Obviously this is my list of favorite Christmas movies. There are literally 100’s of choices – have some funny this Christmas…sit around and make your families’ “Top Ten” list! I could not land on ten so I have my favorites in three categories…classics, moderns, animation!
Classic Christmas
1. It's A Wonderful Life - James Stewart and Frank Capra team up in this 1946 film to create one of the all-time best Christmas movies ever! Follow George Bailey through his childhood to his current family, then watch as George spirals into despair and ultimately self-destruction. But his guardian angel helps him realize how good life really is, 'cause if it wasn't for George his little town of Bedford Falls would be in ruin. This is a touching movie, perfect for the holidays. I think it helps us all to come to terms with our individual situations and perhaps find some hope.
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Before Natalie Wood grew up and had some of the shapliest woman-legs in the world, she was a darling little girl in one of the best Christmas movies ever. A story always comes up about this movie though: Supposedly, upon completion of principle filmmaking, 1947's "Miracle On 34th Street" then had to be submitted to the heads of Macy's and Gimble's department stores who -- had either man withheld approval -- could have cost 20th Century Fox a small fortune in rewrites and reshootings. Just for the record, this story is really a load of baloney. No studio mogul of that time would have taken on such a risk.
In many ways, this is a perfect movie, just like Gone With the Wind is a such a great movie. A little schmaltzy, maybe, but still a keeper.
3. A Christmas Carol (1938) - Another one of the Christmas stories that has been redone a thousand times, I like the original version the best. Some people like the newer Patrick Stewart version, and some even like Scrooged (with Bill Murray) as a great one in the remade versions. I however, really like the original, simply because it seems like it should be in black and white, and the story seems better placed in the past. A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens, and tells the story of an old "scrooge" who wants nothing out of life but to make more money. He sacrifices his family and friends, and everyone that has ever loved him, in the pursuit of becoming richer. He is then visited by ghosts in his old age, attempting to show him the error of his ways, and hoping that he can go down a different path for his remaining days on Earth. It is another great story depicting the importance of being their for your fellow man on Christmas, and it does a great job of giving a scare while telling a deep story. Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" will always remain one of the most famous, and most well loved of Christmas stories.
4. White Christmas (1954) - “Der Binger”, Bing Crosby in a predictable story about a happy holiday. This film is corny as Kansas in August, but I love it anyway. The songs are catchy and the dancing is good, but it’s the spirit the film exudes that makes it rather special. For some reason, all of its elements combined make for a heartwarming, spirit-lifting experience. Holiday Inn is often compared with it and is very similar, but I find White Christmas to be far better in music, story, acting, and spirit. This is all white middle-America of the Eisenhower 1950s, but it has a great life of its own worth watching. Crosby was not always a saint in real life, but in the movies he was as smooth as a zephyr.
5. BABES IN TOYLAND (1934) also called MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS - March of the Wooden Soldiers remains a very funny, charming, family film’ featuring comedy team Laurel and Hardy at their peak of their comic timing and abilities. It is a very dated film, with old style special effects, musical numbers, corny dialogue and all the rest which is part of the reason it works so well when you watch it today. The pace is fast, the comedy still very funny and it’s a lot of fun to watch this story of the evil Silas Barnaby (played in the best over-acted melodramatic style by Henry Brandon ) who wants to throw the old woman who lives in the shoe out of her home so he can put up a shopping mall (okay not really a mall—but do hiss at this cruel bad character). Laurel and Hardy play Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum who are toy-makers who mean well but keep getting into trouble. They are the original Dumb and Dumber of course. They really mess up an order for Santa Claus and get into trouble—especially when they try to battle against the evil Barnaby!!! There are several fairy-tale and Mother Goose characters shown throughout and those horrible awful BOOGEY MEN !!!!. Costumed performers, puppets and stop motion work are well-used—and some of it looks inventively surreal. I try to watch this classic every year. Discover or re-discover it soon. There’s a decent colorized version on DVD (if you really must watch a color version of the film).
6. HOLIDAY INN (1942) - Covers several holidays—not just Christmas, but was remade in color as the much inferior White Christmas. This one is a keeper when you are in the mood for the smooth crooning of Bing Crosby and the fancy smooth footwork of Fred Astaire. The plot has Crosby and Astaire as partners who open a resort hotel that puts on seasonally-related musical shows for their guests. There’s romance problems but eventually the stars are paired with Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale. Astaire has a great dance number for the 4th of July show (with firecrackers). There’s a dated and racist blackface number meant to celebrate Abraham Lincoln (that some might take offense to). Crosby sings Easter Parade and White Christmas etc. The kind of overly pleasant romantic musical comedy they do not make any more.
Modern Flix
7. Scrooged - My favorite by far of any Christmas film, Scrooged is another take on the Charles Dickens classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge. It's somewhat dated from the time in which it was filmed, but at the same time there's a dark comedy to it that is timeless. Bill Murray is Frank Cross, a network executive fixated on ratings above all else. He treats his employees like garbage and is condescending to all those around him. His network is about to air it's biggest Christmas special in years and he will do just about anything to garner ratings and appease his boss. Into this comes a former mentor who died. Yes, he died. He's a rotted corpse that appears to Frank and tries to warn him to change his ways. The tale is funny in a dark way, and definitely isn't family-friendly with some rough language. However, for adults who need a good laugh during the holiday season, it's a perfect remedy. it also serves as a reminder that some of us who can't put a pile of presents under the tree are often richer than those who can.
8. Elf - Another new movie for me and one I really didn’t expect to like...I’m not too crazy about Will Ferrell since he left Saturday Night Live but this is a cute story about a baby who accidentally crawled into Santa’s bag on Christmas Eve and was whisked away to the North Pole...There he was raised by Elves and thought of himself as an Elf. But soon his size became a problem so his Elf “parents” decided it was time he returned to his world...That’s when the problems began and the lessons in the movie were learned. Ferrell did a good job without going completely over the top as he has done in a few of his other movies and, as I said, I actually did enjoy this movie to my big surprise.
9. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - “Oh NO! I’m speaking in RHYME!” Yup, this has to make the list. The Grinch, a lonely, reclusive former adopted “Who” lives alone on a mountain and is demonized by the inhabitants of Whoville. He flips back and forth between relishing his villainy and wanting to be accepted. When he's shamed and embarrassed in front of the entire town by his old rival, the Mayor of Whoville, he plots to end Christmas. Jim Carey was incredibly funny. The 2 scenes that stand out are the Grinch trying to decide what to wear before the Award ceremony ("That's it.... I'm NOT going") and being force fed various items (cake, pudding etc) with one old guy shoving an unknown food item in his mouth.
10. Christmas with the Kranks - Tim Allen is awesome at playing the "No eggnog for me, thanks" role..as you remember him as the reluctant, sarcastic Santa in The Santa Clause I & II. He decides after his teenage daughter goes away to join the Peace Corps, that he is tired. He is tired of all the craziness, the rushing, panicked overscheduled hullabaloo of it all, and decides to take the normal $6,000.00 Christmas bill and boycott Christmas to go on a Carnival Cruise instead! (Oh yea, baby!!) His wife, Jamie Lee Curtis, is less than thrilled. She hosts the largest Christmas Eve party every year, and they live in a small knit community of "Jones" who wont understand WHY they are not putting up lights, trimming the tree, sending cards, gushing at annoying carolers, buying presents, putting up FROSTY...OMG..You need to know FROSTY, he is a main character..He is the soul of the neighborhood, the one thread they all have in common...A huge 9 foot inflated snowman that sits on top of each roof..When the kids/parents in the town find out about the Kranks boycott, they demand that Frosty be taken out of the basement, and start a protest..They do everything imaginable to snap the Kranks out of their boycott! It is hilarious and based on the John Grisham novel, Skipping Christmas. Hilarious!
11. A Christmas Story - Paranoid parents don't want Ralphie to get a Red Ryder BB gun, but that's all he wants. He's gotta convince them it'll be ok. Ralphie's dad wins a contest and gets a lamp that looks like a leg. He puts it in the front room window where everyone can see it. The wife doesn't like it. But mom and dad like it less when Ralphie says F*ck, and it's funny as hell when Ralphie's friend sticks his tongue to a frozen flag pole. It's always good to see the regular guy beat up the bully, Ralphie shows how it should be done. Will Ralphie get what he wants for Christmas?
12. Home Alone & Home Alone 2 - Always a favorite for good laughs, Macaulay Calkin plays Kevin McCallister an 8-year old who's forgotten at home by his parents when they travel to Europe. Thieves are looting all the houses in the neighborhood, but when they come to the McCallister house they're in for a surprise! The two thieves in this movie are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. This is a good movie for the kids. Home Alone 2, McCallister is lost in New York. Thinking his Aunt and Uncle might be home he heads to their house which is being renovated. This of course, sets the movie up for some pretty good stunts and laughs. The same thieves come back to exact revenge on Kevin for their previous troubles.
13. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - This is one that hadn't seen till this year at my girlfriend's house. I wasn't sure I'd like it because I hate the other National Lampoon's movies, but this one was actually funny. Chevy Chase plays Mr. Griswold, an accident prone fool. The entire family comes over to the Griswold house for what turns out to be a very difficult holiday celebration.
14. The Santa Clause & The Santa Clause 2 - It's big shoes to fill when you're trying to take over as the new Santa Clause, especially when you're the one responsible for Santa's death! Tim Allen plays as the newly selected Santa Clause, in a very funny and entertaining movie. In number 2 Tim Allen finds out that he's required to marry. Gotta have Mrs. Clause! He's been Santa for eight years and all the weight he gained in the first movie is slowly coming off! This is a serious problem for Santa, so he goes in search of a wife.
15. Muppet Christmas Carol - The Muppets were always favorite characters of mine, and their take on the Charles Dickens classic is funny and eccentric, in the style of their shows and movies through the years. Live actors mix with the Muppets as naturally as if it were everyday life in a tale that's timeless. The Muppets portray various characters from the tale, with Kermit and Miss Piggy as Bob Cratchit and his wife. Just about all of your favorites are here as Gonzo narrates the tale as Charles Dickens, Waldorf and Statler appear as two ghosts, and Fozzi the Bear makes an appearance as Fozziwig. There are more favorites making cameo appearances.
If you've enjoyed the show or the movies, you will certainly enjoy Muppet Christmas Carol - don't miss it this holiday season!
Animation Movies
16. Mickey's Christmas Carol - Mickey's version of Scrooge, it's very entertaining and fun to watch. Great for little kids (obviously). A true classic, I grew up with this one.
17. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - As a child this was a favorite of mine during the holidays. Having first aired in 1964, it's been a part of the Christmas season for my entire life. The story follows the song by the same name fairly well, with a few extra characters thrown in for good measure. Rudolph finds himself an outcast among his fellow reindeer until his glowing nose allows Santa to make his deliveries one particular Christmas Eve. It's a great film for kids who often feel like the odd one out, as it shows that what makes us different from each other can end up being an asset in the right situation. This is true not just of Rudolph, but also of the characters of Hermey the Elf and the Abominable Snow Creature. The animation is amazing, especially considering it was in the days before computers did so much of the work, and the unique style is something immediately recognizable to all.
18. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - First aired in 1966, this is another animated classic that's bee a part of the Christmas season for as long as I remember. It delivers a message of what Christmas is all about in a very subtle way, without being overly preachy. The Grinch lives high on a mountain above Whoville and he just can't stand all of what happens over Christmas, in particular the noise level. he gets the bright idea that if he can steal all of the decorations, presents, and even the food that Christmas won't come. So he dresses up as Santa and hitches his dog, Max, to a sled an sets out to do this. What he learns, however, is that Christmas doesn't come from a store. It's in the heart of the people who celebrate it and it comes whether or not the decorations are there. In our modern day, it should also be noted that it comes whether people wish us "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and the Grinch makes that point so many years before all the recent hoopla.
19. A Charlie Brown Christmas - I've always loved the Peanuts characters, perhaps because so many times in my life I felt as if I could identify with Charlie Brown, although I didn't have as cool a dog as Snoopy. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown is depressed around the holiday season. The happiness that others around him seem to be feeling just isn't coming to him. Lucy gets the idea that having him direct the Christmas pageant will get him in the holiday mood. Even there, however, things go wrong as he searches for the true meaning of Christmas that will lift his heart. The message in A Charlie Brown Christmas is strong and very much based in the Christian faith, although non-specific to any denomination. It serves to remind us what Christmas is all about as we ourselves get caught up in shopping, pageants, plays, concerts, and decorating. At the same time, it's fun for kids to watch and enjoy.
20. Frosty the Snowman - There is hardly a child out there (or adult, for that matter) who hasn’t heard the wintry tune, Frosty the Snowman. This cartoon from 1969 will bring back many memories for any adults watching along, but it’s still loved by children today, with singing and dancing- and that old familiar song. The characters are cute, even though the cartoon itself is a little dated. At 22 minutes long, you may even be able to wrap a couple of presents!
21. The Polar Express - Another Christmas special that is actually an adaptation is The Polar Express, which was originally a children’s book. With Tom Hanks as many different characters (voice and some physical similarities) in this animated full length movie, children and adults will be amazed at the special effects. So lifelike are the characters, it’s almost a little creepy! Completely computer generated, the Polar Express tells the story of one boy who has stopped believing- in Santa Claus. He boards the Polar Express with other children on their way to the North Pole to see Santa. Seeing is believing and your children will believe. This is the perfect way to end a long day of holiday craziness and curl up on the couch under a blanket with a loved one. The calming music and fantastic story will comfort all.
Now go get yourself a Blockbuster gift card and go to town!!!