When the turkey, ham, prawns, potato bake, and trifle has been demolished, and food comas make their inevitable entrance, there’s no better time than to gather around the TV, pump up the AC, and stick on a Christmas movie.
Thankfully, there’s plenty to choose from. From family favourites to adult classics, here are the best Christmas movies to put on TV (and probably fall asleep to).
Image from IMDB
When this animated movie was released in 2019, its charming characters and sublime storytelling made it an instant Christmas classic, loved by kids and adults alike. It tells the story of Klaus—a carpenter skilled at making children’s toys, with a destiny to become Santa himself.
Its goofy characters, visual delights, and charming voice acting make it the perfect Christmas day movie when you’re too full and tipsy to do anything strenuous.
Image from Wikipedia
It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic not just for Christmas, but for the movie industry as a whole. Shot in California and released an incredible 75 years ago, it opened to critical reception and a loss of over half a million USD at the box office, which shows how much critics know. The movie is now one of the most loved of all time, named as the “seventh-greatest film ever made” in a UK poll, and declared culturally and historically significant by the United States Library of Congress.
If you’re looking for a Christmas classic, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Image from IMDB
After having had enormous success bringing Batman to the big screen for the first time, Tim Burton was hot property in Hollywood, and his story The Nightmare Before Christmas was snatched up by Walt Disney in the hope that he’d repeat his success. The movie turned out to be a little too dark for Disney, who released it under their sister company Touchstone Pictures, where it grossed $91.5 million USD worldwide.
The movie was filmed using stop-animation techniques, giving it a distinct visual style, and one of the reasons it gained such a cult following. It’s a great movie to watch on Christmas Day, and despite Disney’s concern, it’s PG-rated, so fine for the kids.
Image from IMDB
Will Ferrell is a comedy powerhouse, and Elf is one of his funniest performances. After stowing away in Santa’s sack as a baby, Buddy is raised in the North Pole by Santa and his elves, subsequently believing that he himself is an elf, despite being four times the size.
Ferrell’s outlandish and exaggerated physical comedy style is perfect for the role, and when mixed with the classic Christmas backdrop of New York, makes for a nostalgic and hilarious movie that has become essential watching over the holidays.
Image from IMDB
Die Hard is perhaps the archetype for Christmas movies that aren’t about Christmas. It’s a movie with the perfect balance of action, comedy, and explosions, with one of the greatest bad guys of all time played by the late Alan Rickman.
The lead role was turned down by a number of high-profile actors, including Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but taken by the relatively unknown Bruce Willis—may be the best financial decision of his life. Despite having low expectations, the movie went on to receive four Oscar nominations, and vastly boosted the profiles of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman.
The movie’s sequel wasn’t quite as acclaimed, but is a great movie in its own right, and has also become a Christmas classic.
Image from IMDB
Macaulay Culkin’s lovable menace Kevin rocketed him to fame when this movie was released in 1990, after a stellar performance from the 10-year old. It’s a story of the importance of family, the Christmas tradition, and how to hurt the bad guys in as many ways as possible, including with gas torches, paint cans, and micromachines.
The movie exceeded its budget multiple times during filming and was almost shut down by Warner Bros, who decided to hand production over to Century Fox instead—a terrible decision because the movie went on to make over $476 million at the box office, and remains a quintessential Christmas movie adored by millions.
Image from IMDB
Bumbling posh Brits, ageing rock stars with terrible priorities, and lovestruck teenagers—what’s not to enjoy? Almost a decade after his immense success with Four Weddings and a Funeral, Richard Curtis decided to make a Christmas movie, to equal acclaim. The film is funny, sweet, and drives home the importance of Christmas, particularly finding someone special to love.
Image from IMDB
Definitely one when the kids have gone to bed, Bad Santa is a debauched tale of two professional thieves who rob department stores, under the guise of Santa and his helper elf. Billy Bob Thorton pulls a hilarious and at times touching performance as a tortured alcoholic, who despite his no-holds-barred abuse and general awfulness, remains a good guy at heart. In fact, every performance in this movie is great, including the chubby Santa-loving Brett Kelly who adopts Thornton as his father figure—someone clearly unequipped for the role.
The movie was a box office success and has become a Christmas classic for adults.
Image from IMDB
The Muppets take on the classic tale of Scrooge—the bitter old miser who hates Christmas, played expertly by Michael Caine. The movie is packed with the quirky hilarity that the Muppets bring, including plenty of Christmas songs and furry characters. It’s great for both kids and adults.
The movie received decent critical reviews but has since become a worldwide fan favourite that makes Christmas a little more fun.
Image from IMDB
In 1989, Chevy Chase returned with his dysfunctional and hilarious family for their third box office release of the National Lampoon’s series. You can expect singed squirrels, torn toupees, and that infamous Christmas lights scene where the house explodes with the brightness of a thousand suns.
Chase is amusing as ever in the role, and the movie highlights the flawed characters and relationships of family members who are thrust together for Christmas, filled with booze and food. There are some risque moments that gave the movie a PG-13 rating, so this is another good choice for when the young kids have gone to bed.
If you haven’t had enough food already, or your spread was suspiciously low on sweet things, why not whip up a batch of these delicious Xmas lamingtons to go with your movie? The recipe is courtesy of AC giants Mitsubishi, who regularly share tasty recipes on their website.
We hope you enjoyed our list of movies, and that you find a winner for your Xmas arvo. Merry Christmas from everyone at the H&H team, and we hope that 2022 is a fantastic year for you! ?? ?
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