h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My wife and I are currently on a mission to watch a Christmas film a day. I would like to ask, what is your favourite festive film? Which is the best adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol'? What is compulsory Christmas viewing in your household, or do you think that some Christmas classics are overrated?

Also, what makes a Christmas film a Christmas film?
Apparently 'the internet is being torn apart' by the debate on whether or not 'Die Hard' is a Christmas film: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/4729e8ae-ca0b-4d4a-a43a-36e29cc33296
Is it? And do you consider 'Batman Returns', 'Frozen', 'Gremlins', 'The Life of Brian' and 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' to be Christmas films?

Please let me know your opinions – depending on number of responses, this might even lead to a collaborative entry.

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Well, I do like to get a viewing of 'A Christmas Carol' in at some point before Christmas, preferably on Christmas Eve. For me, the favourite would always be the Alistair Sim version, though one or two others have been quite entertaining. I haven't looked yet to see what's on offer this year though.

I wouldn't class any of those listed as 'Christmas' films exactly.

Deek

The Muppets for me, every time. Alistair Sim cannot compete with singing vegetables.

We've seen the Sims version already this year (released as 'Scrooge' in the UK, 'A Christmas Carol' in the US) – but sadly a colourised version, which isn't quite the same and somehow lacks the atmosphere of the original black and white. My favourite scene is definitely when Patrick Macnee plays a young Jacob Marley. He isn't in it enough, alas… Though it isn't my favourite adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' it is certainly well worth watching.

Now I really, really enjoy 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' – but there's a problem.
I didn't see the film in the cinema and the first time I saw it was on VHS, which added a scene not in the original cinematic edition. This was the song 'When Love is Gone', which I've always found to be the emotional keystone of the film – it just doesn't work without the moment in which we see how Scrooge lost his heart. But every release on DVD of 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' is missing the scene, and I refuse to watch the film without it. So when I watch it I have to pause the DVD at that moment, unplug the SCART lead from the DVD player and plug in the VHS, watch the scene on our VHS copy, unplug the VCR and replug in the DVD player to continue watching the DVD as I do a zero-return on the videocassette so it will be back in the right place for next year.

And with DVDs, Disney could release a DVD of the film with an option at the start asking if you'd like to watch the inferior or 'When Love is Gone' version of the film.

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Christmas films seen so far this year are:

A Muppets Christmas Letters to Santa (2008)
Christmas with the Coopers (2015 US title: Love the Coopers)
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Home Alone 3 (1997)
It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
Jingle all the Way (1996)
Love Actually (2003)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Santa Who? (2000)
Scrooge (1951 US title: A Christmas Carol)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
The Santa Clause (1994)
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

Laurel & Hardy Shorts:
'Big Business' (1929)
'Laughing Gravy' (1930)
'The Fixer Uppers' (1935)

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A Charlie Brown Christmas for me, the original White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) for her.

I guess we are getting older.

I finally burned out my affinity for A Christmas Story just in time for Fox TV to air a live version.


I like the idea of considering Die Hard a crimbo film. I do not watch the normal family favorite holiday films.

I instituted a tradition at my local pub to watch Bad Santa each year as close to Xmas eve as the calendar allows. However, I must recommend anyone that liked the original to avoid the sequel. It stank on ice.

Others I'm quite fond of are the Bill Murray classic, Scrooged and Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.

Then there's the debate on whether A Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween or Christmas film (I say both)

I don't know 'A Christmas Story' – is it an adaptation of the nativity story?

I am very fond of 'Scrooged' and 'Hogather', of course.

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I always enjoy the Muppets Christmas Carol. Hogfather too.

Not a cinema film, but BBC TV drama, Box of Delights is good.

Otherwise I don't think I'm really a fan of Christmas films!

_A Christmas Story_(1983) is truly a classic. It's the nostalgic tale of a young boy in Post-Depression, Pre-WWII Indiana and his quest to convince his teachers, parents, and even Santa Claus that he deserves a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. It widely supplanted _It's a Wonderful Life_ as The Must-See Xmas Classic for American audiences after _It's A Wonderful Life_ stopped being aired ubiquitously each season. _It's A Wonderful Life_ was considered public domain for decades until a claim regarding a single song on the soundtrack ended a tradition for local TV stations of airing it repeatedly and royalty free. _A Christmas Story_ is a property of Ted Turner's company and airs as 24 hour marathons each Xmas eve on Turner Broadcast System, a cable network in North America.


You can watch _A Christmas Story_ here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2chfii

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" should be compulsive [er, compulsory] watching. It has a cute theme song, adorably inept characters, and a fair amount of heart. Of course, it's cheesy at its heart, but bad is good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk0ns_WyDak

My favorite Christmas movie is "Comfort and Joy."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087072/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
Bill Forsyth and Bill Patterson were involved in making this. It takes place during the Christmas season in Glasgow. A radio lost has broken uop with his girlfriend, and is feeling blue. Lo and behold, he finds himself stoppi9ng for ice cream, only to get in the middle of an insane turf war between rival ice cream vendors. There is an insanely tuneful jingle for the ice cream trucks. It turns into a real earworm.

"Nightmare before Christmas" is a work of sheer genius. Watch at halloween *and* Christmas, it's that good.

One of my guilty pleasures is the Mister Magoo Christmas cartoon.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123179/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I suppose it's not really a Christmas movie, but in Trading Places' there's a great section in which Dan Aykroyd as a store Santa gets gradually more under the influence and worse for wear as he hi jacks a party and a side of salmon.

Deek

Poor old - he's kidnapped by in 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians' by a leader who wants to bring Christmas to Mars, whereas in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' he's kidnapped by by a leader who wants to bring Christmas to Halloween. What's this? Very similar plots now I think about it…

Great imagination in 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians' in the way the King of Mars is called Kimar, the boy Martian is Bomar, the girl Martian is Girmar and the mother Martian Momar. What would happen if there were more than one boy, girl and mother on , eh?

I usually go along with 'if a significant portion is set at Christmas then it can count as a Christmas film'. So I'm happy to allow 'Trading Places' as an honourary Christmas film, complete with Jamie Lee Curtis playing the Ho Ho Ho

Latest Christmas film – the plastic people of 'The Polar Express'. Anyone else seen it?

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Yes, I saw the Polar Express movie, but didn't enjoy it at all, neither did the youngsters. They just found it weird.

By 'weird' do you mean the plot, or the way that the characters looked plastic and were almost all played by what Tom Hanks would look like if he were a Barbie?

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Probably both, but the plot was pretty forgettable.

Polar Express is deep in the Uncanny Valley. I have no desire to ever watch it.


I believe the problem was they either didn't include catch lights in the eyes as they rendered the lighting or they did a very poor job of it. With no catch lights in the eyes, they eyes look dry and dead. So, it looks like a zombie Christmas tale...

Actually, I'd watch a Zombie Christmas Tale.

I agree with Teasswill that 'The Box of Delights' is a real gem, a magical tale that is joyful and triumphant – I always watch it each year with my kids in the lead up to Christmas and watching it when it was first broadcast is one of the few memories I have of spending time with my dad before the divorce.
In fact I wrote about it: A87854269

I'd still like to hear what is it about 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and 'Mister Magoo Christmas' that makes it beat all competition.

As for 'A Christmas Story', who in the UK knows it? A plot involving a boy asking for a gun doesn't sound like the sort of film they'd broadcast before the watershed - but it might be on each year and somehow I've never noticed.

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If Ted Turner owned a TV/Satellite network in the UK, I'm sure you'd have seen it.



Oh! And is appropriate for this discussion as Ralphie, the central character in _A Christmas Story_ is repeatedly denied his wish for a Red Ryder BB Gun with the admonishment, "You'll put your eye out, kid!"

There are channels such as Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network that are available on Sky, but no real television channels that broadcast on Freeview. Ted Turner is a regular visitor to the Isle of Wight and was actually racing from Cowes in 1979 during the Fastnet disaster in which 21 died. Don't buy 'Ted Turner: A Biography' though as it incorrectly calls Cowes a village when it is clearly a town.

Anyway, back on topic, has anyone else watched 'The Santa Clause' trilogy (1994-2006)? My wife likes them, but I am unconvinced. For those unfamiliar with the films, the premise is that Tim Allan's character, Scott Calvin, inadvertently kills Santa Claus and due to a clause, has to become , and the strain that this has on his relationship with his son. All three star Tim Allen as Scott Calvin / . They're very y feel good films. No elf actor appears in all the films as they cast children to be elves and as there's a 12-year gap between the first and last film, so the child actors in the first aren't children at the time of the third.

In 'The Santa Clause' what bothers me is that no-one at the North Pole, none of the Elves or are in the slightest bit bothered that the previous Santa has died. There's no grieving widow, no-one as much as blinks an eyelid but instead smilingly welcomes the new guy. No memorial service or candles or wreath, a shrug would be something. No, after all his hard work does not get so much as a Scott's ex-wife spends much of her time trying to get the court to prevent Scott from being allowed to see his son (because he is going round saying his dad is ) Also 'there arose such a clatter' doesn't really sound like 'rose scented ladder'.
The North Pole's miniature railway looks great fun, though.

In 'The Santa Clause 2' it is revealed that in order to be , you have to be married and have a wife or the desantification process takes place. Hmm, so no North Pole Pride then. So why wasn't the who died in the first film married then, eh? Also, where has the miniature railway gone?
In the film, falls in love with the principal of his son's school.
We're told how it is a good school that gets good grades – yet bizarrely it has a security guard, who appears armed. What sort of school is it if it needs a beweaponed security guard! The uni I work at doesn't have any security guards as it is inconceivable it would need any. As a Disney Christmas films I expect it to present the world in an unrealistic, happy glow. It might just be me, but I find the idea that the existence of armed security guards in US schools being considered so normal that it is unaffected by Disney's rose-tinted filtered view of to be quite worrying...

In 'The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause', a film with a plot nicked straight out of 'Wonderful Life', wishes he'd never been and creates a parallel world in which Jack Frost becomes - but somehow Jack doesn't need a wife. The elves pretend to be Canadian by making a fuss about eating chips with vinegar – who doesn't eat chips with vinegar? And there's still no miniature railway. Oh, and the film is fairly terrible, but in a feel-good, cheese y Christmassy way. My children found it confusing that Jack Frost was a baddy in 'The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause' though the hero of 'Rise of the Guardians'.

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