Our 25 all-time FAV X-mas 'Do good-Feel good' movies
Slowly but surely we are getting closer to the festive season. At least something to rejoice for in this covid-saken ambiance!!
We could all do well with giving our spirits a bit of a boost. Here at LocalHood we put on our worst/best Christmas sweaters and listed a few of our favorite films to dig into just in time for you to get in the Christmas spirit!
From a short list...our list just grew longer and longer😁😁. So here are our list of 25 all-time FAV X-mas 'Do good-Feel good' movies. In the run up to X-mas, you have enough time to watch most of them, or at least some of them. These are family movies enjoyable for the young and the not so young.
Happy movie time 😘. Let us know how you liked them...and additions to this list are more than welcome :-).
25. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
This Oscar-nominated Disney short film casts Mickey as Bob Cratchit and Scrooge McDuck as his selfish boss, while Goofy, Jiminy Cricket and other familiar characters morph into the various ghosts. A nifty blending of Disney favorites with the Dickens classic.
24. Love Actually (2003)
Because all I want for Christmas is you...
23. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Even if religion doesn’t factor into your Christmas, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and the rest of the gang’s realization of the over-commercialization of the holiday serves as a timeless lesson for all audiences.
22. Home Alone (1990)
Is it wrong that I still want to live a weekend by myself this way? Then again, who wouldn't?
21. Gremlins (1984)
You can still feed us after midnight.
20. Die Hard (1988)
It's Christmas time in L.A., and there's an employee party in progress on the 30th floor of the Nakatomi Corporation... Yippie kay...
19. The Santa Clause (1994)
Tim Allen stars in this festive comedy about an ordinary man who must step into Santa’s shoes after an accident.
18. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983)
A Japanese prisoner of war camp is the less than festive setting for this David Bowie-starrer in which an eventful Christmas Eve has an impact on both prisoners and guards. One to make you feel grateful for your Christmas turkey.
17. Trading Places (1983)
If you’re keen to learn the harsh realities of the global economy but can’t be bothered to trawl through a textbook, this comic satire should do the trick. Eddie Murphy is the streetwise hustler who switches lives with Dan Aykroyd’s preening Wall Street moneybags, only to find himself the victim of a cruel joke played by a pair of vicious aristocrats.
16. Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam’s dystopian masterpiece opens with a poor family sitting around the Christmas tree, waiting eagerly for Santa. But when the ceiling caves in, it’s not a jolly fat man but a platoon of heavily armed cops, come to take Dad in for ‘questioning’. And it’s all downhill from there...
15. Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Bridget (Renée Zellweger) thinks she might have met the man of her life (Colin Firth) – but spots him sporting a hideous Christmas jumper. This seasonal wardrobe error plays a pivotal part in the sharp romantic comedy-drama, which also features fellow festive favorite Hugh Grant.
14. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Another terrific alternative to your traditional Christmas movie, this action thriller sees soccer mom Geena Davis suddenly recalling her past as a trained assassin and racing away from (or should that be towards?) danger with private investigator Samuel L Jackson – all against a snowy festive backdrop.
13. Batman Returns (1992)
As snow falls on Gotham, Bruce Wayne finds himself facing not just the creepy, grubby Penguin and his flippered minions, but a psychotic Catwoman and Christopher Walken in a crazy wig.
12. The Snowman (1982)
Nominated for an Oscar, the short film tells of a boy whose snowman magically becomes real – but not forever. Add the haunting song ‘Walking In The Air’ and you have a true Christmas classic. And yes we cried.
11. Bad Santa (2003)
A flop that became a cult Christmas classic, ‘Bad Santa’ may be gleefully tasteless but it’s also brilliantly sarcastic, enormously funny and – in the scenes with Billy Bob’s goofy kid sidekick Thurman Merman – impossibly sweet.
10. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Christmas is a time of both joy and fear for Edward (Johnny Depp) after he and his new host family are ostracized from the community. It’s a typically bittersweet story from Tim Burton.
9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington is the anti-hero who decides he’s had enough of Halloween and wants to stand in for Santa. Terrific fun.
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
How Michael Caine kept a straight face playing miserly Scrooge opposite a hectic gaggle of frogs, rats, pigs and Great Gonzos is anyone’s guess. But the result is fabulous, a riot of songs, jokes and general silliness that, amazingly, still manages to respect Dickens’s story.
7. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Many will say the Frank Capra classic is too far down on the list, even at #7. The truth is, the redemptive story of George Bailey (James Stewart) is a great movie, not a brilliant movie. It takes it’s merry ol’ time getting to the juicy stuff, but when Bailey meets Clarence the Angel, the whirlwind of feelings begins.
6. A Christmas Story (1983)
The cavalcade of familial horrors — that leg lamp, man — are still as punchy as ever. Being a kid sucks. A Christmas Story makes remembering that fact all OK.
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
I don’t know what drugs helped someone throw a dentist elf, misfit toys, and Burl Ives into one movie, but they did it and we’re grateful.
4. Babes in Toyland (1934)
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s adventure through the fantasy world of Toyland may be one of the most uproarious movies of all time, Christmas-themed or not. Surrounding them is pure imagination, with costumes and sets ranging from horrifying to goofy.
3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The Grinch takes a dim view of the consumerist little town – except for child Cindy-Lou, who might just be the one to melt his heart. A great family Christmas movie.
2. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Two bickering cops on a mission to take down drug dealers. At Christmas.
1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
It’s Christmas on trial and the holiday spirit prevails — could there be a better message?