Christmas Day Special - Top 12 All Time Favourite Christmas Films

 

Merry Christmas everyone. Whether you are celebrating alone or with others this year, many of us will agree that this year overall has not been perfect, but has been somewhat better than last year. Still not great, but an improvement at least, despite Covid and various countries being at war with themselves. As I have been reviewing primarily Christmas films this year, I thought to do a top 12 list of my personal all-time favourite Christmas films. I consider any film that's to do with or set around Christmas is a Christmas film, no matter what people say. So in that regard, I do in fact think that Die Hard and its first sequel are Christmas films. This list is all Christmas films that I have seen and really like and if it comes from a franchise, then just one film from that franchise in order to be fair. Let's get to it:

12 - Die Hard

Let's start with that one film that people always try to figure out if it's a Christmas film or not. Like I said, if it's set at Christmas and/or to do with the holiday, then it counts. Never would anyone think that an action flick could be a Christmas film. But at the same time, no one at the time thought Bruce Willis could be taken seriously, having been on the small screen for so long until this film. I was a huge success that spawned a franchise, and I can clearly see why that is the case. It's a film that makes you feel like you are part of the action and doesn't have a muscular hero that the genre had been known for until this film. Plus, Alan Rickman as the villain is what I call perfect casting because although he too wasn't well known until this film, he can play a villain. He can even play an anti-hero as proven with Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, and he is a funny person too. Yeah, it's a great film and one that really bought a few firsts to the genre, making it iconic and impactful too.

11 - Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Some people have said that the first Home Alone is the best one and I tend to agree, well mostly. You see even though Lost in New York is not quite the same as the first film despite being very similar, I remember it more because well, being home alone may be scary. But being alone in New York as a kid is even more scary. No kid should ever be in the big city alone, let alone a smart kid like Kevin McCallister. Plus there is plenty going on, such as visits to a toy shop, taking advantage of a hotel's facilities and of course the usual pranks and so forth that made the first one so good. But it will always be the second that I like more even though it would not exist if the first was never made.

10 - Arthur Christmas

Aardman are not all well known for their completely CGI films and in a few attempts at it, the end results have not been great. But somehow in Arthur Christmas, they got it right and boy is it an underrated Christmas film. So the idea is original in that there is more than one Father Christmas and after a period of time, each one has to retire to let their young ones take over. But on one Christmas Eve, Santa misses one person and Arthur is determined to get the present delivered to that person before Christmas Day begins. Yep its that kind of film where people are on edge and a few family disagreements occur. But in the end, everyone comes together, and it all works out. A wonderfully animated film with a largely original idea that executed pretty darn well.

9 - It's a Wonderful Life

Most call this the greatest Christmas film of all time and yeah I can see why. It's a lovely film about a guy who thinks he did wrong and wants to die, but a guardian angel tries to convince him otherwise. That without him, certain things would have not happened the way they did when he was around. Sort of like Christmas Carol, but more on the positive things than anything negative. A very creative film in that sense and one that many remember as being a nice film that sure has some negativity within, but is otherwise demonstrating that some people do love you, and they wouldn't be where they are without you. Speaking of love...

8 - Love Actually

I don't see many films that have multiple storylines with characters that intertwine with each other. But of the ones I have seen, I really like this one. Sure, its corny and cheesy to a degree, but with a cast like this, how can it go wrong. It's got funny moments, heart-warming moments and also some pretty iconic moments too, such as the cue card scene. Plus Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman and Rowan Atkinson doing what they do best is done well in this film. Not all Christmasy, but it's one that has the moral of that love is a powerful thing, and it is everywhere even in our darkest hours.

7 - Rise of the Guardians

There used to be a time when films set or to do with Christmas would take up a whole year before being released on home media. Which in some ways makes sense, but sometimes you do wonder why it takes so long compared to other films. I would like to think that Rise of the Guardians changed all that when it became apparent that it was not quite a Christmas film as it was basically the Avengers but with holiday characters in the place of heroes such as Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. Despite this, it still very much has a winter theme to it so I guess it counts. But of all the DreamWorks films to ultimately only have one film, this deserves to be its own franchise. I mean the first and so far only film is in the same league as the How to Train Your Dragon films in terms of animation, story and characters. Not to mention that there is a bit of a fanbase for Jack Frost (at least of the female and LGBTQ+ kind). It's that good of a film and definitley one that can be enjoyed in any holiday besides Christmas.

6 - The Nightmare Before Christmas

Like how many people try to figure out if Die Hard is a Christmas film, the same can be said for this one. What does The Nightmare Before Christmas consider itself to be? Is it a Halloween film or a Christmas film? Well I would say that if Christmas is in the name and it has stuff to do with it, then I'd say it is a Christmas film. But if you were to be quite technical about it, then I would definitley call it a transition film. Transitioning from Halloween into Christmas. Whatever you want to call it, it is a great stop-motion film which may not have been directed by Tim Burton (he was working on his Batman films at the time), but his influence is definitely there if anything and I do like it very much.

5 - The Snowman

Yes this list includes a few short films too. One of the first short films and also Christmas films that I ever watched was this little one on Channel 4. Most of you will know it as that film that helped make "Walking in the Air" a popular Christmas song, and the animation was quite groundbreaking at the time it came out. No one would ever think that hand drawn animation such as this would work so well, and it did. Sure you have Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and others using hand drawn animation themselves, but you would never suspect that a short film not made by those big names, would be so iconic, so groundbreaking and memorable for those that lived at the time it came out. I didn't exist when it first came out, but do fondly remember the re-runs and the opening by the late David Bowie. Plus it got a sequel too.

4 - Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

So I put this film on this while ignoring what I said in my old and new review of this and the original. I have fond memories of this one more than the original and I do like it. It's got a bit of magic, some heart-warming moments and great performances by a young Mara Wilson and the late Richard Attenbourgh who does play a pretty good Santa that isn't too generic. The best bit for me in this film is how this Santa goes out of his way to attempt sign language for this child that visits him at the mall which I call a win for diversity. That and the whole court thing too, as I mentioned in my original review. One of my favourite Santas I'd say nowadays.

3 - Elf

Now this is a very different Christmas film. Until this film, the elves which are of course Santa's little helpers, never really had a big role besides making presents and that. But Jon Favreau changed all that with help from Will Ferrell in this film, long before the former's MCU days. It's got a lot of great things going for it, including a lot of funny moments, a few heart-warming moments and a few revelations too. One of his best works, alongside what he has done with Marvel and Disney (apart from that one all animal remake that we do not talk about). Stand out scenes for me include the coke bottle scene and also the whole thing with the department store Santa.

2 - How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Of course I would not forget to include this little guy on the list. Now many argue on which is the best one out of the Benedict Cumberbatch and Jim Carrey films. But honestly, neither of them are great adaptations when you compare them to the very original animated film from the 60s. Which feels in every way like the Dr. Seuss book itself, without the need to expand on anything to fill up the running time (unlike the later films). It rhymes, it's well animated and is just the sort of story that you don't need to ever expand on which speaks true for many Dr. Seuss stories.

1 - The Muppets Christmas Carol

For the number one choice, I wanted to pick a film that I love more than anything and of course I would have never made this list without once thinking of putting one of the "A Christmas Carol" adaptations of which there are loads. But there is the big debate on which one is the best one of them all and when I really think about it, its always going to be the Muppet version. It follows the story well and all the Muppets and actors are perfectly cast in the roles they have. In fact I would say its the only time you see Muppet majors Kermit and Miss Piggy in supporting roles rather than big roles as is the norm with those two. Plus the musical numbers compared to Letters to Santa are much more memorable, fun and actually do further the plot of the film. And Michael Caine who is a great actor in his own right, is by far one of the best Scrooges we've had. So yeah it may be quite predictable that I pick this as my number one, but I do like it very much as with the others on this list.

So Merry Christmas to you all. Hope you can stay safe and be well. And if you have your own favourites that I didn't mention, leave them in the comments below.