Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who claims to be Barkley's illegitimate half-brother. Motivated not so much by money as revenge, Thaddeus tries to convince Barkley to help him carry out a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against their patriarch.

A battle for Christmas ensues as Dudley D. Dink and his henchmen wage war against the less than innocent kids of Dinkville. Laugh out loud hi jinx and outrageous misunderstandings result as both sides learn the true meaning of Christmas.