In the last few years, the Christmas movie has made a comeback. Netflix has made a cottage industry of the season, following in the well-polished shoes of Hallmark. New favourites compete with the classics on television and streaming services. Vanessa Hudgens is making a play to become the queen of Christmas, with a third Princess Switch set for release. We are up to our eyeballs in holly, jolly entertainment.
Still, not all Christmas movies are created equal. Netflix unleashed more than a dozen new holiday movies this year with mixed results. To help you separate the coal from the gold, we’re counted down the most charming, entertaining and occasionally even terrifying festive movies of all time. From one-of-a-kind Santas and home-invading thieves to feelgood fireside frolics, Christmas songs, ice-skating escapades and enough hot chocolate to drown an elf, our cinematic sack is bulging with treats.
Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s second stab at the Caped Crusader is actually a slight improvement on his original 1989 blockbuster, mainly due to Michelle Pfeiffer’s uncommonly fierce performance as Catwoman (the finest work she’s ever done). If you forget, Gotham is dusted with a layer of snow and in the process of crowing its Ice Princess. It doesn’t go well for the beauty queen, or anyone, really, in this especially downbeat Christmas.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
By now as iconic as the story of Kris Kringle himself, this Peanuts-based perennial sends viewers into happy spasms of dancing year after year. Its most lasting achievement is Vince Guaraldi’s breezy jazz score – whimsical and lovely like a falling snowflake.
The Snowman (1982)
Raymond Briggs’s book came to life once a year throughout many childhoods, as the animated film was often shown on TV. Nominated for an Oscar, the short film tells of a boy whose snowman becomes real – but not forever. Add the song “Walking In The Air” and you have a true Christmas classic.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
One of the first Johnny Depp performances to suggest he was more than just a set of cheekbones, the actor’s gothed-out title character is a study in pain and pathos. Tim Burton’s suburban fantasy wouldn’t be nearly as touching without Depp’s sad-eyed hero at its center – or its context of Christmas, a time of acceptance, charity and Winona Ryder dancing around ice sculptures.
A Christmas Story (1983)
One of the US’s most beloved holiday movies, Bob Clark’s enduring and old-fashioned holiday favourite. It’s told through the eyes of a kid who dreams of one Christmas present. Black Christmas director Clark keeps the edges rough on this slice of Americana, foregoing the schmaltz for a healthy dose of gruff, blue-collar cheer and tongue-on-frozen-flagpole hilarity.
Home Alone (1990)
John Hughes penned this rollicking holiday classic. No matter that everybody’s on the naughty list here, from Catherine O’Hara’s woefully neglectful mom to Macaulay Culkin’s cheeky moppet and Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci’s vindictive crooks. Once the John Williams score kicks in, even the coldest hearts will warm.
Gremlins (1984)
Plenty of Christmas presents come with instructions, yet none are as ominous as the following: Never expose to bright light, never add water and, crucially, never feed after midnight. Joe Dante’s horror-comedy turns a well-intentioned gift into a nightmare. Meanwhile, a traumatised Phoebe Cates tells the saddest Christmas story ever.
Die Hard (1988)
As bad Christmas Eves go, few are worse than the one had by NYC cop John McClane (Bruce Willis), whose reconciliation with his estranged wife in an LA skyscraper is interrupted by a bunch of baddies. Filled with killer set pieces and a memorably hissable villain (Alan Rickman), this is a crowd-pleasing action film.
Elf (2003)
Will Ferrell’s overgrown-child persona hilariously complements this comedy about a guileless giant elf searching for his dad in NYC, but the film’s focus isn’t just on the funny bone. There’s an abundance of heart and soul in the way the story cherishes holiday cheer; in a genre that’s become generically saccharine, this is one modern Christmas movie that’s genuinely sweet.
In the last few years, the Christmas movie has made a comeback. Netflix has made a cottage industry of the season, following in the well-polished shoes of Hallmark. New favourites compete with the classics on television and streaming services. Vanessa Hudgens is making a play to become the queen of Christmas, with a third Princess Switch set for release. We are up to our eyeballs in holly, jolly entertainment.
Still, not all Christmas movies are created equal. Netflix unleashed more than a dozen new holiday movies this year with mixed results. To help you separate the coal from the gold, we’re counted down the most charming, entertaining and occasionally even terrifying festive movies of all time. From one-of-a-kind Santas and home-invading thieves to feelgood fireside frolics, Christmas songs, ice-skating escapades and enough hot chocolate to drown an elf, our cinematic sack is bulging with treats.
Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s second stab at the Caped Crusader is actually a slight improvement on his original 1989 blockbuster, mainly due to Michelle Pfeiffer’s uncommonly fierce performance as Catwoman (the finest work she’s ever done). If you forget, Gotham is dusted with a layer of snow and in the process of crowing its Ice Princess. It doesn’t go well for the beauty queen, or anyone, really, in this especially downbeat Christmas.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
By now as iconic as the story of Kris Kringle himself, this Peanuts-based perennial sends viewers into happy spasms of dancing year after year. Its most lasting achievement is Vince Guaraldi’s breezy jazz score – whimsical and lovely like a falling snowflake.
The Snowman (1982)
Raymond Briggs’s book came to life once a year throughout many childhoods, as the animated film was often shown on TV. Nominated for an Oscar, the short film tells of a boy whose snowman becomes real – but not forever. Add the song “Walking In The Air” and you have a true Christmas classic.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
One of the first Johnny Depp performances to suggest he was more than just a set of cheekbones, the actor’s gothed-out title character is a study in pain and pathos. Tim Burton’s suburban fantasy wouldn’t be nearly as touching without Depp’s sad-eyed hero at its center – or its context of Christmas, a time of acceptance, charity and Winona Ryder dancing around ice sculptures.
A Christmas Story (1983)
One of the US’s most beloved holiday movies, Bob Clark’s enduring and old-fashioned holiday favourite. It’s told through the eyes of a kid who dreams of one Christmas present. Black Christmas director Clark keeps the edges rough on this slice of Americana, foregoing the schmaltz for a healthy dose of gruff, blue-collar cheer and tongue-on-frozen-flagpole hilarity.
Home Alone (1990)
John Hughes penned this rollicking holiday classic. No matter that everybody’s on the naughty list here, from Catherine O’Hara’s woefully neglectful mom to Macaulay Culkin’s cheeky moppet and Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci’s vindictive crooks. Once the John Williams score kicks in, even the coldest hearts will warm.
Gremlins (1984)
Plenty of Christmas presents come with instructions, yet none are as ominous as the following: Never expose to bright light, never add water and, crucially, never feed after midnight. Joe Dante’s horror-comedy turns a well-intentioned gift into a nightmare. Meanwhile, a traumatised Phoebe Cates tells the saddest Christmas story ever.
Die Hard (1988)
As bad Christmas Eves go, few are worse than the one had by NYC cop John McClane (Bruce Willis), whose reconciliation with his estranged wife in an LA skyscraper is interrupted by a bunch of baddies. Filled with killer set pieces and a memorably hissable villain (Alan Rickman), this is a crowd-pleasing action film.
Elf (2003)
Will Ferrell’s overgrown-child persona hilariously complements this comedy about a guileless giant elf searching for his dad in NYC, but the film’s focus isn’t just on the funny bone. There’s an abundance of heart and soul in the way the story cherishes holiday cheer; in a genre that’s become generically saccharine, this is one modern Christmas movie that’s genuinely sweet.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Tinged with special passages and buckets of goodwill, this tribute to the efforts of a small-town do-gooder (James Stewart, in his most beloved role) cements the idea of Christmas as a time for giving.
