Nativity! 2: Danger in the Manger is a 2012 British Christmas comedy film written and directed by Debbie Isitt, an improvised Christmas comedy and the second instalment in the Nativity film series. The film focuses on Donald Peterson, an anxious primary school teacher, who embarks on a wild and heartwarming adventure with his class and teaching assistant, the childlike Mr Poppy, as they travel to Wales to perform in a Christmas singing competition.
The film stars David Tennant playing the dual role of twin brothers, with Joanna Page as the wife of one of the brothers and Ian McNeice as the father of the brothers. Pam Ferris and Marc Wootton reprise their roles from the first film.
The film, which was the official Children in Need film of 2012, had its first public screening on 11 November 2012, when 42 Cineworld cinemas in the United Kingdom held one-off charity screenings with all proceeds going to Children in Need. The film's official premiere was at the Leicester Square Odeon on 14 November 2012. It went on a wide release on 23 November 2012.
Plot
Three years after the first film, Donald Peterson (David Tennant) is an anxious teacher who has just moved to a new house with his pregnant wife Sarah (Joanna Page). He accepts a teaching job at St. Bernadette's primary school, taking over the class formerly taught by Paul Maddens (Played by Martin Freeman in the first film), who by this point has left for the United States; in the interim, the enthusiastic and childlike teaching assistant Desmond Poppy (Marc Wootton) has been letting the kids mess around with him and his childish tactics which causes every supply teacher the school's headmistress Mrs. Bevan (Pam Ferris) has found to leave.
The class wants to enter a competition called "A Song for Christmas" (what song for Christmas?) presented by Angel Matthews (Jessica Hynes), in which each school produces their own Christmas song, with the winning song earning its school £10,000 and the chance at being a Christmas number 1. However, Mrs. Bevan refuses the class permission to enter without a qualified teacher and worries that her nephew, Mr. Poppy's, behaviour is so inappropriate that no teacher will ever stay in the job.
Mr. D Peterson lives in the shadow of his domineering father (Ian McNeice), and his estranged, 'golden boy' identical twin brother Roderick (also played by Tennant), who is a world-famous composer and conductor. When Mr. Poppy decides St Bernadette's should enter the National 'Song for Christmas' competition, he persuades Mr. D Peterson to sign the entry forms, later kidnapping him for an impromptu road trip to Castell Llawen ("Merry Castle", not a real place) in Wales, where the competition is being held.
However, Roderick is also competing in the competition, mentoring the choir of posh St Cuthbert's College. Also Roderick is the main antagonist of this movie. Mr. Shakespeare (Jason Watkins) from Oakmoor School, rival of St Bernadette's, has also entered his class. Mr. D Peterson and Mr. Poppy take their class through the wilds of Wales where they get past obstacles, such as exhaustion, rivers and baby nappies for a baby that one of the children smuggled into the group, to a mountain, which they have to climb over to reach Christmas Castle in time for the show. Meanwhile, as the parents were dismayed by the absences of the children, Sarah and Donald's father come looking for him while Sarah belittles Donald and Roderick's father for his treatment of Donald.