On Christmas Eve, Richie Rich breaches the usual quiet of his mansion by racing around with his friends in cars that he can control using a special remote, all under the watchful guidance of Herbert Cadbury. Cadbury urges Richie to change for tea, and before that moment arrives, Richie pays a visit to Professor Keanbean, who unveils his latest invention: a wishing machine that only works on Christmas Eve.
During tea, Richie meets his cousin, Reggie Van Dough, who longs to be as rich as Richie. This encounter foreshadows the holiday magic and the rivalries to come. Later, Richie costumes himself as an elf with Cadbury trading places as Santa Claus to hand out Christmas presents at an orphanage. Cadbury casually mentions that he once rocked out in a band called Root Canal. They then take off in the sleigh, with Richie at the wheel, but trouble brews as Reggie seizes control of the sleigh using the remote that Cadbury had used earlier. He guides the team through streets lined with shops and houses, and the joyous ride takes a dark turn when the sleigh crashes and explodes along with the presents, injuring Cadbury’s ankle in the process.
Richie races to find help, yet once he reaches the city his world has changed beyond recognition. Reggie spreads rumors about Richie, and the townsfolk turn against him, leaving Richie isolated and bewildered in a landscape that feels alien and unforgiving. The sense of guilt and responsibility gnaws at him as he grapples with what happened that night.
Devastated and convinced the incident was his fault, Richie sits before the wishing machine and, overwhelmed by misfortune, wishes that he had never been born. The machine grants the wish, and Richie wakes in a world where he was never born. In this altered reality, Reggie has taken over as Richard and Regina’s son and stands as the richest kid in town, ruling with an iron will. Roads and buildings bear his name, and the town’s power structure — even the police — bends to his command. The world around him is marked by hunger and misery, a stark contrast to the opulence he once knew. Richie quickly realizes that being erased from existence did not make things better; he resolves to find a way back to his original life.
In this lonely, recognition-starved world, his dog Dollar remains one of the few souls who still seems to remember him. With renewed determination, Richie sets out to repair the damage, aided by friends and the clues surrounding the wishing machine, which now requires a Pegliasaurus wishing bone to be complete. They head to the city museum to retrieve the bone from a Pegliasaurus skeleton, deftly passing laser detectors with a fishing rod invented by Keanbean. Along the way, they spot Reggie’s parents working as night guards, adding a personal stake to their mission.
Back at the lab, the machine is readied for one final wish. But Reggie arrives with the police just as Richie prepares to act, and all of them—Richie, Cadbury, Keenbean, and their allies—find themselves imprisoned while Reggie brings the machine home. Reggie tests his own wish and tries to fly, but Dollar snatches the bone and the moment collapses; the wish does not take effect, leaving Reggie frustrated and momentarily defeated. In a turn of events, Root Canal helps bail Richie and his friends out, and they race back to the manor with the machine in tow. The machine, damaged by Reggie’s earlier kick, struggles to work until Keenbean steps in to repair it. Reggie awakens, tries to fly again, and is soon subdued by Richie and the others, who then strip him of influence and power.
With the machine restored and reconnected to its original purpose, Richie makes one last wish to be born again. The world rights itself, and the people around him—parents, friends, and community—reawaken to his presence. The story wraps as the Rich family gathers around a Christmas tree and sings, celebrating Richie’s return and the restoration of harmony in their lives.
