The Muppet Christmas Carol.Photo:Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett
Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett
I grew up in a family not much different in size fromA Christmas Carol’snice but needy Cratchits, who every Dec. 25 wonder why Ebenezer Scrooge can’t just dial back the nastiness. We had more children, in fact: Us seven, Cratchits six. My family wasn’t needy, either, except in terms of the holiday movies we could watch on television. In that regard we were poor.
As a critic, though, I’ve been able to watch more and more holiday movies of greater variety with every passing year. The best have the bright shine of ornaments. The basic themes remain the same as that ’50s classic—kindness, forgiveness, decency—but these productions are certainly more fun. Early exposure to movies likeElfmight have made me less like inclined to all that bah-humbugging.
Here are the 10 movies I recommend for your own family to turn into their watch-on-repeat favorite this season.
The Muppet Christmas Carol(1992)
Where to Watch:Disney+(1 hour, 27 mins.)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse(2022)
Will Ferrell as Buddy, late of the North Pole, in Elf.Alan Markfield/New Line Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
Alan Markfield/New Line Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
Elf(2003)
ThisWill Ferrell comedy just turned 20— but hasn’t aged a bit. Ferrell plays Buddy, a human orphan who’s been raised at the North Pole and considers himself an elf. Buddy is a looming HR disaster—he has no aptitude for making toys—but Santa’s helpers turn a blind eye for as long as they can. Like Pinocchio, Buddy ends up heading out into the wide world, an innocent soul who perhaps trusts too much. When a Manhattan greasy spoon promises the world’s best cup of coffee, Buddy is ecstatic. It takes most of the film before he realizes the coffee is lousy.
Where to Watch:Max(1 hour, 36 mins.)
Klementieff (left), Pratt, Bautista—oh, and Groot!— in Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.Marvel Entertainment
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special(2022)
Where to Watch:Disney+(44 mins.)
A Christmas Mystery(2022)
Where to Watch:Max(1 hour, 27 mins.)
Forest Whitaker and Madalen Mills.netflix
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey(2020)
Where to Watch:Netflix(2 hours, 4 mins.)
Spirited(2022)
Will Ferrell again, this time paired withRyan Reynoldsin an elaborateChristmas Carolreboot—it’s one of the most deluxe holiday showcases in recent memory. (Judi Dench has a cameo. That’s called pulling out all the stops.) Ferrell, as one of the Spirits, is spearheading the campaign to rehabilitate a simply awful human being named Clint (Reynolds). Clint is a media consultant so cynical he’ll use opposition research to influence a grade-school election. The plot spins its way through a number of reversals and some big, splashy song-and-dance numbers. It’s like watching a Christmas tree in a centrifuge, shooting off sparks and colored lights. Note: A sprinkling of mild naughty words.
Culkin (with Joe Pesci peeking in the window).Everett
Home Alone(1990)
It’s hard to convey, more than three decades later, how excited the country was overHome Alone.It sat atop the box office for 12 consecutive weeks and grossed so much money you could have filled every Christmas stocking on the planet with hard cash. This wasn’t just a holiday movie. Because of Macaulay Culkin, it felt like a discovery—the child’s equivalent of Julia Robert’s arrival inPretty Womanthat same year. As Kevin, the 8-year-old left behind in a big suburban house after his family flies out of town, Culkin immediately established himself as one of the most gifted kid actors in movie history. He was maybe even a great clown—a tiny Charlie Chaplin, brave but touchingly vulnerable.
Where to Watch:Disney+(1 hour, 44 mins.)
Santa back in the early days of his career.Netflix
Netflix
Klaus(2019)
Just like our modern superheroes, Santa Claus has an origin story. He didn’t just come down the chimney, you know? In this uncommonly handsome animated film, we start with a secondary character. Jesper (Jason Schwartzman) is the new postman in Smeerensburg, a cold, remote Northern town where no one likes anyone else well enough to indulge in sending a letter — and forget about paying for it. But eventually the local children begin writing to Klaus (J.K. Simmons), a generous but mysterious toymaker who lives alone in a cabin. Jesper becomes the one delivering the children’s wishes. It’s a hot new market! Lesson: For happiness to blaze brightly, start with whatever kindling is at hand.
Where to Watch:Netflix(1 hour, 38 mins.)
Tim Allen as a soon-to-be Santa.Everett
The Santa Clause(1994)
This Tim Allen holiday comedy, one of the best at capturing a sense of suburban life (before happily escalating into a fantasy complete with flying reindeer), has turned into a fa-la-la-franchise with two sequels,plus a Disney+ series. There’s an unusual hint of black comedy in the premise: After accidentally killing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve,divorced dad Scott (Allen) has to take on the job—along with the round belly and the voluminous white beard.Clauseis about living your best life, even if it means becoming someone else.
Where to Watch:Disney+(1 hour, 38 mins.)
Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special(1988)
source: people.com
