How I Rescued Santa Claus

On a winter camping trip, when Olivia 'OLLY' Beans (13) - a misunderstood middle child, who sometimes feels like she was born on the wrong planet - is accidentally left behind by her dysfunctional family, she has a fall that twists her ankle and knocks her unconscious. The next day, as she tries to hobble back to civilization though twelve inches of freshly fallen snow, she meets a spry old man, MONTY, who looks a lot like Santa and seems to live in the woods. She begs him to help her get home, but he refuses and walks away. Olly follows Monty's footprints through the snow, and persuades him to let her spend the night in his cabin. At sunrise, Olly sees a large sled parked outside, and thinking that Monty is going to take her home after all, she climbs aboard - and promptly falls asleep under a pile of blankets. But Monty only meant to sneak away, and unaware that Olly is on board, he rides away on the sled - which somehow floats above the snow without leaving any tracks - toward the secret cave where he really lives. Meanwhile, despite the snowy weather, crusty CAPTAIN VERNON, devious RANGER JONES and single mother RANGER TRIMMER have already begun the search for Olly. But it's Ranger Trimmer's mechanically-minded son, BOBBY (14), who 'borrows' a Park Service snowmobile and finds the cabin where Olly and Monty spent the night. When Monty reaches his secret cave - which is cloaked behind a hi-tech entrance and is full of stolen artifacts - he discovers his stowaway and tries to persuade her to leave. But he also shows her a plaque which is written in a strange alien language, and Olly - who loves to solve puzzles - resolves to stay until she can figure out what it says. As Olly works on the mysterious plaque, she also grows curious about a strange metallic orb that Monty somehow uses to 'fly' the sled and power the cave. She pries the orb open - and it explodes, destroying Monty's cave. Although they escape uninjured, Monty is devastated by the loss. What's more, Captain Vernon and the others are closing in. Assisted by a herd of friendly elk - don't ask - Olly and Monty slip past Captain Vernon, and as they head north, Monty confesses to Olly that he's really a stranded space alien. Olly tells him that before the orb exploded, she found a vital clue inside and now she knows what the plaque means: it describes a time and a place where Monty has one last chance of being rescued - if they can get there by midnight. As time runs out, they race through the forest, only to find that the supposed rendezvous site isn't a mountain at all - it's a shopping mall. Monty abandons all hope of going home and heads back into the woods alone - where he's immediately captured by Ranger Jones and Bobby. But Bobby, worried about Monty's fate if they turn him in, tricks Ranger Jones, 'borrows' his truck and takes Monty back to the mall to pick up Olly. Together, they figure out the real mountain rendezvous point and race to the top with moments to spare. But as everyone converges on the mountain, Olly still has a big decision to make: will she go back home to her family - or will she leave with Monty and continue her adventure...