Best Holiday Films. Ever. 

Today we’re going to speak about a very personal issue.  Today we decide the short list for greatest holiday films ever.  Now, do we have some sort of expertise in the analysis of the moving picture?  Not really.  We have opinions, purely based on emotions, memories, the era and places we were raised.  That’s the great thing about the discussion of anything related to the holidays-we always have so many emotion attached to this time of year, whether they be good or bad ones!  Now that we have established that this is a highly scientific process, Betsy and I are going to pick our personal favorites, including TV specials.  You probably should crack a beer for this-turns out our short list is actually rather long.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Carey: Simple, lovely, and a bit melancholic in that Peanuts way-but doesn’t that sum up the holidays?   This one is still a classic.  The Vince Guaraldi Trio soundtrack is clearly one of the best Christmas albums ever.  I don’t want to name names, but someone who is co-writing this blog has NEVER SEEN IT.  What?!
Betsy: Yes, yes I am terrible Minnesotan. 

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) vs. the black and white A Christmas Carol/Scrooge  (1951) with Alastair Sim vs. The Muppet Christmas Carol  (1992) vs. Scrooged  (1988)
Carey: As a kid, Mickey’s Christmas Carol was one of my favorites.  I think it was the setting that the classic Disney animation created-the snow covered London, the candlelit rooms-that appealed so strongly to me.  It created a nostalgia for a time we never experienced.  The Alastair Sim version didn’t grab me when I was little, but watching it when I was older I realized how awesome his performance was-pretty much a perfect Scrooge.   It has been quite awhile since I’ve seen Scrooged, but I remember loving it when it came out and watching it A LOT.  Come on, it has Bill Murray!
Betsy: I must disagree with Carey on this one…  100% the Muppet Christmas Carol – though I do have a very soft spot for Sir Michael Caine (I about died laughing while watching Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon compete with dueling Michael Caine imitations in The Trip (2010)) I am just thinking about that movie and I already have the “Here Comes Mr. Humbug” song stuck in my head.  Some other versions make you think harder about the plight of the underclass and the perils of selfish capitalism – but this one answers the age old question of what happens when Kermit and Piggy actually get together (they don’t produce freakish Frog Pigs after all). But Scrooged has Bobcat Goldthwaite…so there is that to consider.

Garfield Christmas  (1987)
Betsy: This one is a classic on the old “taped off the TV in 1987” tape that gets watched every Christmas at our house.   I think it has a really good heart and Garfield’s constant cynicism makes the sappy story palatable.   I actually makes me tear up every year when the grandmother character talks about the love of her late husband and how she misses him most at Christmas – yes, Garfield makes me cry.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas  (1966)
Carey: Full disclosure, I have never seen the live action version with Jim Carrey, but I just find it horrible.  I can’t bear the thought of watching it.  The cartoon is so great, no need to make another version in my mind, especially such a garish interpretation.  Come on, the cartoon has Boris Karloff!
Betsy: The animated one also has the great version of  “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” that features my favorite insult of all time: “Your soul is an appalling dump-heap, overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable.”  Very useful in your tense holiday political discussions.

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer  (1964)
Carey:  “I’m cute, I’m cuuuuute!”  That pretty much sums it up.  Adorable little stop-action puppets, Burl Ives, the Abominable Snowman and Yukon Cornelius.  It actually is a bit of a trippy story.  And a little sad.  But it all works out in the end, as any good holiday tale should.  
Betsy: Toy Story also pulls on your heartstrings regarding unwanted toys – but I always felt so bad for the Island of Misfit toys in this movie. They do get rescued in the end – but for how long have they lived alone in toy purgatory?  I laughed so hard when Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me finally put to rest what was “misfit” about the rag doll;   Severe physiological abandonment issues.  

A Claymation Christmas Celebration  (1987) with guest stars the California Raisins. 
Betsy: The pièce de résistance of the aforementioned 1987 tape is clearly the commercials, but the Claymation Christmas Celebration is my hands-down must-see each Christmas.  It is absurd, from an outsiders perspective; it is hosted by dinosaurs but has a clear Christian message.   Walruses on ice skates, raisins being transformed into a reindeer team (with a sleigh made from a dumpster) & bells that toll by hitting themselves in the head with a hammer really get me into the holiday spirit. 
Carey: I only saw this special once, in 1987, but I remember loving it.  For years after I lamented the fact that they never seemed to re-air it.  Needless to say, I’m very excited to watch Betsy’s video this season.

Elf  (2003)
Carey: I don’t’ think this movie is one of the best ever, however, this one gets a shout out because it is the rare movie made past the Eighties that actually has a timeless feel and celebrates the holidays in a charming, not overly cheesy way and still manages to entertain both kids and adults.  It is also when we all discovered that Zooey Deschanel sings. Oh fer cute.
Betsy: I actually am not a fan of this one.  Ferrell’s Elf is sweet and the epitome of child-like holiday cheer – this causes him trouble in our cynical world – repeat for 90 minutes.   I know some of you are lighting your torches and grabbing your pitchforks but the whole movie makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable in a way that also makes me hate Meet the Parents.
Carey:  For the record, I’m also not a fan of the Meet the Parents movies. 

Sound of Music  (1965)
Carey: Not really a Christmas movie, however, my family watched this every December growing up when they ran it on TV.  There was a long desert from viewing this film and I finally watched it again a few years back.  Turns out it is still a really great movie.  Julie Andrews is perfect, Christopher Plummer is dashing, and the music is timeless.  We kids used to sing “Do-Re-Mi” at the top of our lungs. I still  have our family’s original 1960s vinyl album.  I’m totally going to listen to it tonight and infect the house with its earworm tunes.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Carey: Only Tim Burton could blend Halloween and Christmas into one great, creepy, beautiful story.  I always forget that Henry Selick was actually the director, who also did the wonderful Coraline a few years back. If you’ve never watched a behind-the-scenes of how they do the stop-motion animation, drop everything and watch one now.  The attention to detail, the painstaking process-it is just nuts.  But awesome.  
Betsy: What I love about this one is the ability to watch it for three solid months without judgment!

A Christmas Story (1983)
Carey: I saved the best for last.  I never watched this film as a kid for some reason-the first time I viewed it I was 22 years old and instantly fell in love with it.  Nowadays it gets a bit overkill with the marathon showings that are the trademark of cable TV, but this movie is still simply the best.  It has everything-nostalgia without being saccharine, a heartwarming family story, great acting (by even the kids!), and just crazy funniness.  The first time I saw the scene with “Momma’s little piggy”, I laughed so hard I cried.  Just the best.  This movie also received multiple nods from other Summit staff. 
Betsy:  I also saw this one in my 20’s – I never had cable so it just never came up.   Now I cannot read the word fragile without mispronouncing it my head and when our dog busts through the back door we always curse the SOB Bumpasses!

Judging by this list, it seems the Sixties were quite the hey-day for holiday films, but the Eighties got a lot of things right too.  Also of note-we asked our founder Mark Stutrud his favorite holiday film and he said Blue Velvet (1986).  When pressed, he confessed that he got in the tradition of watching the film in the early days of the brewery when work was an intense 24/7, straight thru the holidays ordeal.  Watching Blue Velvet was a good way to “rattle his cage” and remind him that life wasn’t all that bad.  While severed ears aren’t what most people think of when reminiscing about the holidays, I think Mark’s sentiment is about right.  He also put his votes in for the 1951 A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story.

Time to share your favorites-we know there are many, many we didn’t mention.  Some other honorable mentions from an informal polling of Summit staffers: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Prancer (1989), Home Alone (1990), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977), and Die Hard (1988).  Your turn!

Happy Holidays!
Carey and Betsy