| Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?! | |
| Director: | Debbie Isitt |
| Producer: | Nick Jones |
| Starring: | Martin Clunes Marc Wootton Catherine Tate Celia Imrie Jason Watkins Susie Blake Duncan Preston |
| Music: | Nicky Ager Debbie Isitt |
| Cinematography: | Sean Van Hales |
| Editing: | Nicky Ager |
| Studio: | Mirrorball Films |
| Distributor: | Entertainment One |
| Runtime: | 109 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | £2.8m[1] |
| Gross: | $11.3 million[2] |
Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?! is a 2014 British Christmas comedy film which serves as the third instalment of the Nativity film series and was directed by Debbie Isitt. It stars Martin Clunes, Marc Wootton, Catherine Tate with Celia Imrie and Jason Watkins. Like its predecessors, it was distributed by Entertainment One.
Jeremy Shepherd is an Ofsted inspector who is the father of Lauren and is due to marry his fiancée Sophie in New York City. He is hit in the forehead by Mr Poppy's pet donkey Archie. He has amnesia and no memory of anything that happened before. Mr Poppy and the children have to get Mr Shepherd's memory back before the big day as well as stopping infamous flashmobber Bradley Finch from stealing Sophie back.
The film was panned by critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 16% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 3.14/10.[3]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film one star out of five, comparing it to "A John Lewis Christmas ad directed by Satan". Bradshaw added "This is one of those British family comedies that make you want to soil the Union flag with your own faeces in the cinema foyer before setting fire to it."[4] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph called the film "a garbled, sprayed-around mess", in his one star review and added, "As soon as I left the cinema, I went looking for a donkey to kick me in the head."[5]
Isitt defended the film following its scathing reception, saying "These critics are just so out of touch with what people like and want."[6] In response to Bradshaws scathing review, Isitt stated, "What on earth is wrong with Peter Bradshaw? He is disgusting and like a troll and should be ashamed of himself. Was he sent to boarding school and abandoned? Perhaps he’s insane".[7] In response to Collins review, Isitt said "I would do it for free… and in my high heels".[8]
When the film was released in the United Kingdom, it opened at #3, behind Interstellar and The Imitation Game.[9]