Favorite Christmas/Holiday Movies?

The holiday season is upon us again. And it's that time of year to break out the eggnog, sing Christmas carols, and spend time with family. But perhaps the best thing about the holidays is watching holiday movies. Love them or loathe them, I know everyone at least has one they enjoy (or secretly enjoy).

While it may be tempting for the cynical in me to say Silent Night Deadly Night, Black Christmas (the original 1974 version, not the 2006 remake), or even Bad Santa or A Nightmare Before Christmas, it's the holidays and one should at least pretend to be merry and bright. So this list will consist of movies that make my heart grow 3 times its size for the sake of the holidays.

Favorite T.V. Special: A Charlie Brown Christmas

I think my favorite thing about A Charlie Brown Christmas is the depression Charlie Brown has about all of the commercialism of the holidays. There's a theme of excess that comes around this time of year; namely the idea that one needs more stuff in order to be happy. When Charlie Brown brings back that "special" Christmas Tree for the Christmas show, it gets bemoaned by the Peanuts crew for not being good enough in their eyes. It makes the finale when they make something special out so little, much more close to home for me. Much to my surprise, I haven't seen this aired on TV for the past couple of years. A shame because its message really brings in the Christmas spirit for me.

Overall I think the special is a true classic. It has great music, great animation, a good sense of humor, and overall positive outlook on the holiday season. Give it a watch this year.

Honorable Mentions: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

The Muppet Christmas Carol. Especially the extended cut with When Love Is Gone.

Steven

I too would have to consider A C.B. Christmas to be my fave, having been a lifelong Peanuts fan. Considering how popular it’s been for its entire history, it’s amazing to think how it was almost didn’t air because CBS execs were leery of the religious references and the Vince Guaraldi score, among other things. I just love stories where something deemed noncommercial proves the suits wrong. lol

A runner-up would definitely be The Grinch, owing in large part to Chuck Jones’ work on the classic WB cartoons. I try to catch at least one version of “A Christmas Carol,” especially the made-for-TV 1984 version with George C. Scott as Scrooge.

I have to give major props to "The Year Without a Santa Claus" simply because of Heat Miser and Snow Miser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGRkNaMFp6w In fact, take off "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" as an Honorable Mention and replace it with my boys Heat Miser and Snow Miser. Now where was I on my list? Oh yeah...

Favorite Silly Christmas Movie: Elf

I guess you can say that most Christmas movies are silly, though few can beat the sheer silliness that is Elf, which embraces the whole silliness of the holiday season like no other holiday movie I've ever seen. Say what you want about Will Farrell, his screaming manic attitude fits this movie well. Unlike say a childish, energetic, and demented character like, say, Jeremy from SoN, Buddy's antics are actually funny, well written and aren't used a crutch to make the movie seem more "child friendly." As someone who's cynical most of the time, it's nice to have a silly, childish time during the holiday season and Elf certainly does provide that. Give it a watch if you ever need that inner child awakened within you.

Honorable Mentions: Home Alone, Gremlins

Hm. Favorite Christmas movies? For me, in no particular order:

1. Muppet Christmas Carol
   
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas
   
3. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - the animated version with Boris Karlov, natch.
   
4. The Snowman
   
5. A Muppet Family Christmas
   
6. It's a Wonderful Life
   
7. Mickey's Christmas Carol
   [/list:u]

For me, the top three Christmas Specials that I look forward to every year are:

liRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer> This is a timeless classic that first aired on December/1964. Arthur Rankin & Jules Bass crafted a masterpiece in this hour long version of the Reindeer that was "Different from the rest". Give this one a chance and you'll be sure to come away feeling good about yourself no matter if you're fat, skinny, black, white, hairy, bald, etc. Everyone deserves a chance to rise to their potential.

liHow the Grinch Stole Christmas> What a treat this is. Just the fact that you have the late Boris Karloff voicing the Grinch and also narrating the story is an experience beyond words. Of course none of this would have been possible were it not for that genuis of children's literature Theadore Geisel a.k.a Dr. Seuss. Then there's Mr. Ravencroft of "Tony the Tiger " fame who sings such songs "You're a Mean One... MR. Grinch". All this combines to impart the simple lesson that Christmas is more that packages, boxes, or bags. Christmas does not come from a store... Indeed Christmas is a whole lot more. We would do well to remember this simple truth not only for the duration of the season, but for the whole year through.

liA Charlie Brown Christmas> Another one of my all time favorites. This special first aired in Dec./1965. Poor Charlie Brown is depressed over the rampant commercialism that seems to have overrun the holiday season. His peers and even worse, his baby sister Sally he laments seems to have succumbed to the commercialism and thus have lost the true meaning of Christmas. I do not want to go into full details as to how the story ends but I will say this; There is a great lesson to be learned about what Christmas is really all about.

Honorable mention should also go to;
liYear Without a Santa Claus
liElf
liA Muppet Christmas Carol
liSanta Claus Is Comin' to Town

Peace :D
NIMHmaniac