughout Europe and the United States celebrateKrampusnachton December 5 each year with the Krampus run, an event in which people dress up as Krampuses and attempt to scare onlookers.
InRed One, Gryla and Krampus previously dated and both are Christmas mythical creatures. Likewise, their goals, both inRed Oneand in myths, both largely have to do with punishing naughty children. However, beyond their contrasting goals to Santa,Gryla and Krampus do not have any connection in their real myths. The myth of Gryla originated in Iceland with very little spread beyond there. In contrast, Krampus myths originated in the Alpine region of Europe, with written sources mentioning the figure dating back to the 16th century. Throughout Europe, Krampus’s description does change, but Gryla is never mentioned.
How Red One Changes Gryla
Gryla’s Appearance And Motives Are Unique To Red One
From the Icelandic myths surrounding Gryla, it is clear that her primary intent is to scare children. While Gryla’s character inRed Oneis the villain,her appearance and goals are very toned down compared to her origins. She appears to be young and attractive in comparison to the much older and uglier version of Gryla that appeared in the myth. Likewise,Red One’s Gryla is not depicted as wanting to eat the children she traps in snow globes. These changes were likely made simply to avoid making the movie too scary for young audiences.
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Similarly, while the original Gryla is said to live in a cave, Gryla inRed Oneis seen in a lair beneath Santa’s workshop. She is also given a past relationship with another character to humanize her and relate her to other elements of the plot. In short, the movie changes Gryla to make her origins and motives more suitable for a young audience in the 21st century. This frees upRed Oneto focus more on the light-hearted and fun dynamics betweenDwayne Johnson’s Callumand Chris Evans' Jack as they attempt to weave action with Christmas spirit.
Red One
Cast
After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with a notorious bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a thrilling, globe-spanning mission to save Christmas. This action-packed holiday adventure mixes comedy and festive magic, with an ensemble cast that includes Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons.
