The holiday season is here and for movie and television fans, that means watching countless Christmas and winter-themed films. There are plenty of new options this year including Spirited with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, Violent Night with David Harbour, and Falling For Christmas which sees the return of Lindsay Lohan to the screen.
But old Christmas Classics are sometimes more beloved than new films and the warm, familiar feeling they give viewers is part of the cheer and glad feelings of the season. Many people will also remember that alongside these Christmas Classics were a host of spinoffs, sequels, and remakes that viewers would catch on an evening and then never seem to be able to find again. Those forgotten Christmas films were often direct-to-video or tv only but still held a special place in many people’s hearts.
10 Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas (2014)
In an attempt to recapture the warmth and familiarity of the famous stop-motion Christmas specials of Rankin/Bass productions, Warner Bros. Animation produced their own stop-motion animation of Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas. It’s based on both the film, as well as the musical and writers of Elf (The Musical), Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan, return for the special.
The Christmas special follows the film closely while also including songs from the musical. The only returning voice actor is Ed Asner as Santa Claus but Jim Parsons as Buddy, Mark Hamill as Walter Hobbs, and Kate Micucci as Jovie provide the right enthusiasm to make this not just another flimsy television special.
9 It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
When one thinks of the Muppets and Christmas movies, what jumps to mind is usually, The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is considered one of the best A Christmas Carol adaptations. But there are plenty of other Muppet Christmas specials that are often forgotten about in the wake of Christmas Carol.
One of these lesser-known films is It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, which is an adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life. It is actually the final Muppets film to come out of the Jim Henson Company; the Muppets were later sold to Disney. David Arquette, Joan Cusack, and Whoopie Goldberg star in the film. And while it may be overshadowed by Christmas Carol, it has a charm all its own.
8 Clarence (1990 film)
Clarence Odbody is the name of the angel in It’s a Wonderful Life who is sent to Earth in order to save George Bailey from committing suicide. Originally played by Henry Travers, Robert Carradine plays the angel in the made-for-tv Christmas special starring the angel.
Clarence is a retread of the original 1946 film with most of the same story beats. This time, Clarence is asked by a fellow angel to save the life of his wife back on Earth and show her how important she is to her family. Carradine does a good job remaining loyal to the original characterization of Clarence while adding a few touches of his own even if the film does not add much to the original story.
7 Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979)
10 years after Frosty the Snowman and 15 years after Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Rankin/Bass brought both its characters into one film for Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. This stop-motion animation film special saw Frosty and Rudolph team up to stop Winterbolt, an evil snow wizard.
It is a much more action-packed adventure than the shorts that had come before. Frosty, and his new family, work with Rudolph to stop Winterbolt from raising an army of snowmen and stealing Rudolph’s light and Frosty’s hat. The film is a bit darker than the earlier productions like when the wizard turns into a dead tree, the influence of the Rankin/Bass The Hobbit film a few years earlier is apparent.
6 Merry Christmas, George Bailey (1997)
Merry Christmas, George Bailey is the second remake of It’s a Wonderful Life and appeared on PBS in 1997. It is a wonderfully creative live event that is a telecast of the actors on stage reading the play live from their open scripts. It makes the play feel like the children’s winter pageant from Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special.
And with a cast of talented actors, the special is like a community theater event but with Hollywood stars. Bill Pullman, Martin Landau, Nathan Lane, Sally Field, Christian Slater, and Minnie Driver all appear in the unique television special.
5 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
The live-action remakes of Disney films that have been so commonplace the last decade are not the first time the company has mined its own properties for more material. There was a period in the 90s and early-2000s when nearly every Disney animated feature had a direct-to-video sequel. One of these was, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.
This film has a unique time period, taking place between the moment Belle and the Beast start falling in love, but before the enchantress’s spell is broken. The huge castle with the colorful anthropomorphic objects is the perfect setting for a magical Christmas film, and Tim Curry as the movie’s villain turns this into more than just a cash grab.
4 Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish (1998)
Macaulay Culkin became the quintessential Christmas movie star after starring in Richie Rich after both Home Alone films, but he bowed out of appearing in the Richie Rich sequel, Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish, which was direct-to-video. Instead, David Gallagher of Seventh Heaven fame, took the mantle.
The plot of the film is a retelling of It’s a Wonderful Life with Richie in the George Bailey role. Richie Rich is framed for ruining a Christmas event and so wishes that he was never born. Much like in the film its based on, Richie quickly learns the world would be better with him.
3 A Christmas Carol (1971)
For fans of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, there is no lack of A Christmas Carol film adaptations to enjoy. With so many versions of the story available, many are lost in the pile. One forgotten classic is the animated 1971 A Christmas Carol that actually won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 45th Academy Awards.
It follows the basic premise of the original story while including several musical numbers done by miners and sailors that generally are excluded from other adaptations. And the animation is top-notch thanks to the artistry of Chuck Jones.
2 Frosty Returns (1992)
Frosty Returns is the fourth Christmas special based on the Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins 1950 song about the magical snowman but the first not to be made by Rankin/Bass Productions. This semi-sequel doesn’t exist in the same universe as those original films and uses completely new characters to tell a similar story.
The production company was Broadway Video, owned by none other than Lorne Michaels. Michael’s involvement explains why the special is filled with comedians and SNL Cast members like Jan Hooks and Brian Doyle-Murray as well as John Goodman as Frosty.
1 Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film)
If the original Miracle on 34th Street was not such a monstrous hit, the 1994 adaptation may have been hailed as a standout film. As it is, the remake barely crawls out of the shadow of the original movie. John Hughes of Home Alone wrote and produced 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
It more or less retreads the same ground of the earlier film, though without the iconic Macy’s location as the department store declined to participate. Instead, the film uses the fictitious “Cole’s” as the setting for Richard Attenborough to do an admirable job as Kris Kringle.
