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11. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Tim Burton’s story is reimaged in stop motion form, and we’re left with this brilliant blurring of Halloween and Christmas. ‘What’s This?’ and ‘This is Halloween’ are absolutely superb songs, and the reason why the yeti Argos advert this year was my favourite Christmas advert.
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Only recently have I realised how crap this film is. Despite that, there is still something about it that brings us back and gives us that lovely, warm Christmassy feeling. Is it the story of Colin Firth falling for his Portuguese cleaner? Is it the moment you remember Liam Neeson’s wife did actually die and omg that's so sad and now you’re crying? Is it the absurdity that anyone in their right mind would dare cheat on the sweet sweet angel that is Emma Thompson? Is it that bit when January Jones, Elisha Cuthbert and that one from American Pie are all on screen at the same time? I feel all cuddly just thinking about it.
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Duh, the one with Matilda in, not the original. For me as a kid (and still as an adult) when Richard Attenborough wasn’t bringing my dinosaur-nerd dreams to life in Jurassic Park, he was the Father Christmas. It doesn’t get much more disappointing when you go to the local garden centre to tell Santa what you want for Christmas and it wasn’t Richard Attenborough’s Kris Kringle looking back at you.
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Charlotte won’t watch this with me as it scared her so much as a kid. Woe is me. Back when Jonny Depp’s weird character choices were daring and original, and Tim Burton didn’t lose himself in his own world of gothic annoyingness, they told this touching and haunting Frankenstein story of why it always snows at Christmas in a 1950s Californian town.
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One of the few child-friendly Will Ferrell films, and luckily for them he’s firing on all cylinders as Buddy the Elf: the human brought up in Santa’s workshop that travels to New York to find his Dad. It’s extremely silly, and some cotton-headed ninnymuggins’ people may not take to its absurdity. For anyone who likes seeing grown men in elf costumes getting hit by taxis, eating chewing gum of railings, pouring maple syrup on their pasta, and fighting Tyrion Lannister in a boardroom, you and I should be friends.
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Every kid’s dream: whole house to yourself, and as much pizza as you like ya filthy animals. But wait, Joe Pesci is in full Goodfella’s mode… there’s only one thing to do! Pass me the iron, blowtorch and staplegun.
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Okay, you got me, this is exactly the same film as above. It’s better because it’s in The Big Apple, and I prefer the pigeon lady (played by ex Manchester United footballer Steve Bruce) to the guy with the beard and shovel in the original. So there.
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My old housemate knows every single line of The Muppet Christmas Carol. And that makes me very jealous. As a kid I do remember being so scared of the Marley brothers (now, ‘Marley & Marley’ is my favourite song), and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come… okay, still scared of that. This film is so much fun, has brilliant songs, spot on muppet casting choices, and the best ever on-screen Scrooge in Michael Caine.
My work Christmas party this year was Dickensian themed – is it wrong my first thought was to dress as Kermit? No, thought not.
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Whenever I’m asked which film I have to watch every year at Christmas, Gremlins always seems to come out on top. I’m not sure how that happened, but I have seemed to make a habit of catching it each year, and even caught a showing on the big screen one year. This film couldn’t be any more 80s (even Corey Feldman’s in it), and the practical Gremlin effects go hand in hand with that. Once transformed overnight the creatures are gruesome in a hilarious way (that scene in the kitchen is my fave in the film by a mile – seriously, cooking Gremlins in a microwave). Before that, they may have created the cutest thing I’ve ever seen - upon watching it for the first time last year Charlotte warned me that anything other than a stuffed Gizmo this year round wouldn’t cut it #presentspoileralert
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To me, James Stewart will always be Jeff Jefferies in 1954’s Rear Window. To pretty much every else though, he is George Bailey. If ever a film could be best described a big hug, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life would be it. As a man suffers a crises of confidence in his life decisions and decides to end it all at the side of a bridge, he is stopped by an angel to show him how the people he loved would have fared without him. It’s a lovely message, and a film to watch together with the whole family as you all slip in to your turkey coma.
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It doesn’t get much better when you clock that Die Hard is definitely a Christmas film. As mentioned in my guest post on Charlotte’s blog, Girl Nextdoor Fashion, I’m continuing my brave crusade to ensure everyone is aware of this. It’s set during Christmas (at an office Christmas party no less). There is snow. Alan Rickman’s in it. It ends to a Christmas song. It also leaves you with that fuzzy feeling only the best action films ever made could. Now I have a machine gun… Ho Ho Ho.
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