Top 10 Holiday Movie Favorites

For this list, instead of listing the holiday movies that I think are the best I thought about the Christmas movies that play in our home almost every year. Sure, I love It's A Wonderful Life and Holiday Inn and a whole slew of other classic Hollywood yuletide flicks but this here are the ones that I can watch year after year!

1) ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS (1988) I love this movie so much! I often site it as my favorite Christmas movie and then a few years ago when I realized it's just one of my all-time favorite movies. I love this movie so much I tracked down several of the filming locations in Orlando, Florida. I saw Ernest's house, guys!  This movie is the second of nine Ernest films and it certainly has the most heart, I think it's the funniest and has the best story which actually places Ernest as a secondary character to the main story of Santa Claus arriving in Florida to find his replacement. Just an absolutely delightful film from beginning to end.

2) NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) I was already a huge fan of the first two Vacation films when this classic was first released. I actually won tickets to the local premiere of Christmas Vacation on the radio so I'm actually among the first people to ever see this hilarious masterpiece. It's been amazing watching this film morph from being just a silly comedy to a bona fide Holiday classic of the first degree. I love that you can buy Christmas Vacation merchandise of every variety now and when people decorate their house with motifs from the movie - that's just the best. This is one film that the entire household watches every single year Christmas week, and it's been the first PG-13 movie for all of my kids.

3) THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) When the Muppets take on the classic Dickens tale was first released, I was a bit disappointed that the movie wasn't wackier. As time has marched on, I've come to appreciate that the further apart the jokes occur makes each crazy Muppet moment all the more fantastic. This too has become a pretty widely loved Christmas movie as it is not only a fun time with Kermit the Frog and friends, but it is also a pretty faithful adaption of the original story.

4) A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS (1988)  From Wikipedia: "When A Very Brady Christmas first aired, it was the highest rated television film of the season with a 25.1 rating and a 39 share but ultimately finished as the second highest rated television film of the season." I didn't even watch this when it first aired but I remember everybody talking about the film at school the next day and I eventually caught it in a rerun. It wasn't until a few years later when I had a job where there was a TV on all the time that I started to watch the Brady's Christmas movie repeatedly. It would air several times over multiple weekends each holiday season and I saw it so many times that it started to become a tradition with me. It was easy to find the film on TV for many years after I left that job, but eventually I had to resort to watching it on YouTube. Then I plunked down the $70 for the deluxe Brady Bunch box set which was the only was to get a DVD of the film. The following year Paramount released a stand alone disc for $10.

5) JINGLE BELL ROCKS! (2013) I love a good documentary and this independent film about off-beat Christmas music and Christmas music collectors just seems to scratch every itch I have for a good deep dive into Christmas music. Funny, fascinating and filled with good music...I've been able to track down most of this music on Spotify and the songs, too, have become part of my holiday traditions. 

6) GRUMPY CAT'S WORST CHRISTMAS EVER (2014) Easily the most bizarre Lifetime Christmas movie, I believe this film is also credited as being the first movie based off an internet meme. What shouldn't be any good, turns out to be a rollicking Christmas caper when a young girl befriends the sourpuss cat and the two end up trapped in a mall overnight and involved in a burglary. Grumpy Cat's inner thoughts are voiced by Aubrey Plaza a la' Garfield and there are a few mildly familiar faces among the human cast. Yes, this movie is kinda dumb but my kids and I love it and we've watched it 5 out of the last seven years. They've already asked when we are going to watch it again this year.

7) GOOD LUCK CHARLIE, IT'S CHRISTMAS! (2011) I've never seen the Disney Channel sitcom that this film is based on but I'm always a sucker for a movie version of a sitcom. The movie follows the sitcom Duncan family on a half-cross country Christmas week trip from Chicago to Palm Springs. My middle son was in kindergarten when this movie debuted and we watched it one afternoon and enjoyed it well enough. That same year it was playing late Christmas eve and I put it on while prepping the house for Santa's arrival. The following year it aired again late night on Christmas eve and I had it on while getting things ready. At this point, I decided it was to be a tradition to watch this movie on Christmas eve while doing prep work so I secured the DVD and have now literally seen this movie 11 times...and it won't be Christmas without viewing #12 this year.

8) JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996) From the director of The Flintstones movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger battles Sinbad for 89 glorious minutes in order to obtain the hottest toy of the Christmas season. Phil Hartman is in it and there is a very brief cameo from Harvey Korman. Like a fine wine, this movie only gets better with age.

9) A CHRISTMAS STORY (1982) It took me about 30 years to finally come around on this film. I saw it the very first time it played on HBO - didn't like it. I showed it to my kids when they were little - still didn't like it. I gave it another chance somewhere in the last 10 years and something clicked - I loved it. Now, it's still fairly fresh for me and my kids because we never watched it on an endless loop on Christmas Eve. 

10) MICKEY'S TWICE UPON A CHRISTMAS (2004) A follow-up to 1999's Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas, this movie isn't even as good as the first one but it made this list because we've watched it so many times it's now a personal favorite. The first movie is beautiful and in my opinion, one of the very best things Disney has ever done with their classic characters. My kids really liked this second effort and I've now seen it so many times I'm not sure if the other one is still my favorite. In a brief 68 minute running time, this film offers up 5 short stories featuring the Disney gang. This was the first time Disney used Mickey and gang in 3D animation and the result is different from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which premiered a year later. Of the 5 segments, Donald Duck trying to get some peace and quiet to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa is our favorite, although Pluto running away a joining up with Santa's reindeer is a house favorite too!

***Movies come and go from the streaming services but for the 2021 holiday season all of these movies are available on one of the major platforms; Grumpy Cat you'd have to rent from Amazon and Jingle Bell Rocks! appears to only be found on the public library supported service Hoopla. 

 

Top 25 Favorite Christmas Animations

 When we were kids, the very idea of a cartoon airing on television at night was insane! That's probably when my love of holiday specials started and now many, many years later I still love watching those cartoons year after year that have become one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Most of these are older affairs that I've seen dozens of times, some are newer specials that I've grown to love through watching with my children. Get ready for some doozies here in my list of 25 personal favorites of holiday animations.

1) A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) This is the gold standard by which all other Christmas specials are judged. Every single second of this cartoon is perfect.

2) Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) This 26 minute short film is technically not a TV special but after appearing in theaters alongside The Rescuers it aired on network television and The Disney Channel for many, many years. A new Mickey Mouse cartoon for the first time in almost 30 years blew my little 10 year old mind at the time. Mickey's Christmas Carol is both a celebration of Christmas and Disney not to mention it has some pretty solid gags that still make me laugh. Mickey and Charlie Brown have always been required Christmas Eve viewing for as long as I've had a VCR and the tradition continues to this day with my family, although we often have to move it a few days earlier due to family visitations.

3) Christmas Flintstone/How The Flintstones Saved Christmas (1964) This is a superb season 5 episode of the classic Flintstones prime time series although for years it has also aired as a stand alone special. The VHS release of this episode was the first video cassette I ever bought. Hanna-Barbera remade this episode in the 70's with an expanded hour long special, and there was another Flintstones Christmas special in '93 and a tv-movie in '94 which are all fun but this original episode is extra magical. 

4) A Pink Christmas (1978) I was a huge Pink Panther fanatic when I was a kid. This dialogue free half hour is a retelling of the classic O. Henry story The Cop and the Anthem", which I never realized until I was in a high school play of that story and said, "Hey, this is just like the Pink Panther Christmas special.

5) A Chipmunk Christmas (1981) I used to think this was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. Alvin's attitude was a bit more irreverent than more cartoon characters back then. Also, it wouldn't be the holiday season without me telling one of my kids they're getting a Golden Echo harmonica for Christmas.

6) He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985) Let's face it, the old He-Man cartoons weren't exactly overflowing with creativity but when they made this stand-alone special featuring characters from both the He-Man show and She-Ra's show, Filmation might have created their most wonderful product. When Skelator learns all about Christmas and has flashes of cheer and holiday spirit come over him, it is hilarious and heartwarming.

7) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989) Before the entire universe of Springfield was built out over the next 30+ years, you have this very first outing where Homer gets a job as a mall Santa and then blows his earnings at the dog track. Everything we've come to expect from The Simpsons is on display in this holiday special/series pilot. Probably the first animated Christmas TV special to have "cursing" in it.

8) How Murray Saved Christmas (2014) It's hard to expect my kids to be as passionate about the old specials as I am since they are used to more modern animation and pacing but this fairly recent NBC special is one of their top favorites and we've all come to adore it after multiple screenings. There's some catchy songs as well as some off-color humor just inappropriate enough to make the kids giggle but you don't have to reach for the remote.  (Streaming on Peacock in 2021)

9)  How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) It took me a long time to come around to the Grinch special. I never really cared for it as a kid but after watching it with my kids I've come to respect his game. The Chuck Jones animation is amazing for a television special and of course almost every aspect of this story has become an official part of our holiday pop culture landscape. I've even added Whoo-Hash to our Christmas morning breakfast tradition. 

10) For Better or for Worse: The Bestest Present (1985) One of a number of specials that aired on HBO in the pre-VCR mid-80's, These holiday specials were the first that I was able to watch multiple times in one season. Some of the HBO specials were so forgotten about over time that I wondered if my memories of them were even real. The day I discovered that this cartoon was available on DVD, directly from the original comic strip's creator Lynn Johnston...I've never ordered something online so fast before in my life. It was wonderful to be reunited with this lovely piece of animation about the youngest member of the Patterson family losing her stuffed bunny at the department store and the kind old janitor who finds the toy and reunites it with it's owner. I probably watched this dozens of times on HBO back in the day, and have watched it every year since I got my hands on the DVD a decade ago.

11) Ziggy's Gift (1982) As far as I know, the only animated outing for Tom Wilson's comic strip character. Gorgeously animated by the acclaimed Richard Williams, he won an Oscar in 1973 for an animated Christmas Carol short and then was awarded an Emmy for Best Primetime Animated Program for this special. 

12) A Walt Disney Christmas (1982) Not so much a special, as a VHS collection of various holiday themed vintage shorts from the Walt Disney studios. Chip n Dale in the Christmas tree, Donald and his nephews have a snowball fight, the whole gang ice skating...these are the Christmastime cartoons that Disney has repurposed in various television airings, specials and home video compilations. I got this tape from Santa the same year I got a VCR for my bedroom when I was younger.

13) The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (1979) There's no reason I should love this special so much except that it was on HBO a bunch and I watched it every chance I got. The bear family goes into the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree. Papa Bear thinks bigger is better but the cubs teach him the true meaning of Christmas. I paid top dollar for a beat-up old VHS of this show many years ago and then it was released on DVD. I refused to upgrade my copy but eventually found the DVD for a dollar at a thrift store. I can't get rid of the VHS though.

14) Prep & Landing (2009) An absolute modern classic from Walt Disney animation about the elves who prep your house for Santa's arrival. The take on the North Pole adopting modern technology is both clever and hilarious.  My kids adore this special and we've watched it every year since it first aired. The first few years, my kids would watch this everyday after school for the entire Christmas season. 

15) 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974) If memory serves me, this traditionally animated Rankin Bass special aired long into the 80's and I remember watching it numerous times. Since it wasn't based on a popular character I was never really into it much but then years ago I started thinking about "that mice in the clock" cartoon and found a DVD of the special. It's still not terribly fantastic but it's the perfect amount of nostalgia I need each Christmas season. 

16) Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978) I don't remember every seeing this on network, I would always have to seek this Chuck Jones helmed gem out on a local independent channel. The siblings Raggedy save Christmas from the modernization of Gloop-Stick, a plastic varnish that protects toys from being broken...or played with. 

17) Shrek the Halls (2007) I'm definitely not a Shrek fan (don't get me started on how Shrek ruined kids movies for the next 20 years) but this brief 22 minute cartoons hits just right for me. Each of the little supporting characters from the world of Shrek get a moment to shine and that's just about the perfect amount for me in regards to German accented pigs, high-pitched gingerbread men and farting baby ogres.

18) The Smurfs Christmas Special (1982) The Smurfs were such a huge, important part of my childhood that even though I can hardly sit through an episode of their 80's cartoon show today, I still love the little fellows. Their Christmas special is pretty decent with the Smurfs helping some lost children find their way home. This entry could be included on this list just for the earworm song "Goodness Makes the Badness Go Away."

19) Frosty The Snowman (1969) I've always been a Frosty over Rudolph kinda guy. Classic line in our house, "No Money! No ticket!"

20) The Little Rascals' Christmas Special (1979) Animated revival of the classic live-action shorts served as a pilot to an unproduced Saturday morning series is a sentimental and sweet story of Spanky and his brother Porky trying to raise money to buy back the coat their mother sold in order to buy them gifts. As kids, my brother would repeat the line, "Ho, Ho, Ho. Keep moving. Merry Christmas! Keep Moving! Ho, Ho, Ho!" over and over again. He would now either have no memory of or deny ever seeing any of these specials.

21) B.C.: A Special Christmas (1981) Another one of the HBO specials that I watched an endless amount of times, also based on a comic strip and also lost to the march of time - although it did pop up on Amazon Prime not too long ago. The comic cavemen make the first attempt at commercializing Christmas. There are some out-of-date attitudes towards women in this cartoon, but considering when this takes place - that's to be expected, I guess. Another beloved special that I reconnected with years ago after paying way too much money for an old VHS copy from eBay.

22) A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987) The original airing of this special was when I recorded it, it was one of the first Christmas specials I taped and watched a million times. To this day, It's just not Christmas until I hear The California Raisins singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

23) Have Yourself A Goofy Little Christmas (1992) A Christmas themed episode of the Goof Troop TV series, which aired in a separate package in syndication. Goofy's son Max is embarrassed by his dad, as always but the family's holiday traditions are too important even for a moody teenager. The pacing in this episode is a little different than the weekday afternoon TV show which gives it a nice cozy feel. You can hunt this one down on Disney+.

24) It's a Spongebob Christmas! (2012) I'm not much of a Spongebob fan, but when you make a stop-motion special and then air it on actual network television (CBS) in prime time - I'm there! And it's really good. 

25) Christmas Comes to Pac-Land (1982) The night this came on ABC, we had a Christmas pageant at school and I missed it! I had to anxiously wait a whole year to see it and it was so worth the wait! Actually, this Hanna-Barbera cartoon is pretty bad but the fact that it exists is enough for me to have seen it a dozen or so times!

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Every Movie I Saw in 2020

 It's time for my annual ilst of every movie I saw the previous year. You would think with nothing to do but sit home for the majority of the year, I would have seen more movies than any previous year but in fact I saw 59 less movies than 2019! Somedays with the news as grim as it's been, a movie seems like a chore to get through.

1. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
2. Hacksaw (1971)
3. Cats (2019)
4. The Biggest Little Farm (2018)
5. Brittany Runs A Marathon (2019)
6. Bye Bye Love (1995)
7. 78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene (2017)
8. Super Size Me (2004)
9. Emil and the Detectives (1964)
10. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)
11. Shazam! (2019)
12. Little (2019)
13. The Sound of Music (1965)
14. Grown Ups (2010)
15. Private Parts (1997)
16. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)
17. Grown Ups 2 (2013)
18. Good Boys (2019)
19. The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
20. I Am Big Bird: The Carol Spinney Story (2014)
21. Doctor Dolilttle (1998)
22. 2020 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation (2020)
23. Maiden (2018)
24. Miss Americana (2020)
25. Stuber (2019)
26. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)
27. Parenthood (1989)
28. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020)
29. Marriage Story (2019)
30. For Sama (2019)
31. The Groove Tube (1974)
32. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
33. Valentine's Day (2010)
34. Family Plot (1976)
35. The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)
36. A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
37. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
38. The Private Eyes (1980)
39. The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)
40. Joe Dirt (2001)
41. Onward (2020) (last movie in the theater for the year)
42. ZOMBIES 2 (2020)
43. Stargirl (2020)
44. Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)
45. Six Pack (1982)
46. A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
47. The Night Before (1988)
48. After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020)
49. The Jungle Book (1967)
50. The Muppet Movie (1979)
51. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
52. Elephant (2020)
53. The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975)
54. Snoopy Come Home (1972)
55. Top Secret! (1984)
56. Dolphin Reef (2018)
57. Going Berserk (1983)
58. The Good, the Bad and the Huckleberry Hound (1988)
59. Peter Rabbit (2018)
60. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
61. Tommy Boy (1995)
62. Kazaam (1996)
63. The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
64. Mr. Wrong (1996)
65. Bombshell (2019)
66. Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1991)
67. Charlie's Angels (2019)
68. The Wedding Singer (1998)
69. Scoob! (2020)
70. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
71. The Cannonball Run (1981)
72. St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
73. Wall-E (2008)
74. Becoming (2020)
75. The Wrong Missy (2020)
76. Baby Mama (2008)
77. Noises Off (1992)
78. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
79. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
80. The Benchwarmers (2006)
81. Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977)
82. Oh, God! (1977)
83. Hamilton (2020)
84. Hero at Large (1980)
85. Back to the Future (1985)
86. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
87. Back to the Future Part III (1990)
88. Opportunity Knocks (1990)
89. Blended (2014)
90. D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
91. Movie Movie (1978)
92. Athlete A (2020)
93. Little Nicky (2000)
94. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
95. Trolls World Tour (2020)
96. The Animal (2001)
    
97. Meatballs Part II (1984)
98. Mr. Deeds (2002)
99. 50 First Dates (2004)
100. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
101. Tron (1982)
102. Click (2006)
103. Murder Mystery (2019)
104. The Master of Disguise (2002)
105. The Longest Yard (2005)
106. Howard (2018)
107. The Hot Chick (2002)
108. Magic Camp (2020)
109. Sisters (2015)
110. One Crazy Summer (1986)
111. The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (2020)
112. Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020)
113. Never Been Kissed (1999)
114. The Mighty Ducks (1992)
115. RBG (2018)
116. John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)
117. Jasper Mall (2020)
118. 
     Secret Society of Second Born Royals (2020)
119. Big Top Pee-Wee (1988)
120. Ponyo (2008)
121. I Want My MTV (2019)
122. Spaced Invaders (1990)
123. Valley Girl (2020)
124. The Go-Go's (2020)
125. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
126. Class Action Park (2020)
127. The Addams Family (2019)
128. The Munsters' Revenge (1981)
129. Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
130. The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown (2015)
131. Murder By Death (1976)
132. Downhill (2020)
133. Last Christmas (2019)
134. Slay the Dragon (2019)
135. BlackPink: Light Up The Sky (2020)
136. Hubie Halloween (2020)
137. Gamemaster (2020)
138. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
139. Beetlejuice (1988)
140. Senseless (1998)
141. Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004)
142. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
143. Holidate (2020)
144. The Smurfs (2011)
145. Mr. Boogedy (1986)
146. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
147. Heavenly Bodies (1984)
148. Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014)
149. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
150. 12 Dates of Christmas (2011)
151. Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
152. Prancer Returns (2001)
153. The Christmas Star (1986)
154. Happiest Season (2020)
155. Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas (1977)
156. Elf (2003)
157. Christmas on the Square (2020)
158. Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
159. Scrooge (1970)
160. Totally Under Control (2020)
161. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
162. Jingle All the Way (1996)
163. Dear Christmas (2020)
164. The Prom (2020)
165. A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
166. A Christmas Story (1983)
167. Jingle Bell Rocks! (2013)
168. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
169. Desperados (2020)
170. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
171. Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011)
172. The Billion Dollar Hobo (1977)
173. Soul (2020)