Reginald Hudlin’s Candy Cane Lane is an entertaining Christmas comedy that was released earlier this December. With Eddie Murphy and Trace Ellis Ross in the lead roles, this 120-minute-long film captures the essence of celebrating Christmas to the fullest.
The storyline of Candy Cane Lane centers on Chris Carver, a dad who hopes to win the local neighborhood Christmas decoration contest one day. After making hand-carved decorations for years and still not winning, Chris decides it’s time to take things up a level and instead buys decorations and figurines from a mysterious Christmas shop.
Things take a completely different turn after Chris finds out that the shop owner is an evil elf who had sold him figurines of actual people. Moreover, if Carver fails to complete the task she had assigned to him, he is going to have a similar fate and end up as a Christmas decoration.
Besides Eddie Murphy in the role of Chirs Carver and Trace Ellis Ross as his wife Carol Carver, the rest of the cast of Candy Cane Lane consists of Jillian Bell in the role of Pepper, Genneya Walton plays Joy, Thaddeus J. Mixson plays Nick, and Madison Thomas plays Holly.
Filming Locations
With cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, principal photography for Candy Cane Lane began in December 2022 and lasted until February 2023. The major filming locations happen to be Los Angeles and other places around California.
Chris and his family are shown to be living in El Segundo, located in Southern Cali. Considered a beachside gem and home to many Fortune 500 companies, this is one of the best suburban places in the southern region of the state.
Besides attracting tourists and residents for its collection of restaurants, beaches, and parks, El Segundo is also known for its Christmas decorations and parades every year. The scene where kids are building a sandman near the beach was filmed at the Playa Del Ray Beach in LA.
With its pristine blue sea and warm sand, Playa Del Ray Beach is a great place to enjoy the warm weather away from the crowd. While it’s not as big as other beaches in California, it does have plenty of activities to do, like surfing, swimming, biking, and other fun sports.
The Playa Del Ray beach has also appeared in many movies like Point Break, Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 2, and Sharknado. Coming back to El Segundo, this place has served as a filming spot for The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Avatar, Transformers, and Nightcrawler, to name a few.
In real life, Candy Cane Lane is what El Segundo is called, owing to its bright, festive decor that attracts countless tourists and locals. However, for the film, the crew set up a similar street and house at Universal Studios located in North Hollywood.
The Carver house isn’t real, with its interiors being shot at the set while exterior shots were taken at another place within the studios. The neighborhood they live in isn’t real either, and most of the houses are empty or have no backsides.
The set had to be crafted with detail to perfectly capture the essence of an American suburb. This place within the studio has also been featured in projects like Desperate Housewives and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
In one of the scenes, we can spot a Sydel Twain Industrial Plastics building, but this was just a set in Optimist Studios located at 5431 W 104th St., Los Angeles. The set is large enough to be the home of many such large industry-like buildings.
This one-of-a-kind studio has a black canvas for those looking to create a new world, features a photography studio, and even has an annex where producers have the potential to create anything they can imagine.
The Old Town Music Hall seen in Candy Cane Lane is real and was filmed at 140 Richmond St, El Segundo. This cultural landmark theatre was built back in the 1960s and has since been a part of many classic films and live concerts.
This sums up all known locations from the 2023 Christmas comedy. Candy Cane Lane is available to watch on Prime Video.
