Ho Ho Ho! Christmas is here… and Christmas movies! At this time comes an irrepressible desire to get under the blanket on the sofa at home with a warm drink and watching the most ridiculous Christmas movie that we can find on platforms like Disney +. Now, Christmas cinema has had versions of all sizes and colors, from the best delirious comedies to tear-jerking dramas, from the best high-energy movie musicals to stories with a very dark underside, such as those that are among the best. Christmas horror movies. Also many, many, tons of adaptations of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens.
We will find all of this in this selection of titles from the Disney+ catalog that we have prepared to celebrate these important dates . They include some of the best Christmas movies of all time, and for those looking for more up-to-date content, there are also some of the best new Christmas movies of 2022. And perhaps also the worst, but we don’t care: we want them all. The important thing, at the end of the day, is that they keep the Christmas spirit intact and are capable of making us feel infected by it.
In this list we talk about films as iconic as ‘Home Alone’ (and its sequel, ‘Home Alone 2’), which became one of the highest-grossing Christmas movies in history in the 90s and are today classics Christmas par excellence. A good part of his success had to do with the brilliant interpretation of the very young Macaulay Culkin, who was constantly left behind to live the most delirious adventures. The two installments of the saga were the best, but the legacy would continue until it reached a ‘reboot’ also available on Disney +, ‘Finally home alone’, with Archie Yates .
Now, there is life beyond this classic. Disney+ has tried to leave its mark on Christmas cinema with original productions such as ‘Noelle’ with Anna Kendrick and ‘Admirals’ with Ilsa Fisher and Jillian Bell, two Christmas love films for romantic parties that can join other iconic titles such as ‘ Love Actually’. But something tells us that many of us will end up turning to the inalienable totems of this time of year, be it the brilliant ‘The Muppets in a Christmas Carol’ or the original and disturbing ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. If you have already reviewed the rest of the options offered by the best Christmas movies on HBO, go ahead: Have you already chosen which movie you will see this Christmas as a family?
Guardians of the Galaxy: Happy Holidays Special (James Gunn, 2022)
With a duration of 40 minutes, this special (which serves as a bridge between the second and third installments of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) brings together a great Christmas spirit through the mission of Mantis and Drax: they want to bring Christmas to the galaxy to cheer up a down Peter a bit, and to do so they go in search of… Kevin Bacon. Do you already know where to place this special in the chronological order of Marvel movies and series?
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)
Based on a Tim Burton story (as if you couldn’t tell!), this ’90s animated classic is also one of the most original Christmas movies ever made. The curiosities of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, such as that it took three years to finish or that Disney wanted to distance itself from it because of its image as a family business, attest to how special its existence is.
Synopsis: Jack Skellington, the popular Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, oversees the ghoulish delights, chills, and surprises that are sent into the real world. But now he is bored with so much routine. One day, accidentally, he stumbles upon an entrance to the City of Christmas and is ecstatic with the colors, the toys and the joy that is lived there. He returns home and, obsessed with taking control of the wonderful city, convinces his minions to help him impersonate Santa Claus.
The Muppets in A Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992)
If we talk about Christmas classics, the Muppets’ version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a must. Brian Henson himself directed this film, based on the beloved novel by Charles Dickens , and where the story comes to life with puppets in what we could consider one of Michael Caine’s best films.
Synopsis : The miser Mr. Scrooge is visited by ghosts on Christmas night and is transported to his past, present and future. Through this look at his life, he will have to learn what he is doing wrong.
Home Alone (Chris Columbus, 1990)
One of the quintessential Christmas classics , and also one of the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time. The hand of John Hughes (master of adolescent cinema of the 80s, from ‘The Five Club’ to ‘The Girl in Pink’) is noticeable, who wrote the script and acted as producer, although it was Chris Columbus (director of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’) who ended up directing it. Although here the star of the show was a very young and charismatic Macaulay Culkin . Among the best curiosities of ‘Home Alone’ we discovered that the young actor improvised one of the most iconic lines of the script: “Do you give up, or do you still want more?” .
Synopsis : Kevin McAllister is an eight-year-old boy, a member of a large family, who is accidentally left behind at home when the whole family goes on vacation to France. Kevin learns to fend for himself and even protect himself from Harry and Marv, two scoundrels who set out to break into every locked house in his neighborhood. As soon as his mother misses him, he rushes back to Chicago to get his son back.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Chris Columbus, 1992)
If you want to continue the ‘Home Alone’ party this Christmas , on Disney+ you also have the hilarious sequel starring Macaulay Culkin, and again written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The ‘dream team’ met again to sign another Christmas classic from the 90s.
Synopsis : In the middle of the Christmas holidays, little Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) and his family are about to take a plane to enjoy a little vacation, but Kevin makes a mistake and boards a plane that takes him to New York, where he returns to be alone and unprotected.
Wow Santa Claus! (John Pasquin, 1994)
Christmas movies of the ’90s were second to none. In this directed by John Pasquin and starring the delirious Tim Allen , an entire generation of boys and girls were invited to continue believing in Santa Claus, to continue believing in magic. It is pure family cinema with touches of comedy and also a hooligan and realistic point.
Synopsis : Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is the divorced father of Charlie (Eric Lloyd). Scott is angry that Charlie’s mother, Laura (Wendy Crewson), and her stepfather, a psychiatrist named Neal, have told him that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. While an angry Charlie is visiting his father on Christmas Day, a noise on the roof brings up his father, who confronts the intruder who ends up falling into the void. The accidentally killed intruder turns out to be Santa and due to a mysterious clause now Scott must take his place.
A Christmas with Mickey (Burny Mattinson, 1983)
For the little ones in the house, or for the chronically nostalgic, the version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Disney’s Charles Dickens could not be missing . Best of all is how the brand’s most iconic characters fit the roles of this classic brilliantly. Of course Uncle Scrooge had to be the perfect Scrooge and Mickey Mouse the purest and most innocent character in the cast. If it is not one of the best animated films in the history of cinema, it is certainly one of the most loved by the generation of children of the 80s.
Synopsis : Humble and nice Bob Cratchit can’t wait to come home to his family on Christmas Eve, even if there isn’t much food to share. His boss, Ebenezer Scrooge, is the stingiest man in town and thinks that Christmas should serve, like any other day, to earn money. Giving Boob half a day off, Scrooge heads home, unaware of the dark surprise that awaits him…
A Father in Trouble (Brian Levant, 1996)
One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movies? We say YES. It will never cease to amaze us how the actor, an action hero of the 80s with films like ‘Predator’ or ‘Commando’, revealed himself as a brilliant comedy actor . Here he proves it a thousand times, with a much loved and funny Christmas movie.
Synopsis: Little Jamie Langston (Jake Lloyd) makes his father (Arnold Schwarzenegger) promise to give him Turbo Man, the fashionable toy, for Christmas. Time is passing and, when he is about to buy it, the Turbo Man is completely exhausted. There are only a few hours left, and the man nervously goes through all the shops in the city in the hope of finding him.
One also lives with illusion (George Seaton, 1947)
Celebrated Christmas fable, based on a story by Valentine Davies and the myth of Santa Claus. What we can consider one of Natalie Wood’s best films (and that was her first great role in the cinema) won 3 Oscars and was a great box office success , one of those that she puts back on television every Christmas (saving the odds). distances with ‘How beautiful it is to live!’).
Synopsis: During a Christmas parade organized by Macy’s department store, the man who plays Santa Claus is replaced due to indisposition. An old man named Kris offers himself to Mrs. Walker, who is in charge of the parade, to play Santa Claus. After the parade he is hired for perfectly giving the character type, but everything gets complicated when he claims that he is the real Santa Claus.
Miracle in the City (Les Mayfield, 1994)
If ‘De ilusion tambien se vive’ is too far away for you, or if you simply want to relive the same story but with a more contemporary perspective, here is its remake starring Mara Wilson (the girl from ‘Matilda’) and with a Dad Noel played by Richard Attenborough (‘Jurassic Park’) .
Synopsis : During a Christmas parade organized by Macy’s department store, the man who plays Santa Claus is replaced due to indisposition. An old man named Kris offers himself to Mrs. Walker, who is in charge of the parade, to play Santa Claus. After the parade he is hired for perfectly giving the character type, but everything gets complicated when he claims that he is the real Santa Claus.
Sponsored (Sharon Maguire, 2020)
Actresses Jillian Bell and Isla Fisher make a fantastic comedic duo in this Disney+ original movie, which wants to keep believing in magic around Christmas time. Although it is not perfect, it knows how to combine the ingredients of the best Christmas movies, with a good message and lots of fun and adventures. Fans of ‘Enchanted’ will like it.
Synopsis : Eleanor is a young and inexperienced fairy godmother apprentice who, upon learning that her profession is on the brink of extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers.
Noelle (Marc Lawrence, 2019)
This was Disney+’s first original Christmas movie , and it has the ambition to recapture the spirit of high-value, high-fantasy family movies. And while it may not quite surpass its precedents, it’s an entertaining Christmas adventure for modern times, with an ensemble cast that includes Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, Billy Eichner, Diana-Maria Riva, Shirley MacLaine and Kingsley Ben-Adir .
Synopsis : Kris Kringle’s daughter is full of holiday spirit and fun, but she wishes she could do something “big” like her loving brother Nick, who will take over for their father this Christmas. When Nick is about to crumble like a gingerbread man from all the pressure, Noelle suggests he take a break and run away… but when he doesn’t return, Noelle must find her brother and bring him back in time. to save Christmas.
Home alone at last (Dan Mazer, 2021)
If you’ve got too much viewing of Home Alone by now, you should still try this fresh-out-of-the-oven reboot, which tries to capture the essence of its predecessor while trying new things. With another charismatic kid, Archie Yates (seen in ‘Jojo Rabbit’), and a cast of great comedians like Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney , it brings the story of John Hughes into the 21st century.
Synopsis : Max Mercer is a mischievous and witty boy who has been forgotten at home by his family when he goes on vacation to Japan. From that moment, Max will have to protect his home from new intruders, as a couple decides to look at the Mercer family home to try to recover a priceless heirloom. Max will do everything in his power to prevent them from entering. Hilarious situations will ensue, but despite the total chaos they unleash, Max will finally understand that there’s no such thing as home sweet home.
Save Christmas (Nick Castle, 2001)
Although it can’t measure up to Christmas classics and made its direct-to-TV premiere in 2001, this film starring Bryan Cranston (long before he was Walter White in ‘Breaking Bad’) is a perfect family Christmas movie. David Gleeson writes the screenplay adapting the children’s literature poem written by Clement Clarke Moore .
Synopsis : A mischievous 14-year-old boy and his irresponsible uncle almost ruin Christmas when they decide to take Santa’s new high-tech sleigh for a ride.
A Christmas Carol (Robert Zemeckis, 2009)
Another ‘Christmas Carol’? You are right! And he brought something new, in this case visually: he used the same animation technique from ‘Polar Express’ to create a kind of hyper-realistic animated life. We don’t know if it’s one of Robert Zemeckis’ best films, but it certainly offered us a new vision of the Charles Dickens classic and also featured a stellar cast led by Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright, Cary Elwes and Bob Hoskins .
Synopsis : Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) is a grumpy and grumpy character who treats his faithful employee Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman) and his cheerful nephew (Colin Firth) with contempt and bad manners. But when the spirit of Christmas Past, Present and Future sweeps him on a journey during which he discovers truths he has always refused to see, the miser’s heart lights up and he realizes that he must act immediately to counter so many years of selfishness and rancor.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston 2018)
Perhaps ‘The Nutcracker’ is not a proper Christmas story, but it is a tradition to see it on stage and on the screens on these very special dates, so we included it so that you can have more options in addition to versions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and stories of Santa Claus. This film, although based on a classic, is a very adventurous and visually spectacular version , and will provide a point of originality this Christmas.
Synopsis : All Clara wants is a key that opens a box containing a very valuable gift from her deceased mother. At the Drosselmeyer’s annual party, she finds a clue that leads her to the key, but it disappears into a parallel world. There Clara will meet a soldier named Phillip, a gang of mice and those who rule the Three Kingdoms: the Land of Snowflakes, the Land of Flowers and the Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip will have to face the Fourth Kingdom, where the cruel Mother Ginger resides, to recover the key and return harmony to the world.
Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)
We don’t care about the eternal debate about whether ‘Die Die’ is a Christmas movie or not, but we included it because, in effect, it is set at Christmas. And for us that is enough to claim it a thousand times, at any time of the year, as one of the best action movies in the history of cinema.
Synopsis: John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a cop with personal problems. At Christmas, he comes to town with the intention of reconciling with his wife (Bonnie Bedelia), but the building where she works is going to suffer a terrorist attack. A group led by a German, Hanks (Alan Rickman), takes over the building and holds everyone in it hostage celebrating the arrival of Christmas. However, McClane manages to flee and take refuge one floor up. Single-handedly, he will try to stop the terrorists.
Beauty and the Beast 2: An Enchanted Christmas (Andy Knight, 1997)
Walt Disney Pictures’ sequels have never been anything special, especially those released in the 90s in the wake of great classics such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Lion King’ or ‘Pocahontas’. In this case, the sequel is that of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and they decided to turn it into a Christmas special as an excuse to continue the story of the leading couple. And while we won’t call it a studio gem, it’s perfect for fans of the original film.
Synopsis : Belle plans to decorate the castle and throw a party for all her friends, even if the Beast isn’t too excited… But before the preparations can begin, Belle and all her friends from the enchanted castle discover that Forte, the organ, and his dopey henchman plan to sabotage the Christmas party. Thanks to Belle’s enthusiasm for teaching Beast the true meaning of Christmas, she will be able to stop Forte’s evil plans.
Magical Christmases (Phillip Borsos, 1985)
With Harry Dean Stanton leading the cast, nothing can go wrong . This Christmas movie may not be one of the most iconic movies of the ’80s, but it certainly contains all the ingredients necessary to create some remarkable family Christmas entertainment.
Synopsis : Ginny Grainger (Mary Steenburgen) is a young mother who rediscovers the joy and beauty of Christmas thanks to the unwavering faith of her six-year-old daughter (Elisabeth Harnois) and Gideon (Harry Dean Stanton), her guardian angel. .
Twelve Dates of Christmas (James Hayman, 2011)
If there is a film genre that we can directly relate to Christmas movies, in addition to family cinema, that is the romantic comedy . How magical it is to fall in love on these special dates! This is demonstrated by this telefilm by James Hayman, starring Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Synopsis : Kate can’t quite accept that her ex-boyfriend no longer has the slightest interest in her, so she decides to arrange a blind date with a stranger that ends up going wrong. Later, while she is doing some Christmas shopping, she suddenly faints and wakes up to discover that the meeting has not yet taken place. It is her chance to make amends for her mistake.
Christmas with the Buddies. In Search of Santa Can (Robert Vince, 2009)
The Air Buddies also have their Christmas adventure . The famous group of dogs from Disney Channel gave us this trip to the North Pole in a different Christmas movie, with a family vocation and starring some absolutely adorable dogs. We don’t need anything else.
Synopsis : The Buddies (Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Budha and Mudbud) will travel to the magical world of the North Pole to live an authentic Christmas tale. When Chiquican, the brave son of Santacan, forgets the true meaning of Christmas, it’s the Buddies’ turn to remind him that Christmas is not only what you get, but also what you give.
