The holidays are here! Christmas is undoubtedly the holiday with the most movies centered on it, (looking at you Die Hard). Christmas movies allow directors to get away with portraying happiness and presenting deep morals that public service announcements wish they could teach, and every family usually has a traditional holiday classic they watch every year.
Favorite Animated Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Despite Hollywood’s many attempts to bring Dr. Seuss’ classic children stories to life with live action or CGI animation, none can compete with the original holiday classic. This television special focuses on the angry Grinch, a green creature isolated from the town of Whoville who hates Christmas. He attempts to ruin the Whoville’s favorite holiday by stealing all the decorations and gifts granted to every Who, including Cindy Lou Who, Betty Lou Who and Doctor Who! However, he realizes the material things are not what makes the holiday and decides to change for the better.
Not only is this well animated for the 1960s, but it is also well voice acted. Who better to voice the Grinch than Boris Karloff, a man who has experience portraying big, green monsters? It also contains the classic “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch,” which I hear on the radio every year and never get sick of. It has all the elements of a classic Christmas special in 30 minutes, which is more than I can say for the live action Seuss movies. Despite the different renditions of this film over the years, nothing can beat the cuteness of Max and the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes too big.
Favorite Comedy: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
While there are many great holiday comedies, nothing can beat a classic such as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I just cannot get enough of this movie during the holidays. As part of National Lampoon’s Vacation series, the plot of this film follows Clark Griswold attempting to have the best Christmas ever with his wife, children, and parents. However, the Griswolds never seem to have luck on their side, espeically when it comes to the holiday season. Broken Christmas lights,a deflated turkey, exploding cats, and sleds that can break the sound barrier are some of the many memorable features of this charming comedy.
The slapstick lines and characters are all very memorable, and this special proves that even though a lot can go wrong, being with your family for the holidays is never a bad choice. Just make sure not to invite anyone from this family to your house unless you want to pay thousands in property damage.
Favorite Christmas Musical: White Christmas
Even though a white Christmas is the last thing a lot of Minnesotans want, it’s always welcome on television. It’s no surprise that with all the Christmas music we hear, that they would eventually be made into a holiday musical. It stars the legendary Bing Crosby as a former World War II soldier named Bob who teams up with another veteran named Phil to become musical superstars. With Phil worried about Bob’s romantic life, he teams up with his girlfriend Judy to set up Bob with Judy’s sister, Betty.
The two pairs travel to a ski resort in Vermont where unfortunately, there is no snow. Bob and Phil discover that the resort is owned by their former beloved general and that it’s failing financially with the lack of snow. They decide to help their former friend by having a show in the resort featuring many talented men and women, while Phil and Judy continue to try and set Bob and Betty up.
The acting is charming, the characters are memorable, and it contains great music, whether it’s Christmas themed or not. It’s an overall great movie to get you into the Christmas mood, and a great treat for musical fans.
Merry Christmas readers, and may all your Christmases be white.