Favorite Christmas Movie

There are a lot of things to enjoy about the Christmas season, and many reasons to enjoy these things. Religiously, it's a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus and the wonderful story surrounding his birth and circumstance. Socially, it's a time for people to gather and give thanks for everyone around them that has supported them throughout the years. Or, if you've just met them, to show appreciation for a new found friendship.

Christmas is the season of giving. Sure, being thankful is a Thanksgiving thing, but it seems so few people even remember Thanksgiving is a holiday anymore. Christmas is a time for families to come together, wherever they may live or whatever the circumstance is, to remember just what it is that makes them a family (besides lawful and biological reasons, those are a tad unavoidable).

So, what's there to do when the family is gathered? Well there's the obvious choices: Christmas shopping, make gingerbread cookies, play a family football game (or is that just me and my family?). To bank on these possibilities, of course, there are Christmas movies, played over and over again maliciously on ABC Family :-).

I struggle deciding whether I like the movies that around shown around Halloween or Christmas. On the one hand, you have such psyhological and thrilling movies like The Shining and Nightmare on Elm's Street. Or you have such heartwarming classics as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Elf.

That's why I like Nightmare Before Christmas, it's the best of both worlds (and even features Thanksgiving!).

Both sets of films/ genres have their ups and downs. For Halloween, it's certainly that it's gory and horror filled to a nauseating degree. So few horror films are good and suspenseful unlike the old ones, just going for cheap jump-scares. Similarly, it feels that most Christmas movies nowadays are just banking on the cliche that everything will turn out well for the family around Christmas time.

That's why I feel there are only a handful of really good Christmas movies, ones with a unique feel to them. The Charlie Brown Christmas is an example of that, accumulating everything we've come to love about the Peanuts and even giving a wonderful message about what Christmas is all about. Elf is just a funny little movie about a human in the guise of an elf, featuring Sonny from The Godfather. Seriously, every time I watch elf, Sonny comes to mind and makes the movie weird, like if he hadn't (spoilers for Godfather, but if you haven't seen it you haven't really watched a movie) been mowed down at a toll-booth--what a way to go--book publishing is where he would have wound up.

And yes, I know there are several other good "holiday" movies that come out, but, there are far more Christmas movies and frankly I won't call A Year Without Santa Claus a "holiday" movie because it's clearly a Christmas movie.

So then, what is my favorite Christmas movie? Nightmare Before Christmas? Home Alone?

No, but, those are good movies. See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like joy, and Christmas spirit...and good musical numbers! Do you know what all those things have in common? They're clay.

Alright, tried riffing the Joker from The Dark Knight and it barely worked so I'll just say it: Santa Claus is Coming to Town of course!

It's a simple little tale about the origin of Santa Claus--a believable one at that--with its own bits of excitement that culminates perfectly into the Santa Claus mythos. I like the idea of Santa Claus originating as a small-town guy, then going off on his own and basically discovering the meaning of Christmas on his own. It makes him relatable.

Seeing the evolution of the Santa Claus mythos is also really, really interesting. The fact that it isn't just a way to enter a house creatively but rather had to in order to spread joy to the children, who were rather oppressed by the Burgermeister, added a cool element to the movie. The fact that Kris Kringle never gave up helped show us the true meaning of Christmas, and the true meaning of Santa Claus.

The special is also loaded with memorable characters and songs. The Burgermeister song, and of course, "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" is kind of amazing. This iteration of Santa, or at least Kris Kringle, is a unique one that I can't remember ever seeing again. The Burgermeister is a great foil to Santa Claus, being all of the malice and anti-toy that he is. Topper is a great side-kick for Kris Kringle and the Winter Warlock stands out as a menacing yet eventually endearing character.

Truthfully, this movie is a "canon" origin of Santa. Instead, it just shows how his mission of giving out toys started, as well as the struggles he faced in his early days, which is something we never see. Even when we are given an inside look to the North Pole, we always see the elves doing all the work and Santa milling about (sometimes doing paperwork of all things). Getting a look into the hardships and constant work Kris Kringle put in added another level to the already greatly humanized character.

Sure, there are elements of magic but there are few that actually affect the work being done. I mean, yeah, the magic of the reindeer is implemented and there is a subtle hint at Rudolph, but none that add to Kris making more and more toys. Instead, it's another human element: the constant "attacks" you could call them, of the Burgermeister. Obviously, this character is meant to be symbolic of those that hate Christmas, a typical Scrooge or Grinch. Through willpower, like always, Christmas prevails, though it's not necessarily in the way you think and is, again, unique.

I always love watching this Christmas special because it's just a simple movie for me to kick back, relax, and enjoy. Nothing is too convoluted about it, since it's clearly made for children, but what it brings to the table is interesting enough to the point where it isn't bland or tasteless (like the Burgermeister). If you haven't seen it, then, you're missing out big time. It's the quintessential Christmas special, in my opinion.


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Also, I'm starting a new blog that will be doing episode-by-episode reviews of the anime series Sword Art Online. Those will begin January 1st, so stay tuned for that (wordofsao.blogspot.com).

Merry Christmas, everyone! See you next week with my Top 10 Trailers/ Teasers of 2014.