It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Snow on the ground, lights in the windows, music in the air. Christmas always manages to light the world up every year, and rightly so! Everyone knows that the best part of Christmas (besides the food, holiday, presents, loved ones and parties) is the movies!
From action packed blockbusters to romance flicks, Hollywood always manages to add a little Christmas magic to any genre. We’ve teamed up with the experts over at Power Spins to bring you this countdown list of 5 of the best Christmas films in history.
Home Alone
The film that brought Macaulay Culkin to the world’s attention, Home Alone has grossed nearly half a billion dollars since its release in 1990.
The story follows Kevin McCallister as his family accidentally leave him behind when they head to Paris for their Christmas break. After adjusting to his new rule free lifestyle, Kevin finds himself having to contend with a pair of incredibly durable burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The film’s huge success launched a series of 5 films and an additional 3 video games.
The Polar Express
The most expensive animated movie in at the time, The Polar Express is based on the 1985 book of the same name and cost an incredible $165 million dollars to make.
The film follows a young boy as Christmas approaches, as he finds himself struggling to hold onto his beliefs in Santa. On Christmas Eve, the namesake train arrives outside his door bound for the North Pole. The film also starred Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks in an incredible 6 roles, including the films narrator.
Jingle All the Way
You’d be forgiven for not relating bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger with feel good family films, but that’s exactly what happened in 1996 with the release of Jingle all the Way.
The film stars Arnie as Howard Langston, a try hard Dad who despite all his efforts, never seems to get it right. When his son (and the rest of the nation) becomes obsessed with superhero “Turbo Man” at Christmas, he’s sent on a mission to retrieve the elusive toy ahead of his rival, postal worker Myron Larabee.
Elf
Despite not being a huge success upon its initial release, over time, Elf, starring Will Ferrell and Zoe Deschanel has become one of the world’s favourite Christmas films.
Following a young orphan who accidentally clambers into Santa’s sack and finds himself in the North Pole, eventually raised to be one of Santa’s Elves. When he eventually travels to New York to meet his real Dad, he struggles to adjust to life as a human as he tries to save his Father from ending up on Santas naughty list.
Die Hard
Now before anyone says, is Die Hard a Christmas film, it’s set at Christmas, has Christmas trees, Christmas music, Santa hats and a hero trying to save the day, we can’t think of anything more Christmassy!
John McClane earned himself 4 additional films out of the original that follows the aforementioned Police Officer trying to save his wife and her colleagues from a gang of international terrorists led by Hans Gruber at a fancy Christmas Party. The film also starred Bonnie Bedelia and Alan Rickman, in the roles of Holly McClane and Hans Gruber, respectively.
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