Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Best Christmas Movies 15-11

One of the best parts about the month of December leading up to Christmas is watching Christmas movies. I plan on watching most of these movies before December 25th. I'll admit that some of the top 5 will probably be watch on numerous occasions. My Top 15 Christmas movies are all movies that deal with the holiday season directly, so films like The Family Man, Love Actually and Trapped in Paradise were not considered.

15. Santa Who?- Santa Who? Is a made for TV movie starring Leslie Nielson as Santa Claus. He goes out for a sleigh ride and falls out of the sky, hitting his head, and getting amnesia. It is definitely worth a watch if only to listen to Leslie’s fantastic jolly laugh.


14. The Muppet Christmas Carol- The Henson version of A Christmas Carol is the same old story of Ebenezer Scrooge. The great Michael Caine plays Scrooge, while all of the muppets fill in with the other regular roles. Kermit is the obvious Bob Crachit and Gonzo narrates the movie as Charles Dickens himself.


13. Christmas Do-Over- This is another made for tv classic with Jay Mohr in the lead. It is the Christmas version of Groundhog Day, as Jay relives Christmas over and over again. There are a lot of the same effects as in the Bill Murray film, but obviously much worse. As in a lot of movies, the fact that this is poorly written and acted makes it a very fun watch for me.

12. It’s a Wonderful Life- This 1946 film will be in most people’s top five Christmas movies lists, but it doesn’t make the grade for me. Don’t get me wrong...it is a quality film, but if not for Jimmy Stewart’s fantastic voice, it might not make my top fifteen.


11. Mickey’s Christmas Carol- The Disney version of A Christmas Carol is a notch ahead of the Muppets probably because I watched it more as a kid (and for my Disney love). The story of Ebenezer Scrooge gets long and boring for me sometimes, so the 24 minute run-time is perfect in this short film. Mickey as Bob Crachit is another obvious choice, while Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past is just fantastic casting.

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