While a household name today thanks to White Lotus, Agatha All Along, My Old Ass, and many more hits, back in 2014 Aubrey Plaza was a rising star known for her deadpan humor on Parks and Recreation. Now somehow a whole decade ago, 2014 was also when Grumpy Cat, part of the original wave of pet influencers and definitely one of the most iconic, was everywhere.
First going viral in 2012, Grumpy Cat sadly passed away in 2019 (with an estimated net worth of $100 million).
For Christmas 2014, Plaza was perfectly cast as the voice of Grumpy Cat, for the famous feline’s first and last feature film, Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.
This made-for-TV Lifetime movie was critically panned at the time. And sure it’s not a hard-hitting holiday drama, but it’s absolutely a fun family film with a lot of nostalgic appeal to fans of Grumpy Cat and Plaza.
The plot follows our grumpy hero who teams up with a young girl to save a mall pet store, a kidnapped dog (and Christmas).
While a G-rated romp, Plaza’s comedic style is combined with a lot of meta-commentary on fame and commercialism and some sneaky adult humor to keep parents and older fans along for the ride. They even made a sarcastic behind-the-scenes clip, which you can watch below.
To celebrate the legacy of Grumpy Cat and for a cute Christmas movie with Aubrey Plaza (who has two rescue dogs IRL), you can watch Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever on Disney+, Tubi, Amazon, Lifetime TV, and Apple TV.