When it comes to movies, Christmas sits atop of the holiday throne. There are many films that give everyone a heavy dose of holiday cheer and I am here to present my top 5 Christmas movies I’ve had the pleasure of watching. There will be some small spoilers so anyone that wants go into the films with a clear mind, I recommend clicking off this article,
#5 The Polar Express (2004)
Based on the book written by Chris Van Allsburg, this Christmas film tells the story of a boy who has reached the age where his belief in Santa Claus has waned over time. Lying awake in his room waiting for the bells to ring on Santa’s sleigh, something bizarre happens. The room begins to shake violently with a loud train noise in the background. Wish this is how I would meet Santa.
Curious, the boy looks out his window to find a train in the middle of the road. He grabs a rope and rushes outside to the train. The train conductor asks if he wants to get on the train. Now confused, the boy asks the conductor where the train is heading. When the conductor said he’s driving to the North Pole, the boy makes a last minute decision and hops on the train to meet Santa Claus.
#4 Elf (2003)
Elf is up there at the top of critically acclaimed Christmas movies and deservingly so. The film is very funny and lighthearted but has an interesting plot that sets it apart from its kin. 3 decades prior to the events of the film, an orphan unknowingly crawls into Santa’s sack, where he is unwittingly transported to the North Pole. After finding the orphan in his sack, Santa decides to adopt the baby and entrusts this responsibility to Papa Elf who gives him the name Buddy, unaware that Buddy is actually a human.
It isn’t until Buddy’s towering height and ineptitude at toy making that Papa Elf tells Buddy the truth about his origins. The elder elf explains to Buddy that his father, Walter Hobbs and mother, Susan Wells placed up for adoption. Buddy also learns that Walter, who works at a kids book company in New York, is on Santa’s naughty list. Despite not knowing anything about his family, Buddy sets his sights on building a relationship with his family.
#3 Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Ever wonder if childhood legends Jack Frost, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman teamed up to take on Boogeyman? Then Rise of the Guardians is your Christmas movie Eden.
Jack Frost awakens from a frozen pond but suffers from amnesia and has no idea who he was before his awakening. Despite becoming the snow spirit of joy and giving, no one can see or hear him which leads him to believe no one believed he even existed.
3 centuries later, the Man in the Moon warns Santa Claus about the return of the evil spirit, Pitch Black, a malicious entity that haunts children with his nightmares. To combat the return of the Boogeyman, Santa Claus summons the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman and Jack Frost as the new guardian of the team. Jack originally declines the offer, feeling he was not qualified. But Santa Claus is extremely determined and persuades Jack to join the fight against Pitch Black.
Of all the movies on this list, this one definitely has the most action and is one of the more ambitious crossover movies out there.
#2 Home Alone (1990)
Do you ever feel that your family can get on your nerves sometimes and wish you had the house to yourself for awhile? Well Home Alone encaptures that feeling but with a twist. It’s Christmas time and the McCallister family is getting ready for a plane ride to Paris, France. Kevin, the youngest member of the McAllister family, gets into a heated altercation with his older brother Buzz and is sent to his room as punishment.
The next morning, the McAllister family rushes to get to the airport on time but completely forgot about Kevin, who now has the house all to himself. It’s paradise for Kevin. He gets to be the boss of the house without any repercussions.
However the fun quickly turns to fear as Kevin learns two burglars, Harry and Marv, attempt to rob the house. Kevin however, meets this daunting challenge head on by setting many boobytraps around the house to stop the burglars in their tracks.
#1 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Based on the extremely popular children’s book written by superstar writer Dr Seus, the 1966 movie adaptation is one of the most iconic Christmas movies to ever hit the big screen. The story takes place in whoville populated by the citizens known as whos. Unlike the extremely kindhearted and giving whos of whoville, the Grinch is extremely mean spirited and brews up a plan to stop Christmas from happening.
He comes up with the idea to disguise himself as Santa Claus and to steal all the Christmas decorations and dump them into a ravine. His plan is a major success as he steals most of the Christmas decorations with no problems at all. However, on one of his infiltrations he accidentally woke up a little girl named Cindy Lou. Cindy asked why Santa was taking the Christmas Tree. The Grinch came up with a bluff, saying he was going to make improvements to the tree.
After successfully stealing every decoration in Whoville, the Grinch waited until morning to hear the cries from the village. But the Grinch got the polar opposite response of what he expected. Instead of crying, the Grinch heard a beautiful musical from the Whos. The Grinch was extremely confused. He couldn’t figure out how they could be happy after he stole all their Christmas belongings. But the sudden change in tone led to a change of heart. The Grinch pulls a complete 180 and stops all the Christmas decorations from being dumped into a ravine and decides to return them to Whoville.
